In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that we offered two signature cocktails to guests at Paper Party 2016. In the past we’ve offered an open (cash) bar so that guests could order whatever they liked, but I’ve always wanted to do a custom cocktail menu – after all, it is kind of one of the things we do best around here! So we finally did it! Andrew came up with two recipes that we thought worked well for both the time of year and the number of guests (we were estimating around 250 people): a Pineapple Mai Tai and a Lavender Collins. They’re both so, so good and perfect for summer get togethers! Today we’re sharing the recipes for both drinks, along with the cocktail coasters, stir sticks, menus, and matchbox favors that we made for the Paper Party!

First, the stationery! Sarah from Parrott Design Studio designed the gorgeous cocktail menus – I printed them at home using my Epson WorkForce WF-7610 printer (which can print borderless!). I printed a smaller 5×7 size to scatter around the venue, and a larger 8×10 size to display at the bar.

We also worked with Foryourparty.com to make some fun wood cocktail stir sticks in shiny lavender foil, coasters in shiny lavender foil, and – my personal favorite – Riviera matchbox party favors with shiny silver foil on lavender Color Plan paper. I just can’t get enough lavender these days!

Okay, so I may have gone a bit coaster crazy for the party this year, but after seeing this absolutely AMAZING hologram foil called Micro Glitter at Bella Figura when selecting a foil for the Paper Party invitations, I asked if they’d be willing to print up some coasters for the party. Can you blame me? The Micro Glitter hologram foil is just ridiculously awesome. It reminds me of a disco ball! How could I resist?

Okay, now on to the cocktail recipes! I wanted one of the cocktails to be fruity and tropical, and the other cocktail to be effervescent and refreshing (especially after a long day at the Javits Center). A Pineapple Mai Tai and Lavender Collins were the perfect fit! I highly recommend giving both of these cocktails a spin at home!

Cocktail menu design by Parrott Design Studio

Pineapple Mai Tai

1 oz Silver Rum
1 oz Aged Rum
1 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz El Guapo Orgeat
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Orange Curaçao

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker filled two-thirds with ice and shake gently. Strain into a lowball glass filled with crushed ice and garnish with a mint bouquet. Enjoy!

One quick note about shaken drinks: If you’re making a large quantity of a shaken cocktail recipe in advance, chances are you won’t individually shake each cocktail in a cocktail shaker. But! Shaking a cocktail with ice adds water to a drink, so without it the drink can come out a bit on the strong side. When pre-mixing a large batch of cocktails in advance, you’ll need to add extra water to the recipe to compensate. We recommend adding about half an ounce of water per serving for these kinds of drinks.

Lavender Collins

2 oz Dry Gin
1 oz Royal Rose Lavender-Lemon Syrup
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
Soda Water
Mint

Add mint and ice to a highball glass, then add the gin, lavender-lemon syrup, and lemon juice. Top with soda water and give it a good stir to combine. Enjoy!

A huge thanks to El Guapo Bitters and Royal Rose who so generously donated their syrups for the Paper Party so that we could make these wonderful cocktails!

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper