My Martini Up
Services
Many people feel that hiring a Private Bartender is a luxury they can't afford or can do without. The truth is that in the long run, not having a Private Bartender can actually cost you more money if left to chance! After reading through the most commonly asked Questions and Answers, you'll see that the money and time I can save you will greatly off-set the overall hourly charges.
Why can't I tend my own bar or let my guests serve themselves?
You could if you wanted to spend 85% of your party time pouring drinks! However, most hosts or hostesses find out they need to put considerable time into pre-party preparation as well as food preparation during the event. When you are behind a bar, that leaves you very little time to attend to the other details or entertain your guests. Allowing your guests free access to your alcohol bar is always a bad idea. Over-pouring and waste increases your costs, you have no idea of how much alcohol is being consumed, or where that expensive bottle of imported Cointreau disappeared to! Worse yet, minors could be helping themselves leaving you open for liability.
I know I have to pay you. After I purchase the liquor, isn't this going to be expensive?
On the contrary! When buying liquor by themselves, most people tend to go overboard. They will overspend on liquors they don't need, over purchase some items, or overlook items they need but forgot to buy. Part of my Pre-Planning Service includes the development of a drink menu. A detailed checklist insures that only the liquor and extras needed for that menu are purchased. Normally, this could save you at least 35% in costs. So if I were able to cut your liquor bill down by say $75, it would make a considerable dent in the cost of having a professional bartender.
How can I keep costs down for a wedding of about 200 guests?
When planning a wedding or large event, liquor planning and control becomes even more critical. When planning for food, there is a "Cost per Plate" or "Cost per Person" type of charge. For example, if you are inviting 200 guests at $10 per plate, your food bill would run $2,000. The sad fact is, that left unplanned, your liquor bill could push the same $10 per person. The truth is in order to serve 200 guests, you would need 3 bartenders. However, to have 3 bartenders for a 5-hour reception would cost you $225. Compared to other things such as flowers, gowns, cake, tuxedos, etc, $225 for 3 professional, full-time employees is a bargain. By proper planning and correct liquor selections, we can cut costs down to about $6 per person saving you $800.00. Once you deduct the cost of the 3 bartenders, you'd come out $575 ahead, and never have to worry about what's happening at the bar.
What is so important about having a drink Menu?
Based on your theme and budget, I prepare a printed menu of all the different drinks being offered for that event. Copies of that menu are on the bar for your guests to choose from. This keeps you from having to spend a considerable amount more money to stock a full bar for every drink possible. For example, you won't want to spend $20 for a bottle of Godiva Chocolate Liquor in the off-chance that one of your guests might order a Chocolate Martini! However, if a Chocolate Martini is on your drink menu, the you can decide whether you want to spend $20 for Godiva Chocolate, or $6 for a bottle of Chocolate Creme' De Caco! Again, your menu is based on your budget, and simple knowledge of the different alcohols with the same taste will save you a considerable amount of money.
How am I supposed to get all this liquor? I don't know what to buy?
Some people are more comfortable purchasing their own liquor, and that's Okay! I would tell you exactly what liquor you need, and how much. On large events, this may not be so feasible. Knowing what you need and how much allows me to order it for you, and have it delivered prior to the start of your event.
Yea, but isn't there the expense of garnishes, ice, and stuff like that?
Yup! There are fruits, sodas, olives, cherries, straws, cocktail napkins, ice, mixers right down to the garnish picks. This is all stuff you'd end up shopping for anyway. The biggest difference here is that you don't have to worry about it. The purchase and preparation of all of this is handled by me. The best part is, I know where all the good deals are and can save you money here, too! If you were to do this on your own, you can count on spending about $1.46 for each guest. Normally, I can work this figure down to about $0.78 per guest. At a typical party of say 60 guests, this would save you $40, not to mention all the time you would save in shopping and preparation.
Those store bought mixes are so expensive! How can I save money here?
Expensive is right! And of course, they aren't the freshest choices, either! A typical 33 oz. bottle of store-bought Sweet and Sour Mix will run about $4.50. Now of course, if only 1 or 2 of the drinks on your menu call for a splash of sour mix, a bottle would probably suffice. However, if your menu calls for a lot tall drinks which requires up to 3 ounces of sour mix, you'd be lucky to get 10 drinks out of that bottle! So to plan on mixing 40 tall drinks, you'd have to spend $18 on that one mix alone.
Typically, if your menu calls for that much mix, I will make it from scratch. Not only is this cheaper, but the freshness will greatly enhance the quality of a drink, (especially if you are using inexpensive liquor!). Depending on the cost of the fruits, I can generally mix up a gallon of fresh sour mix for about $5. That's a savings of at least $13, and enough for the same 40 drinks. I have recipes for other mixes and sweeteners, too. All are guaranteed to save you at least 50% from buying inferior, store-bought brands.
I don't have much of a bar, so how much equipment do I need to buy?
ZERO! I have all my own, professional equipment, and it comes with me! Pretty much, if you can provide me with two saw-horses and a piece of plywood, I can turn it into a fully functional, entertaining bar!
I want to serve frozen drinks (or Coffee Beverages) at my party.
What do I need to provide you in order to this?
Again, ZERO! If frozen drinks are on the menu, I bring my own blender.
Coffee service for such drinks as a Hot Tody or Irish Coffee are also taken care of by me. I don't use one of those 50-cup coffee makers that turn out campfire sludge. I bring freshly ground, 100% pure Colombian Coffee and my own drip coffee maker. So even if your guest wants a regular cup of coffee, you can count on them receiving a tasty beverage!
Why can't I tend my own bar or let my guests serve themselves?
You could if you wanted to spend 85% of your party time pouring drinks! However, most hosts or hostesses find out they need to put considerable time into pre-party preparation as well as food preparation during the event. When you are behind a bar, that leaves you very little time to attend to the other details or entertain your guests. Allowing your guests free access to your alcohol bar is always a bad idea. Over-pouring and waste increases your costs, you have no idea of how much alcohol is being consumed, or where that expensive bottle of imported Cointreau disappeared to! Worse yet, minors could be helping themselves leaving you open for liability.
I know I have to pay you. After I purchase the liquor, isn't this going to be expensive?
On the contrary! When buying liquor by themselves, most people tend to go overboard. They will overspend on liquors they don't need, over purchase some items, or overlook items they need but forgot to buy. Part of my Pre-Planning Service includes the development of a drink menu. A detailed checklist insures that only the liquor and extras needed for that menu are purchased. Normally, this could save you at least 35% in costs. So if I were able to cut your liquor bill down by say $75, it would make a considerable dent in the cost of having a professional bartender.
How can I keep costs down for a wedding of about 200 guests?
When planning a wedding or large event, liquor planning and control becomes even more critical. When planning for food, there is a "Cost per Plate" or "Cost per Person" type of charge. For example, if you are inviting 200 guests at $10 per plate, your food bill would run $2,000. The sad fact is, that left unplanned, your liquor bill could push the same $10 per person. The truth is in order to serve 200 guests, you would need 3 bartenders. However, to have 3 bartenders for a 5-hour reception would cost you $225. Compared to other things such as flowers, gowns, cake, tuxedos, etc, $225 for 3 professional, full-time employees is a bargain. By proper planning and correct liquor selections, we can cut costs down to about $6 per person saving you $800.00. Once you deduct the cost of the 3 bartenders, you'd come out $575 ahead, and never have to worry about what's happening at the bar.
What is so important about having a drink Menu?
Based on your theme and budget, I prepare a printed menu of all the different drinks being offered for that event. Copies of that menu are on the bar for your guests to choose from. This keeps you from having to spend a considerable amount more money to stock a full bar for every drink possible. For example, you won't want to spend $20 for a bottle of Godiva Chocolate Liquor in the off-chance that one of your guests might order a Chocolate Martini! However, if a Chocolate Martini is on your drink menu, the you can decide whether you want to spend $20 for Godiva Chocolate, or $6 for a bottle of Chocolate Creme' De Caco! Again, your menu is based on your budget, and simple knowledge of the different alcohols with the same taste will save you a considerable amount of money.
How am I supposed to get all this liquor? I don't know what to buy?
Some people are more comfortable purchasing their own liquor, and that's Okay! I would tell you exactly what liquor you need, and how much. On large events, this may not be so feasible. Knowing what you need and how much allows me to order it for you, and have it delivered prior to the start of your event.
Yea, but isn't there the expense of garnishes, ice, and stuff like that?
Yup! There are fruits, sodas, olives, cherries, straws, cocktail napkins, ice, mixers right down to the garnish picks. This is all stuff you'd end up shopping for anyway. The biggest difference here is that you don't have to worry about it. The purchase and preparation of all of this is handled by me. The best part is, I know where all the good deals are and can save you money here, too! If you were to do this on your own, you can count on spending about $1.46 for each guest. Normally, I can work this figure down to about $0.78 per guest. At a typical party of say 60 guests, this would save you $40, not to mention all the time you would save in shopping and preparation.
Those store bought mixes are so expensive! How can I save money here?
Expensive is right! And of course, they aren't the freshest choices, either! A typical 33 oz. bottle of store-bought Sweet and Sour Mix will run about $4.50. Now of course, if only 1 or 2 of the drinks on your menu call for a splash of sour mix, a bottle would probably suffice. However, if your menu calls for a lot tall drinks which requires up to 3 ounces of sour mix, you'd be lucky to get 10 drinks out of that bottle! So to plan on mixing 40 tall drinks, you'd have to spend $18 on that one mix alone.
Typically, if your menu calls for that much mix, I will make it from scratch. Not only is this cheaper, but the freshness will greatly enhance the quality of a drink, (especially if you are using inexpensive liquor!). Depending on the cost of the fruits, I can generally mix up a gallon of fresh sour mix for about $5. That's a savings of at least $13, and enough for the same 40 drinks. I have recipes for other mixes and sweeteners, too. All are guaranteed to save you at least 50% from buying inferior, store-bought brands.
I don't have much of a bar, so how much equipment do I need to buy?
ZERO! I have all my own, professional equipment, and it comes with me! Pretty much, if you can provide me with two saw-horses and a piece of plywood, I can turn it into a fully functional, entertaining bar!
I want to serve frozen drinks (or Coffee Beverages) at my party.
What do I need to provide you in order to this?
Again, ZERO! If frozen drinks are on the menu, I bring my own blender.
Coffee service for such drinks as a Hot Tody or Irish Coffee are also taken care of by me. I don't use one of those 50-cup coffee makers that turn out campfire sludge. I bring freshly ground, 100% pure Colombian Coffee and my own drip coffee maker. So even if your guest wants a regular cup of coffee, you can count on them receiving a tasty beverage!
