If a full bar is too much for you to keep up with, or to afford- no worry. I think having a signature cocktail for your home or your event is fun. Offering one drink that you can have on hand is simple, easy on your organizing time, and a bit chic. I usually like to have beer and a wine on hand, as an option for those that prefer something more standard.

For my home, a vodka tonic with a splash of orange juice is the 'house drink.'. It's simple to have the three ingredients on hand, ready to mix, and serve; vodka, tonic, and OJ.

When planning for a party, my general rule of thumb for BPP (beverages per person) is this; 2 drinks, per person, per hour. For a larger party, you can use a simple formula; 10 people will consume 20 drinks at the average cocktail party. (Given the cocktail hour is just an hour.) So that would be 40 drinks if it's a full evening affair, usually including dinner. This is based on a typical 1.5 oz. shot of hard liquor. Keeping your pours at 1.5 is the secret, of course.

Don't worry if you aren't the mixologist master or mistress. There are plenty of great bar guides that are simple. My favorites are: The Bartender's Black Book, Mr. Boston's Guide. There are myriad options on line, but this is my fave: drinksmixer.com

So how many drinks can you get out of a bottle?

Liqueurs:

• A 750 ml. Bottle will yield about 16 cocktails.
• A liter bottle will yield 22.
• A 1.5 liter bottle will yield 39.

Wine: 5 bottles (750 ml) for 10 people. You should get roughly 5 meager servings per bottle. With more generous sized wine glasses you get about 4 friendly servings.

Beer: 5 six-packs for ten people. Allowing most to have three drinks each.

Jeffrey's Liqueur Shopping List:

• Vodka
• Rum
• Gin
• Scotch
• Bourbon
• Blended Whiskey
• Tequila

Jeffrey's Big Budget Extras:

• Kahlua or Bailey's
• Creme de Menthe
• Creme de Cacao
• Amaretto
• Brandy and/or Cognac
• Grand Marnier
• Triple Sec
• Drambuie®
• B&B®

Mixers, Garnishes, and Goodies

You will need some helpful ingredients to mix up some great concoctions.

Juices: Orange juice, grapefruit juice, cranberry juice, tomato juice or V8, pineapple, lemon or lime juice, pomegranate juice. For fresh squeezed juices, you can estimate that the average lemon or lime will yield about an ounce of juice; an orange will yield about 1 1/2 to 3 oz. of juice..

Sodas: Club soda, tonic water, cola, 7-Up or Sprite, ginger ale. Always have these available for the non-drinkers and younger guests.

Flavoring ingredients : These aren't used as often anymore, but can add a lot of cache to your repertoire. Angostura bitters for drinks like Old Fashioneds, salt, pepper or horseradish for drinks like Bloody Marys, grenadine, simple syrup, cream of coconut, etc.

Dry vermouth: If you plan on making martinis. Sweet vermouth is used for drinks like Manhattans. Make sure you get your vermouths correct, or you'll create an undrinkable mess.

Salt and Colored Sugar : Great for rimming margaritas and martinis.

Diary: : Milk, half and half, cream, whipped cream.

Coffee: For the coffee based cocktail and drinks for the drivers!

Garnishes : Limes, lemons, peels and wedges, cherries, olives, cocktail onions or celery stalks.

Ice: A lot is never enough

Glasses: Clean glasses! Run all you have in your pantry thru the dishwasher. A foggy, dusty glass is not very tasty! Be prepared for folks to want a new glass per drink, or loose their drink during your party.

The most important ingredient in your bar is you. Be gracious, be relaxed, and enjoy the party yourself!