Cocktails and Wine Party - Bloggers Night In

By Etspeaksfromhome

Whenever there is a party, there is always drinking involved!  I would like to thank all the companies who have kindly sponsored us for our bloggers night in weekend.  Without them, we wouldn't have had such an awesome gathering.Before our night in, I had read The Lazy Hostess for ideas of how to entertain and feed my guests without breaking the bank and barely lifting a finger!  Following one of the seven habits of highly stress free hostesses, I asked +Pippa Ainsworth  to be my cocktail bar girl!  She is in charge of serving my guests plenty of cocktails, wine and non alcohol drinks.In this book, the author Babe Scott has a list of useful items to have in the kitchen, quick and simple cocktail mixtures and finger foods.  She has also compiled retro-inspired soundtracks which can be found on her website.  The book is very easy to follow except I would prefer to have some photos in the book to help me to visualise the look of some of the items.I would also like to thank Party Pieces for supplying us with a range of Pirate theme items like cups, straws, plates, eye patches, chocolates etc.  We were all very impressed with the eye patch as there is a mini hole on it which allows us to see through it than having it completely covered up. Also, huge thanks to Vistaprint who printed our blog banners on the mugs for this special weekend!  Please read +Tami Anderson's post for her review.NON-ALCOHOLAs for some of my guests who don't drink alcohol, we had Shloer Celebration, Funkin cocktail pouches and Eisbery alcohol free wine for them to try!  The Shloer Celebration white bubbly has a crisp and full bodied flavor.  It is very bubbly and easy to drink.  It contains no preservatives, artificial colours, sweeteners or flavourings.  Next is the Funkin cocktail pouches which is a pre-mixture.  It means no more mess like trying to squeeze out lime or buying different varieties of ingredients.  Just add ice and your choice of alcohol!  It is that simple!  We added Eisbery alcohol free wine into it to make the cocktails for our non-alcohol drinkers!  Funkin range is available nationwide and it comes in a variety of package sizes: 1kg box, 750 ml and 1 liter. 
Eisbery Alcohol free wine is made in exactly the same way as any wine but with one difference.  The alcohol is gently removed by using one of the world's most advanced processes.  It comes in four varieties: Riesling, Chardonnay, Rosé and Cabernet Sauvignon.  I tried the Chardonnay which is very light with a crisp finish.  They are great choice for mummies-to-be.  ALCOHOLMyCocktail is another ready-mixed cocktails that can be enjoyed chilled or frozen.  They come in 300ml pouches with 6% alcohol.  Place them in the freezer for approximately three hours.  Once frozen, leave standing for at least 5 minutes or more.  You will feel it become quite slushy. Then cut open the top and pour into a glass and add a straw.  They are a perfect alternative to slushes if frozen.  I totally love them and I would recommend them.  The Lime MarGOrita is quite strong in taste, great tasting and very refreshing!Next I had a bottle of Gin & Pink.  Bottlegreen Pink Tonic is a crafted blend of pomegranate juice, elderflower and quinine to make a delicious flavoured Tonic.  It is quite light and this is more for ladies.  It smells sweet too!  It is definitely a drink that I will be looking forward to drinking if I have a night out.Last but not least, Midori is my top choice for an alcoholic drink for the night!  Midori melon liqueur is the perfect ingredient for creating classic cocktails with a twist.  We served it with ginger ale, lime and ice.  It is such a gorgeous drink that I wanted to drink it all!  Thanks to all the companies and bloggers to make this weekend come true!Disclosure: We have received the products to do an honest review for our bloggers night in.