Every good game night seems to have that instant when the night somehow magically transitions from being cordial and pleasant to actually being entertaining.It is always at some point between when the snacks are placed on the table and when the cards begin to be shuffled. Someone makes a first drink, and everyone begins to pass those drinks around, and suddenly it feels like the night is in that comfortable place where it is all but inevitable that a little bit of competition is about to begin.
It is not surprising that drinks are a part of any night like this. Drinks help to break the ice and get everyone in a state of mind that is ready to go. Whether it is for something like poker night, game night, trivia night, or just a group of friends getting together and arguing about who has the better game plan for the night, the drink in front of you is what is going to determine the tone of the night.
Some people like to keep it simple with cold beers and wine that is cracked open in the kitchen and let everyone help themselves to whatever they like. For people who like to be more theatrical in their hosting skills, however, making cocktails is a great way to create a little ritual out of the beginning of the night.
From before the first hand is even dealt or the dice start rolling across the table, conversations tend to flow between game night strategies and weekend plans with at least one person eyeing the odds on live betting and another wondering if the drink of choice is going to give them good fortune for the night. A good night always begins with some good drinks, and hints of gambling.
The High Roller Spritz
The High Roller Spritz is the perfect beverage to open up the doors to game night and the atmosphere you are trying to build. It’s light, and encourages anyone who drinks it, to relax right into the evening.
Ingredients
- 60 ml Aperol
- 90 ml prosecco
- 30 ml soda water
- orange slice
- ice
How to make it
Simply fill up a wine glass with some ice, and pour some Aperol and prosecco into the glass as well. Soda water should then be added to the drink slowly, and it is then stirred. Finally, a slice of orange is placed in the drink to complete it.
The High Roller Spritz is a vibrant and social drink. It is bitter enough to counter the sweetness of prosecco so that it can be consumed even when people are still getting to know each other. It is a drink that lets people know that the night is officially beginning without getting too crazy too quickly.
The Midnight Poker Old Fashioned
As the evening progresses and the games become more serious, stronger drinks often appear. The Old Fashioned has long been associated with card tables and quiet concentration.
Ingredients
- 60 ml bourbon
- 1 sugar cube
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- orange peel
- ice
How to make it
For the second drink, place a sugar cube in a short tumbler, followed by the addition of bitters. Muddle this mixture gently until the sugar dissolves. Then, place a large ice cube in the tumbler, followed by bourbon. Stir the mixture slowly for twenty seconds. Finally, express the oils of an orange peel over the drink, then drop it in.
This drink has an instant effect on the mood of people. It is slow and contemplative, allowing people to get to the later stages of the game night, where they are studying the board more carefully.
The Lucky Clover Martini
For people who want to have something fun, there is always the option of creating a variation of the martini, which can bring the feeling of celebration to the night.
Ingredients
- 50 ml gin
- 25 ml elderflower liqueur
- 20 ml fresh lemon juice
- cucumber slice
- ice
How to make it
To prepare the drink, one has to put some ice in a cocktail shaker and then add the gin, elderflower, and lemon juice to the shaker. This mixture has to be shaken as hard as one can for 15-20 seconds, and then the mixture has to be strained and served with some slices of cucumbers on top.
The Lucky Clover Martini has an unexpected surprise in the drink. The elderflower and lemon are quite pleasing and work well as they are half-way through the evening and people are more relaxed about winning and losing.
Why Drinks Shape the Mood
What is interesting is that cocktails are able to create this rhythm and flow. The first cocktail is at the beginning of the evening. The second cocktail is half-way through as the games are beginning. And then there is this more elaborate cocktail as the evening stretches on.
This is quite interesting as it follows the rhythm and flow of the evening. At the beginning of the evening, everyone is still quite casual. Towards the end, it is louder and everyone is telling stories and making games more important than they really are.
Drinks provide gentle punctuation between those stages.
A Night to Remember
To be honest, most nights are not really remembered as being about winning or losing. Most people do not really remember who won the last round of games or which strategy was best.
What they do tend to remember are little things. The laughter at seeing someone make a terrible mistake. The conversation went completely off track and into another direction. The cocktail that everyone had to have again.
The cocktail glass that means the games have officially begun is part of this memory. It’s part of that memory because it’s the cocktail that signals the evening has officially become interesting.
And yet, long after all the cards have been put away and the table cleared, it’s the cocktail that everyone seems to be talking about.
