Last night, I returned most of the unused alcohol we had bought to stock the bar for the Bat Mitzvah. We had originally spent just over $1,100 using the recommended list the caterer had given me.
We were able to return any unopened bottles of liquor or wine or unopened cases of beer. We kept 8 bottles of wine for ourselves. We also had to keep, I think, 3 12-packs of beer because we had written on the boxes. And, of course, we couldn't return any opened bottles, so we have quite a few of them at home now.
End result was I returned $554.00 worth of stuff which I was very happy about. That means we spent about $566 for alcohol including all the stuff we get to keep. Knock off the 8 bottles of wine, which really shouldn't count as a Bat Mitzvah expense, and the total was under $500. Had we gotten the liquor from the caterer instead of supplying it ourselves, the charge would have been $15/person. We had 106 people so we would have paid $1,590, meaning we saved over $1,000 doing it ourselves. Plus that way we wouldn't have gotten to keep the leftovers.
I think what really kept the liquor bill low was that I make my own homemade Lemoncello. A lot of our synagogue friends are familiar with it and many others became familiar with it that night. I brought about 4 liters of it to the affair and we used about 2.5 liters. That only cost me about $35 to make but a lot of people drank that instead of the other stuff.
The other money back came from the balloons. We had changed the original balloon order but I realized after the fact that when I picked them up on Saturday, they charged me for the original order, which was more. I went back with the receipt last night and explained the error and they credited me $54 for the overcharge.
So I got back a total of $608 dollars last night which was a nice little bit of change.
Over $600 back from Bat Mitzvah spending
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:53 pm 1223038394
October 3rd, 2008 at 03:47 pm 1223048871
Unless you have a younger, really heavy drinking crowd, I can't imagine you'd spend $800 for 45 people. That's nearly $18/person. Are you doing a full bar or just beer and wine? Top shelf stuff or more mundane options (Grey Goose or Smirnoff, for example)? As I said, we ended up spending about $500 for just over 100 people. We did, though, have a fair number of older guests and everyone had to drive home at the end of the evening so they really couldn't have all that much.
October 3rd, 2008 at 04:28 pm 1223051296
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October 3rd, 2008 at 09:43 pm 1223070213
Disneysteve's Lemoncello
Note: You could do the same thing with oranges, though I haven't tried that yet myself.
Part One
1 liter of grain alcohol (you can substitute vodka but if you do, use an ultrapremium brand, not the cheap stuff)
Zest of 18 lemons (a couple more if they're really small)
Combine the zest and alcohol in a glass or stainless steel bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. I put a rubberband around the rim to seal it.
Put in cool dry place like the basement. Give it a swish around every couple of days. Leave the mixture there for 2-4 weeks. I haven't really seen a difference in the outcome beyond 2 weeks.
Part Two (2 weeks later)
1 liter of water
4 cups of sugar
In a saucepan, make a simple syrup by combining the sugar and water and heat on medium high, stirring frequently, until the sugar is all dissolved and the mixture is clear. You do not need to boil it.
Remove from heat and cool completely.
Strain the zest out of the alcohol. I strain twice, first with a fine mesh strainer and then a second time through a paper coffee filter to get the fine sediment. If it isn't clear, run it through another coffee filter.
Combine the alcohol with the cooled sugar syrup. Stir well. Bottle. Keep in freezer and serve ice cold.
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:41 pm 1223073705
I tried lemoncello at someone's party recently and it was delicious. It would also make a nice hostess gift if presented in a small, attractive bottle. You could attach a card with the recipe, too.
October 4th, 2008 at 01:37 am 1223084243
I've given bottles of Lemoncello as holiday gifts a few times. There is a make-your-own beer and wine store nearby that sells a variety of nice bottles.
I'm not sure how Splenda reacts with alcohol. If you want to reduce calories, have a Diet Coke.
October 5th, 2008 at 12:54 am 1223168094
October 5th, 2008 at 02:20 am 1223173207
By the way, don't waste all those lemons after you zest them. Squeeze all the juice and make lemonade. 18 lemons will give you 3-4 cups of juice. I made a container of lemonade with 1 cup and portioned off 2 more cups and froze them. I'll use those to make lemonade when the first batch is finished.
October 8th, 2008 at 01:29 am 1223429351