The Story Behind The DIY Spiked Lemonade Bar

There’s nothing like summer entertaining – the warm weather, the good cheer, and of course, creating the perfect signature cocktail for your guests. While my friends love being handed one of my custom libations, sometimes it’s fun to let your guests prepare their own drinks– with a little help from their fabulous host: you! Last weekend the weather in Seattle was beautiful, so I decided to host a summer party in my backyard featuring a self-service DIY Spiked Lemonade Bar.

For a successful DIY party, it’s important to prepare as much as you can ahead of time. This way, you can spend more time with your friends than behind the bar. I decided to create the DIY Spiked Lemonade Bar by setting out three different types of pre-made lemonade: classic, mango, and pink. Then, I laid out a berry and herb buffet, which featured thyme, mint, strawberries, and raspberries. This way, guests were able to customize their own special spiked lemonade, but the choices weren’t overwhelming. As for the spirit of choice, I decided to use vodka, but you can set out rum or bourbon if you want to give your guests a few options. I set the glorious spread up on a fun tray with colorful paper straws and mason jars, both of which are super cute and also cheap. I also included shot glasses to allow guests to measure out their alcohol.

Ingredients

1 bottle vodka
1 bottle each: classic, mango, and pink lemonade
strawberries
raspberries
package each, mint, thyme
1-2 bags ice
mason jars
shot glasses
paper straws

Directions

Each of your guests should fill a mason jar with whatever is to their liking, using shot glasses to measure out how much booze they want to add.
Feel free to also give your guests muddling sticks, and get creative with the fruits and spices you want to include!