Simple Mix & Match Garden Cocktail Party Bar

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Create a Mix & Match Garden Cocktail Party Bar that gives your guests plenty of choices and allows them to be creative mixologists!

Cocktail with garden stick and text overlay.

This bar idea is one of my favorite entertaining ideas yet and a great way to kick off a party!

We follow our basic cocktail mixing formula (only 3 ingredients and pours!) which also allows a guest, without bartending experience, to whip up drinks behind the bar!

This also works when creating a mocktail too. Have non-alcoholic spirits available to use instead of vodka or gin.

Why we Love a Mix & Match Bar

It encourages people to be social immediately, mixing drinks to kick off a fabulous party! Exciting, right?! With a little prepping, you’re on your way to the best garden cocktail bar ever!

Whimsical garden cocktail bar setting with tons of flowers, herbs, limes, lemons and spirits.

How to Create a Mix & Match Cocktail Bar

There are 3 main ingredients to creating the cocktails: A spirit, sweetener, and citrus juice.

  • A spirit
  • Sweetener
  • Citrus juice.
Fresh lemon juice, fresh lime juice and fresh juice in bottles.

Citrus Juice

Provide 3 to 4 options of different options of citrus juice. Think grapefruit, lime, lemon, or orange. Juice them fresh, pour them into pretty bottles, and add in some slices to garnish to let guests know what juice it is! Then refrigerate until ready.

Girl pouring juice into a cocktail jigger.

Simple Syrup

Simple syrup is what sweetens the cocktail. Make at least 3-4 varieties of simple syrup to give options. This is also where the garden part comes in since herbs make some of the best simple syrup flavors around.

Check out our Simple Syrup Guide to learn how to make the best simple syrups!

Use ingredients like lavender, rosemary, mint, sage, and cilantro. Furthermore, you can also make simple syrups using jalapeño peppers to give a spicy option or maybe a really potent ginger simple syrup.

There are SO many options, but make sure you have at least 3-4 choices available for guests.

Herb simple syrups infused

How do you make Simple Syrup?

Check out our Simple Syrup Guide to learn how to make the best simple syrups! Basically, the “simple” formula or simple syrup is equal parts water and organic cane sugar. Melt it and then add in the herbs to infuse for a few hours.

Quick tip! Leave the herbs in the simple syrup bottles to enhance the look and let people know what flavor each syrup is.

You can find the gold bottles here. I use them all the time. They’re great for citrus juice and simple syrups, and they’re only $5.99!

Grapefruit juice, lemon juice, lavender simple syrup, rosemary simple syrup and cocktail jigger.

Spirits

Clear spirits work best for this garden bar. Spirits like gin, vodka and Blanco tequila are great options. A clear spirit is one you can see through.

Pouring a spirit into a cocktail shaker.

Simple Garden Cocktail Recipe & Formula

Now for the fun part… creating your own cocktail creation! Tell your guests to choose citrus, then a simple syrup and a spirit. They will have the freedom to create their own flavors!

Garden cocktail bar ingredients

Basic Cocktail Formula

1 – ounce citrus

1 – ounce simple syrup

2 – ounces of spirit

Eden Passante shaking a cocktail shaker making a cocktail

Directions

  • Add all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
  • Shake for at least 30 seconds, which is an important part of diluting the ingredients,
  • Then, strain over ice and garnish.

You can download our Mix & Match Cocktail Guide here!

Garden cocktail ingredients, limes, garden sticks, spirits and flowers on an outdoor bar.

Supplies for a Mix & Match Garden Cocktail Bar

Cocktail shakers

Jigger

Ice

Clear bottles for syrups and citrus juice

Marble bowls for garnishes

Cocktail glasses

Club soda if anyone needs to add a dash

You could provide bitters as well if you want to really mix things up!

Cocktail Garden Bar with fresh herbs, flowers, cocktails and ingredients to make cocktails.

Flowers

To decorate the garden bar, add some beautiful flowers to the table! We used tin vases for the flowers to create a rustic, charming garden look.

Large garden flower arrangement in a tin vase on an outdoor bar.

Cocktail Garnishes

Making a cocktail aesthetically pretty is important too! Have garnishes available and fun garden sticks to add to each cocktail. Here are some ideas for cocktail garnishes:

Sliced citrus

Fresh herbs

Edible Flowers

Garden sticks – Buy the wooden garden markers on Amazon.

Wooden garden markers for cocktails.

Garden Cocktail Flavor Combinations

People absolutely love coming up with different flavor combinations!! And it creates a relaxed and fun environment.

Lavender and lemon cocktail in glass with lemon garnish.

Here are a few concoctions that we loved:

  • Lemon juice + sage simple syrup + vodka
  • Lime juice + rosemary simple syrup + tequila
  • Lemon juice + lavender simple syrup + gin
Pink cocktail with wooden stick and rosemary garnish.

More fun Spring and Summer Entertaining Ideas You’ll Love!

Host a Tropical Summer Party

The Perfect Pool Item

Make your Own Spritzer Bar for Brunch

How to Throw a Last-Minute Birthday Party

Host a Beautiful Outdoor Movie Night

A Summer Mojito Bar

Agua Fresca Bar and Recipes

Tall clear glass with cocktail and fresh mint.

We hope you’re inspired to make your Mix & Match Garden Cocktail party! Let us know what you think in the comments, and please share your photos with us on social @sugarandcharm!

You can also FOLLOW US on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST to see more delicious recipes, cocktails, desserts, and parties!

garden cocktail party

Simple Garden Cocktail Recipe

A quick and easy cocktail recipe for your summer garden party. This simple mixture of gin, citrus, simple syrup, and spirit that will impress your guests while keeping things light and refreshing.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Cocktail
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 207kcal
Author: Eden

Ingredients

  • 1 ounce citrus
  • 1 ounce simple syrup
  • 2 ounces spirit

Instructions

  • Add all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
  • Shake for at least 30 seconds, this is an important part of diluting the ingredients,
  • Then, strain over ice and garnish.

Nutrition

Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Sodium: 17mg | Potassium: 19mg | Sugar: 21g | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg
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26 thoughts on “Simple Mix & Match Garden Cocktail Party Bar”

  1. Hi, could you tell me how many people roughly one set — 3 bottles of each will cater for? I’m having 20-30 people over and wanna make sure everyone has enough.

    Also such a cool post — thank you for making our party so much more fun!

    Reply
    • Hi! A 750-ml bottle will make about 16 drinks. So if you have 3 bottles you’ll get about 48 drinks. I would say 2-3 drinks per person, so you’ll need at least 5 bottles.

      Reply
    • I would love to know if anyone has used champagne or even sparkling cider (non alcoholic) as the clear spirit? I can’t wait to recreate this. How beautiful.

      Reply
  2. Love everything about this. Thank you so much for sharing! This is random but I would love to know where you found your jigger if you remember!

    Reply
  3. I absolutely loved this article! Thank you for sharing. So excited to try the recipes and cannot wait to get those bottles! I searched high and low for something like it and you found them for $5.99! I’m curious to know too what brand of jigger you used in the photo above. My husband likes the style. Do you happen to know where I might find one?

    Reply
  4. Do you know anywhere that sells those bottles and ships to Australia? That store only ships to America!
    Any help would be very appreciated!

    Reply
  5. I love this! I actually have these jars and was planning to do some simple syrups and flavored oils. Question: was it hard to get the fruit and herbs out of the jar when done. That was all I was worried about because the opening isn’t very large. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
    • Hi Amy! It actually wasn’t too hard! I had left them in there for a while, so the fruit was pretty soft and come right out with a few shakes! It looks so pretty with them in there!

      Reply
  6. Loved every bit!
    Question: where did you find those lovely white(marble?) bowls? I am obsessed with acquiring some????

    Reply

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