How to Keg Cocktails
Overview
Preparing a kegged cocktail follows all the same tenets of batching one. You just pour your ingredients into the keg (accounting for chilling and dilution), connect the gas, connect the tap, and let it rip.
While bar operators stand the most to gain from kegging cocktails in terms of margin, labor, speed, and efficiency, they are an excellent option for any entertainer looking to serve any group too large to satiate with a pitcher or punch bowl.
The Basics of Kegging Cocktails:
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Choose your keg
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Pour in ingredients into the keg
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Add gas and chill
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Serve!
Step 1 - Choose Your Keg
Most first encounter kegs as beer containers to be hooked up to taps in a bar or restaurant or circled around at a college party (at least that’s how it was in the early aughts). In those cases, the keg is being delivered fully fortified with beer inside.
These are not the same kegs used for cocktails. You'll need to use the same keg that a home brewer would use. These have a removable lid that allows you to pour in your beverage, and close it back up. Side note: It is not possible to purchase a keg pre-filled with spirits or cocktails in the United States. The largest allowable container for those items is 1.75 liter, which we all know as a “handles” of liquor).
The main question when choosing a keg is how large are the batches you’ll be making. While a kegged cocktail will stay fresh for awhile - depending on the style of the cocktail - you’re making, you generally want to go through it in a week or so. Kegs come in a variety of sizes but I see it breaking down into two basic camps.
Portable Keg - At Home Option, 1.5-2.5 Gallons
These are portable kegs that can be moved from surface to surface, like say, a table top - also a pool side, camp ground, beachfront, etc. They are around 1.5-2.5 gallons and great for gatherings of around 20-60 people.
Purchase:
There are multiple keg suppliers, I am a fan of this model from QuikTap. Super easy to use. You don’t have to hook it up to a separate CO2 keg, you simply screw in a little CO2 cylinder. There are 12 included in the purchase. You can also screw a tap right into it as well.
Corneilous Keg - Professional Option, 5 Gallons
This is for bar operator who are looking to allocate a full tap line to cocktails. It requires a little more setup and equipment to operate but it's straightforward enough. For this, you'll need a separate CO2 tank to connect to the keg. There's one tube that connect the gas tank to the keg and another tube where the cocktail flows out of into the tap. Here is a thorough guide on how to set it up.
Purchase:
Just the keg itself
This is the type of tank you'd hook up to your conrelious keg.
For large scale events when a portable keg isn't big enough and you don't have access to a tap line.
Jockey Box - Large Scale Event Option
This is what you need when a portable keg isn't big enough and you don't have access to a tap line. It works in conjuction with a cornelious keg.
Purchase:
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2.5 Gallon Keg - There are multiple keg suppliers, I am a fan of this model from QuikTap. Super easy to use. You don’t have to hook it up to a separate CO2 keg, you simply screw in a little CO2 cylinder. There are 12 included in the purchase. You can also screw a tap right into it as well.
If you plan ahead, manually adding water a batch of cocktails is the most reliable way to manage dilution without shaking or stirring. Add about 20% water to the volume of the entire batch, or ¾ oz per serving. So if you’re making a gallon of punch, you’ll want to add about three cups of water. It may taste a little too diluted at room temperature, but once it’s cold it’ll be right on the money. Besides, a little extra dilution at a party is never a bad idea.
To get the drinks cold, chill them in the refrigerator for a few hours, or even overnight. Or, if time is an issue, put them in the freezer for an hour or two, just make sure they don’t freeze, but even if they do don't worry, booze thaws quickly. You can expedite this by chilling the ingredients beforehand. Putting the spirits in the freezer the night before goes a long way.
If you're in a hurry to chill drinks down, you need to use some ice, which chills and dilutes all at once. But with a batch, you need to be aware of how much you're adding because it won't be strained it out as it would with a single-serve cocktail. Blindly dumping a bag of ice into a punch bowl could over-dilute your drinks - or under-dilute them if you're too conservative.
There are about 5 ounces of water in 1 cup of ice, but it isn't a one to one conversion from manual dilution because that ice won’t melt (dilute) all at once. I add a little water to get the dilution started, and then add let ice carry it the rest of the way while chilling as well.
To chill and dilute a batch quickly, add 15% water to the total batch - about ½ oz per serving - and one cup of ice for every 8 drinks. If the drinks will be served on the rocks you can cut back on the ice a bit - say, one cup ice for every 10 drinks - and let the ice in the glass do some of the work.
Next Level Batching:
Kegged Cocktails
Overview
If batching cocktails by hand won't get the job done, it's time for kegged cocktails. It may seem advanced compared to a shaker and barspoon, but it's just a new piece of equipment that takes a little acclimation. Overall, it is more straightforward than you think.
While bar operators stand the most to gain from kegging cocktails in terms of margin, labor, speed, and efficiency - they are an excellent option for the home entertainer looking to take their cocktail game to the next level as well.
How to Keg Cocktails -
Most first encounter kegs as beer containers for supplying taps in a bar or restaurant or circling at college parties (at least that’s how it was in the early aughts). In those cases, the keg is being delivered fully fortified with beer inside. You simply need to connect a tap to unleash the contents into your chilled pint glass or red solo cup.
Kegging a cocktail is different. It is not possible to purchase a keg pre-filled with spirits or cocktails in the United States (the largest allowable container for those items is 1.75 liter, which we all know as a “handles” of liquor).
To keg a cocktail, you’ll need to batch it in there yourself which requires a keg with a removable lid - the same that home brewers use.
