Dinner With NIO CocktailsUpdated 3 years ago
Looking to host a dinner party with your NIOs? Our Best-seller Cocktail Box is the perfect box to enjoy over dinner with 6 unbeatable favourites to enjoy the perfect introduction to Italian cocktail culture - or simply stock up your bar.
We've also listed some tips & suggestions for your dinner table that you might find useful.
Learn the imperative do’s and don’ts for cuisine, food types and drinks using data gathered after surveying 2000 people looking at the British public's attitudes towards dinner parties.
What Food to Serve?
With British cuisine earning itself the top spot, we learned that roast dinners (5.45%) win as the nation’s favourite food to be served at a dinner party. This was followed closely by steak (5.3%) as well as pizza (5.05%) and pasta (3.75%) as the next top picks. Beef dishes including wagyu, fillet, and wellington (2.6%) were also popular among respondents.
Vegetarianism and Veganism are definitely on the rise, and our survey agreed so! 9.15% of respondents said they wouldn’t want meat-based products of any sort. Respondents also rejected typically spicy foods such as curry and Indian cuisine (4.95%), with 2.15% not wanting anything spicy! Before deciding on what food to serve, we'd recommend getting an idea of your guests' likes and dislikes and asking about any allergies or dietary requirements.
Expert Tips on Cocktail & Food Pairing
Patrick Pistolesi suggests pairing cocktails with food to enhance the flavours of your dishes and truly wow your guests. "My top tip for cocktail pairing is to contrast and compliment flavours. The drinks must fit with the food without matching the flavours too closely. You want to invigorate the senses and extend the food’s flavour profile, not replicate the flavours of your dish.”
Based on the UK’s favourite dishes, here are Patrick’s recommended cocktail pairings:
Roast dinner - "With rich gravies and tender slow-cooked meat, Mai Tai’s tend to beautifully pair and complement these flavours — rum pairs well with roasted lamb and beef, as well as slow-cooked stews. A rum Mai Tai, combining dark rum, zesty citrus and Cointreau, is a popular cocktail and one of the most well-balanced drinks around. The refreshing citrus will cut through the intense meaty flavours and surprise guests with new flavours that they perhaps haven’t tried before."
Steak - "One thing that’s not hard to argue is that whiskey pairs wonderfully with red meat and pork. The spicey, aromatic and warm flavours of a good Bourbon cocktail, such as a Manhattan, will both elevate and balance the flavours of a rich, succulent steak dish."
Pizza - "With heavier food like pizza, it’s best to try and pair it with a lighter drink. If the pizza is spicier, consider shaking a light, refreshing cocktail like a Vodka Sour to level out the heat. Vodka is very neutral in flavour, so it’s a good base spirit to start with if you’re unsure how to compliment the food. You can also pair similar tastes in the dish to the drink by adding a herb garnish, such as basil, for a punchy kick of flavour."
Pasta - "As an Irish-Italian, I unsurprisingly enjoy pairing Italian dishes with Italian drinks. For a taste of la Bella vita, why not try mixing a classic Italian aperitivo (pre-meal drink) like a rich Negroni. With the bitterness of the Campari and the botanical rich flavours from the Vermouth and bitters, it needs strongly-flavoured pasta dishes, like Pasta alla Carbonara or Lasagne alla Bolognese.
Another excellent digestif (after dinner drink) to cleanse the palate after a meal is a classic Espresso Martini. An exquisite cocktail that marries silky vodka with espresso liqueur is a sumptuous choice for the discerning cocktail drinker. Don’t be afraid to experiment with new flavours - your guests may love it!"
Enhance your cocktail box with NIO Cocktails Tumblers and an XL Ice Mould.