Signature cocktails are the life of the party

Wine and beer will do, Champagne is always acceptable, basic mixers will suffice. But there's no trendier way to spice up a party than with a special cocktail created specifically for the event, whether you're planning a last hoorah for summer or are looking forward to the celebration-heavy season ahead. Creating cocktails may sound intimidating, but no professional skills are required. A jumping-off point and knowledge of a few basic tenets are all that's required; creativity and experimentation will take things from there. Jane Tomich, an attorney with a penchant for party-throwing and a talent for creating interesting libations, typically begins with a theme. For her recent engagement party (Tomich is engaged to Mad Art Gallery owner Ron Buechele), she created two signature cocktails inspired by the party's Cuban theme. "I wanted to use rum," she explained. "I decided a spicy drink would be a fun idea to explore; I figured the drink needed to have sweetness to go with the heat, so pineapple juice seemed like a good place to start." After a couple weeks of experimenting, Tomich ended up with the Revolucion, a pineapple juice and pepper vodka concoction served in a red-sugar-rimmed glass. When a theme isn't available, Tomich uses an ingredient as her starting point. For a birthday party that prominently featured pomegranate in the menu, she created a drink starring the ruby-red fruit and named it after the guest of honor's childhood home. At an Italian-themed dinner party, she wanted to use blood oranges in the cocktails, so she tweaked an existing favorite, the Mimosa, to fit the evening, using blood orange juice and Prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine. Recently, she's been experimenting with fresh herbs, infusing simple syrups with herb flavors for use in cocktails at upcoming events at Mad Art Gallery. And those basic tenets Drinks shouldn't be too weak or too strong; "I stick to a 3-to-1 proportion, that's three parts nonalcoholic ingredients to one part alcohol," Tomich said. The best drinks are a balance of flavors; Tomich finds that most drinks need an acid or a tartness for balance. "I prefer fresh lime juice and use it in almost everything," she said. Finally, quality ingredients, from the alcohol to the mixers and garnishes, are key to success. "It's hard to make a bad drink when you're using really fresh juice," Tomich said.