Whether it’s an intimate dinner, a large corporate gathering, a wedding, or a holiday party, beverages are a defining element of private events. Beyond simply quenching thirst, drinks carry the weight of setting the mood, sparking conversation, and leaving guests with a lasting impression.
Signature cocktails, curated wine lists, and even zero-proof options are no longer extras. They’re expected touchpoints that reflect the host’s personality or brand. And as expectations rise, operators are finding that the beverage program plays as central a role in the success of an event as the venue or décor itself.
For Julia Quinn, director of sales and marketing at Hotel Washington in Washington, D.C., there’s been a clear evolution around beverage service for events—not just at her property, but throughout the industry. Clients now expect drinks that feel personalized, experiential, and seamlessly integrated into the event itself.
“Across the board, I think the industry has changed over the last couple of years, in that nobody wants your standard wines and standard cocktails anymore,” she says. “Nowadays, people are definitely wanting to enhance the experience with a special cocktail.”
Hotel Washington offers a range of private event spaces, from The Speakeasy, a candlelit hideaway for 25 guests, to the VUE Rooftop with sweeping views of the Washington Monument, plus other venues fit for weddings, conferences, and corporate gatherings.
Weddings, Quinn notes, nearly always feature custom “His and Her” cocktails. “Most of the curated beverage requests we see are tied to weddings, with couples looking to create a special, personal moment,” she explains. “They often draw inspiration from meaningful details, like the place they met, where they’re from, a beloved pet’s name, or another element of their love story.”
These signature drinks can take many forms. Quinn points to a recent example: the “Foxhound Fashioned,” a riff on an Old Fashioned that was more about the playful name than the ingredients, and the “Tail Wagger,” a raspberry Moscow mule topped with mint. Corporate clients, meanwhile, often request cocktails tied to brand initiatives or company culture.
Delivering those experiences requires collaboration. Quinn highlights the involvement of four main groups: the events team, the beverage curator, the cocktail creator, and the execution/logistics team. The events team works closely with clients to capture the vision—whether that means themes, colors, or storytelling elements—and passes that framework to the beverage curator, who develops or adapts cocktails that fit. Once selections are approved, another team member handles batching and preparation for the event. Finally, the logistics team ensures the drinks are delivered in a way that complements the broader event design.
Quinn stresses that this process is a significant undertaking, with every detail tailored to the client. A drink’s success depends not only on flavor, but on presentation, setup, and ambiance.
“You can have a great cocktail, but if it doesn’t look pretty, or if the bar isn’t set up the right way, it doesn’t matter,” Quinn says. “You really have to have the logistics on-property and the setup and the ambiance and the music all match the cocktail. It has to be the full package, and everybody involved in the process needs to come together and create that experience.”
The operational side can look very different depending on the event. In the intimate speakeasy, where headcounts average 15–25, cocktails are crafted to order, allowing for a highly personalized and interactive experience. At larger events, batching is unavoidable to maintain speed and efficiency, but Quinn’s team ensures the finishing touches happen in front of guests to preserve a sense of customization. That balance, she says, allows them to offer specialty and seasonal cocktails at scale while still creating Instagram-worthy moments.
More than a thousand miles west, The National in downtown Oklahoma City—set within the historic First National Center skyscraper—offers multiple distinctive venues for private events as guest expectations continue to evolve. Stock & Bond, a modern interpretation of the classic steakhouse, pairs High Plains steaks with an American whiskey program. It features the intimate Whiskey Room for small gatherings, as well as The Park Avenue Room, which accommodates 25–50 guests. The Vault, located behind original bank vault doors, serves as a cocktail-driven space that can host up to 120 guests. Tellers Wood-Fired Italian Grill, located among the building’s original teller booths, showcases regional Italian cuisine alongside an extensive Italian wine list. Its private spaces include The Beacon, which accommodates 50 guests in an intimate, warm-lit setting, and The Mint, a sophisticated room with a historic ceiling, parquet flooring, and private bar, ideal for 70 guests at a reception or 40 for seated dinners.
For beverage director Zak Lindahl, the variety of spaces means tailoring drinks to the occasion is always the starting point. “It really comes down to the client,” he says. “We align our beverage offerings with the style and purpose and atmosphere of each space. The standards for the drinks and the hospitality and all of that stays the same, but the selections, the pairings, the presentations—all of that is tailored to match the specific guest needs and requests as well as the event and the setting.”
That customization can look different depending on the event. For one baby “sprinkle,” the team created a bloody mary and mimosa bar. At Tellers or Stock & Bond, more formal pairings with Italian wines or rare bourbons are common. In The Vault, cocktails always take center stage.
Amanda Clark, director of sales and catering at The National, says social gatherings in particular are driving demand for uniqueness. “It has really shifted from that mindset of, ‘I saw this on social media, and I want to copy what they did,’ to really trying to find what is unique to the couple,” she says. “It’s really moving to truly customize the drinks.”
That can include playful challenges. Clark recalls one wedding where the bride and groom had attended rival colleges. “They wanted their signature cocktails to represent colors from each school,” she says. “From a sales side, it’s always fun when I get to go to the beverage team and say, ‘OK, I need one bright red cocktail and one bright blue cocktail.’”
For Lindahl, those opportunities are highlights. “We love it when guests give us the chance to create those signature drinks for them with themes like that,” he says. “Sometimes they even bring us recipes that have become staples in their home, and they give us the opportunity to recreate them for a larger group than they’re able to host themselves. That’s always really fun to me.”
Beverage execution for private dining relies on precise coordination behind the scenes, Clark says, noting that the process always begins by clarifying the client’s priorities and budget. “Do they just want something fun that they’re proud of, or are they willing to spend a little bit extra to create that more elevated experience with the guest engagement?” she says. From there, the sales team collaborates with Lindahl and his bartenders to plan everything from pacing to staging.
Forecasting is often the biggest hurdle. “Different spaces have different storage and staging opportunities and limitations, so aligning that and synchronizing that with the beverage pacing of the event and the event flow—I think that is probably the most common challenge from an execution standpoint,” Lindahl says. “Simply pouring a drink, whether it’s table-side wine service or an open bar, is really important for setting the feeling and the pace of the service.”
Clark agrees, noting that the beverage program can’t be treated as an afterthought. “The main thing that we keep at the forefront is figuring out what they want to walk away with at the end of the event or the end of the night,” she says. “It takes more time and energy on the planning side than just having one set option. It’s about getting out of that very transactional mindset and into a very personable mindset.”
