Stocking Your Vegan Bar

The Topic: Bringing on the booze without breaking the bank with Editorial Assistant Rashida Harmon

The Dish: If the rising popularity of the Vegan Drinks movement is any indication, vegans are no strangers to the party scene—and what better time than St. Patrick’s Day weekend to bust out the brewskies, pump up the jams, and let loose, vegan style? Most seasoned bar-hoppers are well aware that one pint too many can lead to a state of drunken dementia, wherein any attempts at frugality crumble with each gulp. To protect your pocketbook while sustaining your buzz, here are my tips for stocking your home's vegan bar on the cheap.

1. Buy Bulk
If you can tolerate astounding levels of overstimulation, wholesale and overstock stores such as Costco, Smart & Final, and Grocery Outlet can be excellent sources of quality booze—often in massive quantities. Though inventory at each store varies by location, veg-friendly beer brands such as Blue Moon, Gordon Biersch, and Pyramid Brewery can be found by the truckload at some Costcos, while Grocery Outlet and Smart & Final have a vast selection of wine and spirits. Sniffing out confirmed vegan products may require a keen eye (and a refined palate), but with comprehensive guides such as Barnivore circulating the web, you’ll be sipping on a cruelty-free drink in no time.

2. Go Generic
Vegan-friendly favorite Trader Joe’s is a veritable bastion of boozy bargains if you steer clear of brand names. Its beloved Charles Shaw reds—known in many circles as "Two Buck Chuck" due to their $1.99 pricetags—have received the vegan seal of approval, as have many of its generic microbrews. The store's summery beers, such as the Mission St. Hefeweizen and Simpler Times Lager, are refreshingly cheap compared to corner-store counterparts. If you’ve got partying on the brain, load up your cart with the aptly named Frugal Joe’s Ordinary Beer, as low as $3.99 for a six pack.

3. Get Crafty
What’s a cocktail without a few fancy flourishes? Specialty drink mixes, infused liquors, and other alcoholic accoutrements can set you back a pretty penny, but with a little bit of creativity—and a healthy dose of patience—you can DIY your way into a bar display that’ll have your guests green with envy long after St. Patrick’s Day is over. Whip up your own simple syrup by dissolving two cups of your favorite granulated sweetener into one cup of boiling water, then add lemon and lime juice for a homemade sour mix that'll kick up your margarita an extra notch. Slightly more adventurous mixologists can try their hand at DIY bitters by steeping aromatic herbs and spices in grain alcohol for two weeks. You’ll save at least $10 and finally have an excuse to use up the extra stuff on hand in your pantry!

The Final Word: Whether you like your drinks shaken or stirred, or prefer a fine glass of Merlot, your days of doling out big bucks for booze are over. If your well-stocked vegan bar is slow going, or you’re finding yourself flush with cabin fever, you can always venture out to happy hour at a local vegan-friendly bar to get your drink on at a discount. No matter where you are, grab a buddy, keep some H20 handy, and leave your big bills at home!

Stress-Free Vegan Cocktail Party

The Topic: Hosting a vegan cocktail party on the cheap with VN Editorial Assistant Hilary Pollack

The Dish: Don’t let limited funds get in the way of your urge to throw a swanky soirée. Cocktail parties are a great way to bring your friends together, and offer the pleasantry of social lubrication without the liability of an apocalyptic house-destroying kegger. Better yet, they’re effortless to veganize and make pocketbook-friendly. The next time you have reason to celebrate—moving into a new apartment, getting a promotion, spaying your cat—why not let the good times roll with some vegan hor d’oeuvres and libations? Here are some low-cost ways to party like it’s 1999, 2011-style.

Potent Potluck
Since the dawn of time (or at least since 16^th century England), potlucks have provided a great way to project the appearance of a gracious host when in actuality you can sit back and let your guests do most of the work. Attendees are generally happy to throw together a dish or two as long as you provide a venue, some tunes, and at least some of the booze.

Thrifty Thirst-Quenchers

Barnivore is a great resource for finding out which beer, wine, and liquor is vegan-friendly. Keep it simple with one or two specialty cocktails so that you don’t have to buy tons of ingredients.

• Concoct easy, delicious homemade sangria and serve it in a giant crystal punch bowl (you can find them at thrift stores and they really dazzle). Sangria is super versatile and hard to mess up; you can use almost any variety of fruit and experiment with adding brandy, vodka, or white wine instead of red.
• Mint juleps are perennial crowd-pleasers, especially in the summer, and require only a few modest components. Offer rum as well as bourbon and you’ve got yourself—and your thirsty guests—a mojito option.
• Vegan White Russians are a stellar pick if you are perchance throwing a Big Lebowski party. Just don't get too riled up as the evening draws on—remember, aggression will not stand.

Apt Appetizers

You don’t need to slave over the stove for hours in order to produce tasty, satisfying bites.

• Bruschetta is refreshing yet filling, and you probably already have at least half of the six ingredients for this recipe waiting in your pantry. 
• Everyone loves butternut squash. This is a scientific phenomenon, like gravity. How about whipping up Butternut Squash-White Bean Croquettes that cook in only 15 minutes? 
• (Vegan) cream cheese roll-ups are kindergarten-simple, but look and taste surprisingly sophisticated. I include cilantro to add some herbaceous goodness.  Or, turn up the heat with Cream Cheese Wontons. 
• If you are truly, devastatingly broke or short on time, just go with store-bought guacamole, chips, hummus, and warm pita. These staples never disappoint. 

Here We Are Now, Entertain Us

Depending on the size of your party, you may want to indulge in some merry decorating and activities. Goodwill and Salvation Army are always overflowing with cheap crystal goblets if you want to create an air of prestige in your abode. If you have a working fireplace, throw an eco-friendly Duraflame log in for a romantic crackle. Music is also of great importance to achieve your desired ambiance. The Smiths’ Meat Is Murder or Moby’s Animal Rights are thematically appropriate options, or you can go with Andrew WK's Party Hard if you seek carnage. 

The Final Word: Being a killer host or hostess doesn’t have to come with a high price tag. An hour or two of prep time and a few simple drinks and snacks are all you need to set your roof on fire (figuratively). Skip the bar scene and bring the fun to your own domain, without emptying your funds or your fridge.

Photo via Copykat. 

Cheap Drinks: Turbo Shandy!

The Topic: Warm Evenings and Cool Drinks

The Dish: Ok, I'm already lying to you a little bit. Here in San Francisco, the evenings aren't exactly what I would call warm, especially considering how hot the Midwest gets in the middle months (I miss you, scorching summer!). But I like to think that if I act like it's hot outside, the weather will follow my wishful thinking. Regardless, the city does have its warm spells, and just knowing that it's nearing the end of May makes me want to sit on a patio and enjoy a drink with some friends and a boombox. Red wine doesn't do it for me in the summer, and cheap whites often tend to not be vegan-friendly. Beer is almost there with the satisfaction, but not quite. The solution? The Turbo Shandy.

My friend Lucy introduced me to this creation—a standby at her local watering hole outside of London, it apparently hadn't gained popularity stateside when she was visiting. She happily informed me that made of half beer and half Smirnoff Ice (stop laughing), the Turbo is a total hit. It might sound weird, gross, or like a blasphemous act towards your favorite beer, but trust me. If it's a cold, refreshing, summery drink you want, then throw together a Turbo Shandy and sit back. It's summertime!

Lucy's Turbo Shandy

For my favorite variation, I prefer classic Smirnoff Ice accompanied by the Champagne of Beers, Miller High Life. Big on Smirnoff's green apple flavor? PBR loyalist? Mix it up any way you like for a surprisingly delicious drink. Be careful with these babies—they go down easy and are more potent than they seem.

Serves 2

What You Need:

• 2 tall glasses, chilled
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle Smirnoff Ice, divided
• 1 (12-ounce) can Miller High Life, divided

What You Do:

Into each glass, pour half of the beer, careful to avoid the dreaded foam. Top off each glass with half of the Smirnoff Ice, and serve.

The Final Word: If springing for a 6-pack of each beverage seems too pricey, then go the budget-friendly route. When I'm low on cash, a 32-ounce of each sets me back around $5 (feel free to try a cheaper beer—the taste should be masked just fine), and automatically limits the total servings possible. Cheaper and more responsible? I'll drink to that.