In truth, any cocktail you create will be á propos -- the majority of today's cocktails were created in the 1920s to mask the strength and bad taste of bathtub liquors and moonshines. Champagne cocktails were also a big hit.
Here are some classics to get you started:
• Bourbon Sidecar
• Classic Dry Martini
• Classic Manhattan
• Champagne Cocktail
Invitations
Use Art Deco style black and white invitations to your classy Speakeasy. Be sure to clarify whether you wish your guests to dress up as flappers and gangsters or not.
Activities
Your guests will naturally want to know about the music you're playing. Do a little research and ask a few jazz trivia questions. Your guests will gain a better appreciation of your musical selection plus any music aficionados will get the conversation ball rolling. Award the winner a bottle of premium gin or his or her own Jazz CD.
For a more adventurous group, learn to dance the Charleston together! Download this printable PDF of the Charleston dance steps:
Learn to do the Charleston
You could also turn this into a contest and award a prize to the winner. There's also the Foxtrot, Turkey Trot, Jive, Lindy Hop and Black Bottom.
Another crowd favourite is the costume contest: best Flapper and best Gangster.
For the kids
Little flappers and gangsters would love to learn any of these wacky dance steps of their great-grandparents' era. You could also keep them busy with Art Deco art projects or a modern, kid-friendly movie set in the 1920s. They also might enjoy learning 1920s slang. Click here for a downloadable PDF.
Favours
Either hire someone or enlist a family member to take black and white or sepia-toned Polaroid pics and hand them to guests at the end of the night with silver frames. You could also burn copies of your Jazz music selections for each guest.
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Read more:
• Company Pleasures: An early fall menu for 8
• Asian Express Menu: A make-ahead meal for 6
• Hallow-tinis: Cocktails and ideas for an adult Halloween party
