Our October edition of Pop In & Sip Awhile was one of my favorites yet! We had a glorious fall evening, a wonderful turnout and a house full of friends who stayed well into the night. Moscow Mules were on the menu, with a little Halloween fun thrown in for good measure.
If you’re new around here, Pop In & Sip Awhile is our casual monthly cocktail open house. The idea is simple. We pick a Friday evening, choose a signature cocktail and invite friends and neighbors to stop by anytime between 6 and 10. Come for one drink or stay for four hours. There is absolutely no pressure either way!
December: Dixie Dill-ightful Pickle Martini
January: Cozy Cocoa Edition
February: Espresso Martini Night
March: Empress 75
May: Margarita
July: Hugo Spritz
August: Gin + Tonic
October: Moscow Mule
One of the things I love most about this tradition is how easy it makes getting together. Especially during busy high school football season, Friday nights can be difficult to coordinate. Some friends have games, others have plans and everyone seems to be running in different directions. This gives us a chance to see each other without asking anyone to commit to an entire evening.
And just as importantly, I’m not hosting a dinner party! The point isn’t to feed everyone or spend days preparing. It’s simply to open our home, try a fun cocktail and enjoy some time together.
For October, Moscow Mules felt like a perfect choice. There’s something about the combination of ginger beer and lime that seems particularly suited to fall, and I love that they’re so simple to make.
I set up our cocktail station on the porch with vodka, plenty of fresh limes, ginger beer and a few Halloween touches. My gold skeleton hand made an appearance in the bowl of limes, and I added a little spider dish, festive straws and a glowing candle. Nothing elaborate, but just enough to make the bar feel ready for October.
Rather than batching the drinks ahead of time, I made each Moscow Mule individually. I’ve found that our guests actually enjoy seeing how the featured cocktail comes together, and it’s fun to share the recipe as I make them. Plus, Moscow Mules are especially easy to prepare one at a time, which makes them ideal for this kind of gathering.
For anyone wanting to make one at home, the classic combination is vodka, fresh lime juice and ginger beer served over ice. It’s wonderfully refreshing, with a little kick from the ginger.
I kept the food just as simple with a cheese ball, crackers and nuts. That’s really all we needed, and it meant I could spend the evening visiting instead of worrying about what was happening in the kitchen.
We had planned a little outdoor scary movie for the evening and set up our projector in the courtyard, using the back of the house as our movie screen. It was such a fun setup, and we were all ready for a little Halloween entertainment. Well, the scary movie lasted approximately ten minutes before the men decided baseball was a much better idea. Haha! So much for our Halloween movie night!
But the evening itself couldn’t have been more perfect. We had a fire going on the porch and another in the firepit, and everyone eventually made their way outside to enjoy the beautiful October weather. We had a great turnout, the Moscow Mules were a hit and the conversation carried on late into the evening. Exactly the kind of night I had in mind when we started this little tradition.
I think that’s what I’ve come to appreciate most about Pop In & Sip Awhile. Entertaining doesn’t always need to involve a big menu, a perfectly set table or an entire evening on the calendar. Sometimes a simple cocktail, a few snacks and an open door are all it takes to get everyone together.
Cheers to another wonderful evening with friends!
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