Jeff Ruth, MONIN Beverage Innovation Director - USA explains how to think big without loosing the drink taste and quality :
For the most part, drink recipes are best enjoyed made to order. However, sometimes complexity, skill level, volume, and location can make per drink execution difficult or downright impossible to achieve, and will inevitably lead to the realization that a batch application is needed.
One would think that you could simply multiply the amount of ingredients in the per drink recipe respectively to achieve a desired volume and voila you have your batch, and in most cases you would be correct, but not all. Depending on length of storage, batch recipes can sometimes change in flavor due to marinating.
I have noticed that this can actually be helpful in some drinks, such as Sangrias, but can also have adverse effects as the flavors meld together into one thereby decreasing the punch of flavor that you might be trying to present.
Additionally, flavoring agents such as bitters can require less volume in a batch than they do in a single serve drink as they continue to act on the balance of ingredients in the batch as it rests over time. Also, fresh citrus such as lemon and lime juice which are often used in conjunction with syrups to offset sweetness can loose their sharpness over time in a batch recipe.
When the decision to batch a recipe is made, examine the composition of the drink and try to determine if the ingredients are hearty enough to stand the test of time, or if they might become to bold if they are left to increase in flavor. If you think they are, then adjust the volume up or down respectively in your batch and give it a test run before your presentation. Also, remember that just because you batched the drink, doesn’t mean you can just pour it in a cup and serve. You have merely just simplified a few steps of the recipe.
Take another look at the per drink recipe, take into account total volume of the ingredients you batched and continue making the per drink recipe with that volume from the batch and per the instructions in the recipe.
One final note. Shelf life for a batch recipe can be determined by using the shelf life of the most delicate ingredient in the batch, and by your own testing for consistent flavor over time.
