Party at Home this NYE with Hulu’s Takeout Cocktails

The recent outbreak of Covid-19 in Beijing has given us second thoughts about encouraging everyone to party their brains out in crowded bars and clubs this New Year's Eve, easily one of the biggest party nights of the year in Beijing. Instead, it looks like many of us a party at home with a small group of friends or just your family (at least those of drinking age).

We've written about making your own cocktails at home this New Year's, but for those too lazy to put in the effort, why not order in?

You could simply get a few bottles of bubbly from Jenny Lou’s or Cheers or any other of many outlets that deliver, but for real mixers, we’d suggest one of Hulu’s fancy home delivery cocktail sets to make the evening a bit special.

Presumably you’re all familiar with Hulu – for those that aren’t, it’s the mid-range outlet created by the people behind the award-winning fine dining establishment TRB. They have locations in Sanlitun’s Taikooli; the Indigo Mall in Lido, and now in Laiguangying in northeastern Chaoyang district between Wangjing and Shunyi. The Sanlitun and the Laiguangying locations deliver via their own mini-program on WeChat (search “Hulu” in English and you’ll find them).

Hulu offers three types of cocktails for home delivery. The presentation (and the freebies you get with them) are the real kicker: Inside an insulated delivery box you’ll get everything you’ll need to feel like a pro bartender, sans the black bow tie.

Currently they offer Negronis, Sakuras, and Coladas, all of which are made fresh (you’ll find each bottle dated). They retail for RMB 90 each, which sounds steep until you see what you get packaged with every drink: the drink itself packaged in a sturdy glass flask; a miniature metal cocktail shaker; a Hulu-branded serving glass; and two large spherical ice cubes – all packed in a thermal container to keep things cool.

My favorite is the Negroni, a classic drink featuring Campari, Sweet Vermouth and Gin, which comes with a small rectangular slice of orange skin seared with a Hulu brand. This provides the finishing touch of aroma and light bitterness that makes for a truly impressive looking (and tasting) home cocktail.

For a perfect night, buy one set per guest, and each of you can take turns being bartender, then have useful souvenirs to take home to remember your evening.

For the lushes, once you own the glass and the shaker, you may not need to order another set, so you can buy the drinks only as separate refills. A set of three will set you back RMB 150, so that’s RMB 50 a drink – less than what you’d pay for a similar drink at a nice bar anyhow.

It's not a bottle of champagne, but it's a great drink to have on New Year's Eve. So why not stay home, order from a place like Hulu. Be safe, be sane and let’s say farewell to 2020 without increasing our chances of giving Covid-19 a roaring start into 2021.

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Images: Eloise Wester, Michael Wester