At the Palms South Beach, diversity runs through every aspect of the hotel, from its employees, to its menus, even to the hotel guests themselves.

“It’s really exciting that so many culturally diverse clients choose the Palms for their special events,” says Shelagh Smith, director of catering. “It means we get to do some unique things with menus and even cocktails. For instance, we’ve customized signature drinks for weddings to represent the country or countries of the bride and groom.”

Cocktails like the Peruvian, Bolivian, and Chilean favorite, Pisco Sour, have been a popular choice for some multi-cultural weddings, says Smith. Traditionally made with Pisco regional brandy, lemon juice, egg whites, simple syrup, and bitters, this cocktail can be trayed and offered as a welcoming drink to guests entering wedding receptions.

“It’s effective to offer welcome drinks at a special event or wedding, both from a service and an operational standpoint,” explains Smith. “This way, the guests are happy because they have a drink in their hands right away, and there is no mad dash for the bar, resulting in long lines.”

At some events, like a recent Venezuelan wedding, hosts offer their signature drinks after dinner and cake-cutting, when most weddings are typically winding down.

“It’s part of their culture to keep the wedding going to the wee hours,” says Smith. “We prepared the drinks and set them out on the bar, and the atmosphere turned into a Carnivale-type scene, with special music, dancers, and singing—a wild party.”

Recently, for a Cuban couple, a selection of cognacs, brandies, and ports were rolled out as the late-night partying continued, and snacks like medianoches (marinated sliced pork on pressed Cuban bread) were brought out to sustain the guests.

Other international cocktails featured at special events include Caipirinha, which is made with lime, sugar, and Cachaça (a rum-like, distilled alcohol made from sugar cane juice)—a drink very popular in Brazil. Another favorite is Aguardiente (literally “fire water”), which is a liqueur served straight up in Colombia, Mexico, and Chile. Then there’s the Mojito, which is of Cuban origin, and since it’s served just about everywhere now, the Palms offers new flavor twists like mango, papaya, raspberry, and kiwi.

For events not especially influenced by custom or culture, the hotel offers signature cocktails that are proven crowd pleasers. The White Star Sangria (made with Chardonnay and diced pears, mangoes, and apples) and the Palms Breeze (a blend of rum, pineapple juice, and Midori melon liqueur) are offered as welcome drinks at receptions or even at large satellite check-ins. Specialty martini bars are still popular, and the Palms offers variations like the Lychee Martini (made with the Chinese lychee fruit); the Cucumber Martini (lemon, dry vermouth, and slices of cucumber), also known as a liquid salad; and a Spicy Martini, made “dirty” with a splash of zesty marinade, and using marinated okra, carrots, or green beans as swizzle sticks.

“Vodka can be a vehicle for just about anything, so we really like to be innovative when we have a request for a martini bar. We will, of course, do the standard apple martini if that’s what the client wants, but we offer them exciting options just to mix it up a bit.”