Perhaps classic Vegas is more your style. If so, you can create a swank piano bar look with leather- or velvet-covered barstools, upholstered chaise sofas and padded ottomans. A sleek black baby grand—your own or rented—makes a perfect focal point, notes Fish, and let a hired musician or talented guest serenade the crowd with tunes from the past. At the bar, serve the bellwether: “a very dry martini in a chilled crystal glass with a green olive or onion.”

Mastering the look of the “luxe-lounge” martini party is a matter of starting off right. Does your home have a room that is rich in wood flooring and paneling? “Perfect,” Fish says. “Combine accent pieces in copper, bronze or brushed chrome with the glow of candlelight filtered through clear, simple-lined hurricane vases.” Surprise guests with “martini vials immersed in their own mini crushed-ice vessels accompanied by small crystal pitchers, each filled with an additional martini ‘shot.’” Or go for upscale martini goblets with metallic finishes. Whatever glassware you choose, “chocolate, vanilla or coffee martinis, or dry and ‘dirty’ martinis, are urban, thoroughly metropolitan and completely irresistible,” Fish says.

While elaborate themed martini parties are the rage, home hosts and hostesses don’t have to go all-out to create a memorable martini affair. Fish, an avid martini glass collector whose personal cache includes close to 250 designs, notes that a mix-and-match assortment of unique glasses can set a party’s style. “Guests love selecting their special glass, and then enjoy chatting about their goblet and favorite flavored martini,” she says.