If you have a fridge in your home bar, you should keep beer , wine , and maybe champagne or sparkling wine in it. Two kinds of beer preferably two very different kinds , a bottle of red and a bottle of white, and one or two bottles of sparkling wine are more than sufficient. This is an often overlooked step when it comes to having a fully stocked home bar. First and foremost, make sure you have a bottle opener for beer. For most, if not all, cocktail recipes, you will need a shaker and a strainer.
It makes the drink taste better every single time you use it. It also makes pouring the drinks much easier and way less messy. You will also need specific types of drinkware to have in your bar. Just to have on hand, four to six of each type of glass is good. For larger parties, you may want to get more plastic versions of these glasses.
For standard wines, you will need slimmer glasses for white and glasses with a wider bowl for red. When it comes to sparkling wines and champagne, you will need flutes or traditional champagne glasses, which have a more vintage feel. You will need martini glasses for gin or vodka martinis and similar cocktails such as Cosmopolitans. Lastly, for most other cocktails, tumblers or highball glasses will work well. Having a few cocktail recipes up your sleeve is both impressive and shows good hosting etiquette.
Your guests are guaranteed to be impressed. You can make or buy simple syrup , which is a blend of sugar and water that mixes into drinks easily.
It's used to add sweetness to a number of mixed drinks. It will keep for up to six months. If you like an old-fashioned, then you'll need sugar cubes. Fortunately, they are easy to find and they'll store for months. Carbonated club soda is an essential mixer in a number of drinks, as well, such as a Tom Collins or a vodka-soda. It's inexpensive, and it does lose its bubbles within a few days.
You may want to keep an array of flavored sodas, as well. At the least, cola and lemon-lime sodas are popular mixers, as is ginger ale. For a classic mule, instead opt for ginger beer. You can also keep an array of mixers on hand if you wish, such as collins mix, margarita mix, sour mix, and Bloody Mary mix, or you can make your own mixers with fresh fruits and juices when cocktail time arrives. Since these tend to not keep for long especially fresh juices , purchase them once you've got your cocktail menu planned for a party.
You should also stock some garnishes although it's better to keep them in the kitchen than in the bar if your bar lacks a refrigerator. In general, grab perishable garnishes the day of the party. Others you can keep on the shelf, although once opened, you'll need to use them quickly or toss them after they expire. You don't have to spend a lot of money on barware. A few key pieces used only for mixing drinks should do the trick:. A well-stocked bar makes entertaining fun and easy.
So grab your favorite booze, mixers, and cocktail app and plan your next party. Essential Distilled Spirits Distilled spirits are the essential inhabitants of the liquor cabinet. White Rum Rum is the key ingredient in mojitos and daiquiris , as well as classic cocktails such as a Cuba Libre. It has a good, clean, neutral rum flavor. It's a great neutral-flavored rum for blending. It's a full-bodied, lightly sweet, delicious rum. Tequila You can't make a margarita without tequila.
Middle shelf: Sauza Hornitos Plata blends beautifully with great flavors. Top shelf: Milagro Tequila Silver Select Barrel is a fresh tasting, slightly spicy tequila perfect for sipping, shots, or even mixed drinks. Vodka Vodka is the go-to hard liquor because a good one is odorless and flavorless. Middle shelf: Belvedere Vodka not only comes in a cool looking bottle, but it's a clean, delicious Polish vodka perfect for blending or sipping.
Sip it or mix it. Whiskey You'll want a relatively neutral, clean whiskey for mixed drinks , or whiskey afficionados can enjoy the various forms of sipping whiskey including Scotch and bourbon.
Recommended bourbon for mixed drinks: Buffalo Trace Straight Bourbon is good neat or on the rocks, and it's fantastic in cocktails as well. Expect hints of brown sugar and spice. Gin Gin is essentially vodka with aromatics added during distillation. Budget: Seagram's Extra-Dry Gin is a classic, affordable gin that's available at most liquor stores. Middle shelf: Beefeater 24 adds some interesting botanicals like green tea to spice up this smooth and aromatic gin.
And don't forget: liquor isn't the only thing your bar needs. Check out our list of bar and restaurant cleaning supplies , too. If people are hanging out with you, chances are they like you. You should lean into what makes you special, and make your home bar a reflection of you. Only then will your home bar be yours. A good bar has both kinds of rum: a light and a dark. A light rum, also called a silver or white rum, has almost no color and a very slight flavor. Drinks like mojitos and daiquiris.
Those are some of the most popular cocktails around. The second rum should be dark i. These rums are more suited to sipping straight because of the more complex flavor profiles. Whiskey is probably the most complicated decision for your home bar inventory. If you like Scotch or Irish whiskey, then stock it. But the most bang for your buck will be keeping a bourbon around, and potentially supplementing it with a rye whiskey.
Both bourbons and ryes excel at drinking neat or using in cocktails. After all, there's no need to stock something you are not going to use. Think about what you like to drink and make your bar fit your individual style, taste, and budget. You can always add more as you discover new cocktail recipes or find a new distilled spirit to try.
The foundation for the majority of cocktails, a well-rounded bar should include at least one bottle of each of the six base liquors. Stocking a good selection of these will ensure you can mix up almost any cocktail on a whim. If you feel like a whiskey cocktail tonight, you'll be ready.
When brandy, gin, rum, tequila, or vodka sound good, you're also prepared to grab the shaker and mix up a drink. Vodka has a clean, transparent flavor, and it is used for more cocktails than any other distilled spirit. Some people like vodka more than others, so stock according to your preference. Not everyone is a fan of gin. However, it is nice to have at least one bottle in every bar. Tequila is key to margaritas, though there are other fascinating tequila cocktails to explore.
Generally, you'll want to stock at least one nice tequila. A well-stocked bar has at least two bottles of rum. You can spend as little or as much as you like, though rum tends to be one of the more affordable liquors. Things get complicated when it comes to stocking whiskey because each style has its own characteristics and uses. This category is definitely going to be adapted to your personal style. In general, two bottles are good to start, and you can always add more.
Ideally, a bar should have one bottle of each style. A bottle of brandy rounds off a well-stocked bar, but it's not necessarily essential. Some people simply will not drink or mix with it, but if you want to explore classic cocktails , you'll find brandy very useful.
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