Must-haves for your home bar.
Apr 26, 2016, 9:49 am
#2
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ORD
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One bottle each of:
-good whiskey (bourbon or scotch or both)
-good vodka
-good gin
-good rum (one white, one brown)
-good tequila (anejo or reposado, unless you mainly intend to make margaritas)
-Campari or another amaro
-good dry vermouth
-good sweet vermouth
-cocktail shaker and strainer
-bar spoon
-Rose's lime juice
-good grenadine (not Rose's)
-Mixers
-ice cube tray to make actual cubes of ice, not the sad half moon crescents your freezer makes
-good whiskey (bourbon or scotch or both)
-good vodka
-good gin
-good rum (one white, one brown)
-good tequila (anejo or reposado, unless you mainly intend to make margaritas)
-Campari or another amaro
-good dry vermouth
-good sweet vermouth
-cocktail shaker and strainer
-bar spoon
-Rose's lime juice
-good grenadine (not Rose's)
-Mixers
-ice cube tray to make actual cubes of ice, not the sad half moon crescents your freezer makes
Apr 26, 2016, 11:12 am
#3
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,151
One bottle each of:
-good whiskey (bourbon or scotch or both)
-good vodka
-good gin
-good rum (one white, one brown)
-good tequila (anejo or reposado, unless you mainly intend to make margaritas)
-Campari or another amaro
-good dry vermouth
-good sweet vermouth
-cocktail shaker and strainer
-bar spoon
-Rose's lime juice
-good grenadine (not Rose's)
-Mixers
-ice cube tray to make actual cubes of ice, not the sad half moon crescents your freezer makes
-good whiskey (bourbon or scotch or both)
-good vodka
-good gin
-good rum (one white, one brown)
-good tequila (anejo or reposado, unless you mainly intend to make margaritas)
-Campari or another amaro
-good dry vermouth
-good sweet vermouth
-cocktail shaker and strainer
-bar spoon
-Rose's lime juice
-good grenadine (not Rose's)
-Mixers
-ice cube tray to make actual cubes of ice, not the sad half moon crescents your freezer makes
Though you may want to just start simply by working backwards from the cocktails you like to drink. I bought a bunch of bottles that a bar is "supposed" to have a while back, and many of them still sit unopened at the bottom of my bar cart. For example, the rum simply wouldn't get drank (drunk?) in our house, while my gin collection has steadily grown.
At my house, a few other musts:
- A couple of digestifs (e.g., Amaro Montenegro and something herbal like Unicum or Fernet)
- Some crowd-pleaser wines
- Maraschino cherries (don't skimp on these...Luxardo are $$, but worth it, and will last you for a long time)
Last edited by LM225; Apr 26, 2016 at 11:22 am
Apr 26, 2016, 11:22 am
#5
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Location: ORD
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Good point above on it depending what you like to drink. I was approaching it from the "let's have a general bar for a variety of occasions". ALso I mainly had cocktails in mind. Beer and wine are other discussions entirely...
Apr 26, 2016, 1:42 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 405
Peychaud's for Sazeracs, Angostura for Manhattans
Here's a good breakdown.
For vermouth, I typically just go with Martini for sweet, and Dolin for dry.
Here's a good breakdown.
For vermouth, I typically just go with Martini for sweet, and Dolin for dry.
Apr 26, 2016, 2:06 pm
#9
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ORD
Posts: 14,231
Peychaud's for Sazeracs, Angostura for Manhattans
Here's a good breakdown.
For vermouth, I typically just go with Martini for sweet, and Dolin for dry.
Here's a good breakdown.
For vermouth, I typically just go with Martini for sweet, and Dolin for dry.
You might also try Lillet Blanc as an alternative to standard sweet vermouth.
Apr 26, 2016, 4:32 pm
#11
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Apr 26, 2016, 4:35 pm
#12
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Apr 26, 2016, 7:31 pm
#13
Join Date: Nov 2009
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If absinthe is involved, a party is sure to break out!
Good point above on it depending what you like to drink. I was approaching it from the "let's have a general bar for a variety of occasions". ALso I mainly had cocktails in mind. Beer and wine are other discussions entirely...
Good point above on it depending what you like to drink. I was approaching it from the "let's have a general bar for a variety of occasions". ALso I mainly had cocktails in mind. Beer and wine are other discussions entirely...
Also, I'll add to OP that Remy VSOP is a bar must for Cognac. Not good enough that you can't mix it, but not bad enough that you wouldn't drink it straight.
Apr 26, 2016, 7:46 pm
#14
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Boulder
Programs: AA Plat, CX Silver
Posts: 2,361
* Rittenhouse Rye
* Gran Torres orange liqueur
* Talisker 10yr
* Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
* Dolin Dry Vermouth
* Angostura
* Regen's Orange Bitters
* Leopold's Gin
* Remy Martin VSOP
* Lillet Blanc
* Campari
And a good Shiraz for New York Sours.
I generally don't keep rum or vodka around.
edit: Forgot about tequila. Milagro Silver.
* Gran Torres orange liqueur
* Talisker 10yr
* Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
* Dolin Dry Vermouth
* Angostura
* Regen's Orange Bitters
* Leopold's Gin
* Remy Martin VSOP
* Lillet Blanc
* Campari
And a good Shiraz for New York Sours.
I generally don't keep rum or vodka around.
edit: Forgot about tequila. Milagro Silver.
Last edited by txflyer77; Apr 26, 2016 at 8:30 pm