Home Bar Starter Advice Wanted

[JohnnyLaw]

Originally Posted by hi-val

You'll want Campari for Negronis.

I love Campari. I think it's an acquired taste though.

It all really depends on what you like to drink, but as long as you have whiskey for the men and vodka for the women, no one should complain.

 

[Brian278]

I'm only going to weigh in on the rum: Mount Gay is way better than Bacardi as a budget rum. For the $30 price point, which is the sweet spot for rum, you want Zaya.

 

[Huntsman]

You have the right idea, AC -- a 'decent' and an 'excellent' example of the primary spirits is a great way to start. My recommendations are from the perspective of one who prefers the classic cocktails, as well as superb spirits alone and for their own sake. The cheap follows precedes the premium. Vodka: Smirnoff's Red Label Chopin Gin: Plymouth Martin Miller (or Junipero) Brandy: Christian Brothers Courvoisier VSOP Rum: Cruzan or Gosling's Ron Zacapa 23 Bourbon: Evan Williams or Wild Turkey Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace, or Bulleit, or Basil Hayden's Scotch: Johnny Walker Black Cragganmore 12 (though Macallan 12 is more ubiquitous) Tequila: -- I have very limited tequila knowledge, and though I could make sugestions, I'll leave it to another. Those are the major spirits. Other spirits you ought to have at some point, at least one of each of the two options I present: American Rye: Wild Turkey Rye (surprisingly good for $18) Sazerac 18 ($70) Canadian rye (smoother, sweeter, and less violent than the American) Canadian Club Crown Royal Irish whisky: Jameson's Jameson's 12 Cognac: Pierre Ferrand Ambre (decent, around $60) Pierre Ferrand Ancestrale or Tesseron Lot 90 (Over $100) Secondary mixers that are pretty much required:

• Cointreau -- needed for many classic cocktails, including the Sidecar

• Sweet and Dry Vermouth -- I use Vya. The worst thing anyone has said about it is that it is hard to find.
• Campari -- if you, say, prefer dark chocolate to milk, the many campari cocktails will be to your liking

Other spirits and liquors to add later on:

• Kahlua
• Luxard Maraschino (for very old-school cocktails)
• Pernod
• Grand Marnier
• Benedictine
• Amaretto

Again, this is skewed towards the classic -- no flavored vodkas here. ~ Huntsman

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by Huntsman

Irish whisky:
Jameson's
Jameson's 12

Isn't the "basic" Jameson's aged twelve year? Did you mean Jameson's and Jameson's 18?

 

[Tarmac]

Originally Posted by spertia

That is interesting, I did not realize that anyone made packaged simple syrup. It's obviously easy to make from scratch at home, but I have found that it does not keep in the fridge for very long before going bad.

It really goes bad? What does it turn into?

 

[JohnnyLaw]

Originally Posted by Huntsman

...

I would be more than happy to have a "modest" home bar like this. I vaguely remember seeing some pictures of your personal selection and it was pretty epic.

Having Calvados on hand is great for a trou normand if you have friends over for dinner.

 

[scarphe]

rum
high level
zacapa 30
mid level
flor de caña 18
cheap
ocumare

you should probably have one of the the first two and the ocumare as stock only because it only costs a tad more than barcardi

tequila

high level
jose cuervo reserva de la familia
mid level
don julio reposado
cheap
cazadores reposado

mezcal
sorry unless you are willing to travel i cannot reccomend any.

 

[otc]

I figure I will weigh in here:
For a starter, we are going to leave out the fancy stuff...acquire that as you see fit (and a lot of things meant to be taken straight probably aren't the kind of bar you are looking for--getting set up to make a variety of mixed drinks etc.). You need the basic clears (or sortof clears)...vodka, rum, gin, tequila as well as some liqueurs and some mixers (though these won't keep so you must buy fresh).

Vodka: Stay away from anything in plastic unless you have a spare brita filter and more time than money it would take to step up a few bucks (this worked GREAT when I was a freshman...I still to this day believe that a handle of Dmitri 5 times through a brita is far superior to Smirnoff).
Svedka
Boru (irish...uncommon but good)
Smirnoff (I highly dislike this but most people are ok...the others I mentioned can be had by the handle for the same price when they are on sale and only a dollar or two more when not).

Gin: Here I might say two bottles, one to go with tonic and another for drinks that are mostly gin (martinis)
Seagrams (of the cheap gins, this one is the smoothest and best to me...keep a handle around for tonic)
Tanqueray 10 (I'd pick a fifth of this...feel free to pick normal Tanq or Bombay...)

Rum:
Mount Gay (the normal gold for most drinks...they make my favorite rums hands down though I am running out of the stuff I got at their distillery).
Bacardi white (its maybe $1 cheaper than Mount Gay but most stores don't carry the white version of mount gay...keep a handle on hand for when a light rum is needed in a mojito or something)

Tequila:
Sauza Silver/Gold(I can't stand Cuervo and sauza is often $1 cheaper despite being way better...their higher levels like hornitos are also good)

Whiskey:
Someone else will have to weigh in but if its a starter bar for mixing (not worry about scotch and stuff) you could probably do fine with a bottle of Jack and a bottle of some sort of bourbon...I don't drink it much so I can't say more than that.

Other:
Triple Sec (can later upgrade but this is cheap to start)
Dry Vermouth
Some wine (maybe somebody wants a kir)
Baileys and/or Kahlua
Angostura bitters
Some other assorted mixing liquors...maybe Midori, Creme de Cassis, Creme de Menthe...depends on what you and your guests like (and most won't go bad for a while and won't get used in large amounts so you can build a collection slowly).

Non-booze parts:
Shaker
Bar Spoon
Small knife and cutting board
Jigger
Strainer
Speed pours (little nozzles for the bottles...if you can learn to pour accurately they are nice)
Orange Juice
Cranberry Juice
Coke
Limes
Lemons
Olives
Oranges
Roses sweetened lime
Grenadine
Tonic
Club Soda


You don't have to collect it all at once but work towards having these things (a lot of them in handles) and then you can start throwing in a fifth here and there of something nicer to drink unmixed or to start the night with (switch it out when you can't tell the difference). For a starter bar, I think these cheaper options will server just fine (and are probably what many people are used to getting their drinks made with at real bars).

Also, I am a big proponent of using the right glassware or at least reasonably close to it. Starting out it would be nice to have:
red wine glasses (white can share until you decide you need separate glasses)
champagne flutes
Cocktail glasses (keep them small...giant martinis warm too fast and are a spill hazard)
shorter "lowball" glasses for things like tonic mixes
highball/collins/pint glass (at the beginning I would just use 16 oz pint glasses and recognize that they may be a little big for some drinks)
Shot glasses

 

[Kas]

http://drinkboy.com/Articles/Article.aspx?itemid=15

It's an old article, but still holds true. I can recommend the entire website; good articles and it can really get your bar started.

 

[goodlife]

Great list Huntsman. It reminded me I need to break away from Woodford and cheap 1.75s of Knob and Makers to experiment in bourbonland.

Also, have you tried Redbreast 12 Irish Whiskey? It has been a while since I had Jameson 12, but if memory serves, and it may not, the Redbreast is higher quality and more interesting.

 

[spertia]

Originally Posted by Tarmac

It really goes bad? What does it turn into?

Maybe I just used a contaminated jar or something, but one time I made a batch of simple syrup, and a few weeks later when I pulled it from the fridge, there was a large sea-slug looking blob floating in the middle of the solution. I've been kind of scared off ever since.

 

[Mauro]

stock PIMMS

 

[shoreman1782]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

Isn't the "basic" Jameson's aged twelve year? Did you mean Jameson's and Jameson's 18?

There's just Jameson, then 12, then 18.

 

[jkw]

Originally Posted by Mauro

stock PIMMS

YES, YES & YES!

Most people over there won't know about it, but I can almost guarantee that guests will always like it. Obviously depends on situation etc. but a jug or even special glass of pimms never goes amiss

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by shoreman1782

There's just Jameson, then 12, then 18.

I'll be damned. I've been drinking Jameson 12 thinking it was just the standard, not the middle of the road. I'm more high class than I thought!