What are you drinking right now?

[Gibonius]

I think these are glasses you have to have. If you wanna spend more coin than an amazon basic go to cocktail kingdom’s website. They have some nicer glassware there. If you have money and time I’d start looking at vintage glassware. It can be a lot of fun to find some cool glassware. Thrift shops will carry this stuff. If you’re gonna spend some serious money on nice glassware. I’d recommend handling it before you buy it. The way a glass feels is a lot of where your money goes. Nicer glassware is usually thinner and feels very delicate and nice in the hand. It’s like when you drink out of really nice wine crystals for the first time. You feel the difference.

This is one of the places where Ebay is still useful.


I got a set of eight platinum rimmed cocktail glasses made in West Germany for a song. Way nicer than anything you could get for the same price from a modern retailer.

 

[Piobaire]

Here's my basic line up and it's just about all Schott's in the Tritium line up. I consider my bar a working bar, not a show case, so it's all practical stuff. Need to get N&N glasses as I love the shape.

So, for my universal wine glass it's the Cab, second from the right. I've got two dozen in hangers and another few dozen in the Butler's pantry for breakage or big tastings. 99 times out of 100 I use the Rona coup (about the only non-Schotts stem there) as I like the shape, it's sturdy, and also stable. I have at least a dozen of each stem as I hate orphaned glasses, there's always going to be breakage, and I hate running out of a shape when I'm on a jag hosting something. Like, a bunch of fresh lemons? Need 20 Collins glasses!

Maybe I'll post a good pic of the barback tonight if I drink enough or get high enough.

 

[Bhowie]

After I’m done with my kitchen renovation I think I’m going to get my bar properly sorted. Been needing to get glassware for ages. I did have them run a water line for an ice maker when we replaced our water lines a few weeks ago though. Feels a little overkill for the amount of ice that we usually go through, but man it sucks to be having a get together and run out of ice...

what kind of home ice maker are you looking into? I have literally 0 experience with non-commercial ice machines. I’m pretty interested in this.

 

[mhip]

For personal use on icy cold Manhattans, I love the stainless steel vacuum walled type rock glass.
I make mine kind of big, and they'll stay really cold thru a whole cigar.

 

[mhip]

what kind of home ice maker are you looking into? I have literally 0 experience with non-commercial ice machines. I’m pretty interested in this.

A lot of the newer refrigerators now have "craft ice" options where you get the giant sphere or cube right out of the door.
Pretty slick, but my older one still works, and that would really cut into shoe money.

 

[edinatlanta]

Silicone molds with lids and water from the brita. Not worth a four figure upgrade imo.

Can anyone guess today's tiki? Wow another smart crowd you're right it is The Banana Life.

Does grapefruit and banana work together? Youbetcha.

I do not have fassionola but I do have grenadine which is close enough. And i don't have a brandy snifter so technically this isn't that cocktail but oh well.

 

[Piobaire]

Oh yea, if you're into cocktails that get chilled then strained into a glass, make sure you have sidecars. Put any extra in the sidecar and put that on ice.

 

[Lizard23]

I think that and then I think to myself "I'm in Turks and Caicos and there is a giant Pina Colada machine." I would be all over it.

me and my wife go to the Cayman’s once a year... basically the identical trip done over and over... similar restaurants , same hotel (although we did change that 3 years ago, but i i digress). It is heaven and I firmly believe you feel like you get an extra day of relaxing because you dont need to spend any time “settling in” or figuring things out.

Without fail on the 2nd or 3rd day I decide a pina colada would be delicious by the pool. The first 3-5 sips are delicious and the rest melts in the sun while I drink Hemingway daiquiris.

 

[RedLantern]

what kind of home ice maker are you looking into? I have literally 0 experience with non-commercial ice machines. I’m pretty interested in this.

EdgeStar IB250BL Black 15 Inch Wide Built-In Ice Maker with 25 Lbs. Storage Capacity and Up to 25 Lbs. Daily Ice Production - edgestar.com

Buy the EdgeStar IB250BL Black Direct. Shop for the EdgeStar IB250BL Black 15 Inch Wide Built-In Ice Maker with 25 Lbs. Storage Capacity and Up to 25 Lbs. Daily Ice Production and save.

www.edgestar.com

I'm limited because it's not a wet bar, so I need a model that doesn't require a drain. I still use silicone molds for "fancy" ice like big cubes or whatever, but we like to make trashy blended margs or frozay and the ice from this machine will be perfect for that, in addition to soft drinks or whatever else.

 

[Piobaire]

An Aviation cocktail with Austin Reserve gin. Not a huge fan of this gin, lots of rosemary.

Would appreciate glassware recs for g+ts and also for cocktails. Prefer good bang for buck recs to the very best but open to both.

You should try it with Aviation gin. It's almost like it was made just to compliment that cocktail!

It's a great gin in many of the classics and newer recipes, btw. Think I paid about $32 for a handle at Total Wine.

 

[budapest12]

me and my wife go to the Cayman’s once a year... basically the identical trip done over and over... similar restaurants , same hotel (although we did change that 3 years ago, but i i digress). It is heaven and I firmly believe you feel like you get an extra day of relaxing because you dont need to spend any time “settling in” or figuring things out.

Without fail on the 2nd or 3rd day I decide a pina colada would be delicious by the pool. The first 3-5 sips are delicious and the rest melts in the sun while I drink Hemingway daiquiris.

Are you scuba divers? Grand Cayman or Other? I keep meaning to get there.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

If you could only do one, I'd go for a high-rye bourbon. The straight rye is a little much for some cocktails.

Bulleit bourbon (instead of rye) might be a good option. Four Roses works too.

I tend to keep a mixing rye (Rittenhouse) and a sweeter mixing bourbon (I do Makers) so I have all my cocktail bases covered, along with the stuff I keep to drink neat.

I use Rittenhouse rye for my manhattans. It's a bottled in bond (100 proof), 51% rye mashbill that you can typically find for under $30 and works great in any cocktail that calls for either rye or bourbon. Found it at costco once for $23 and should have bought 5 bottles as they dont stock it anymore.

I used Rittenhouse for a long time and love it, and it's higher proof. I only switched to Bulleit because they have it in a 1.75 at Costco for stupid cheap, and it's not that huge of a step down...

Thanks for the recs. My go-to rye is also Rittenhouse, which makes a beautiful Manhattan. I only switched to Bulleit rye because Rittenhouse is not available in a handle. Will try Bulleit bourbon next.

100% spot on advice about bullet bourbon.

it saddens me though that you don’t have room for a bourbon and a rye ?

I am a little (okay, a lot) OCD, and I want to limit my booze collection to what can fit on my bar cart, which holds between 20-25 bottles, depending on size and shape. (It's been spilling over on to my kitchen countertops, which I want to avoid given my limited space.) If I bought both a bourbon and a rye, one of my current bottles would have to go. The obvious choice is creme de violette because of its lack of versatility, but I love Aviations too much to bid it goodbye. Ditto for my Laird's Apple Brandy, which is required for this killer mezcal cocktail. My resposado tequila might be getting the boot after I finish it.

yeah, if you guys aren’t buying handles of mid-tier booze at low prices you’re crazy. I’d find it hard to keep a well stocked bar if I didn’t keep “well handles” around all the time. I keep handles of Tito’s, Bombay, knob creek, Bacardi silver, plantation 5 star, famous grouse, and espolón or olmeca altos. They’re perfect for highballs or generic cocktails. It makes it so easy to host people completely guilt free.

If I hosted parties, I would buy handles of Tito's, Hendrick's, Beefeater, and Buffalo Trace, in that order. That covers about 90% of what non-cocktail nerds would drink.

Even for us patio sundowners is the time for the mid-tier stuff. When you're chilling outside with your boo or a few close friends it's more about the setting and company than pricey booze. Then again, I live in an awesome 'hood with awesome people, where we do things on the reg like bourbon or wine tastings. There's a time to put your feet up and watch the sunset and a time to sip carefully and make it about what you're drinking.

I am a firm believer that there is no need to spend a lot of money on spirits if you use them to make cocktails. Just make sure it's not swill. I laugh inside whenever I read on the internet someone insist that Monkey 47 makes a significantly better Negroni than a mid-tier gin.

 

[mhip]

Thanks for the recs. My go-to rye is also Rittenhouse, which makes a beautiful Manhattan. I only switched to Bulleit rye because Rittenhouse is not available in a handle. Will try Bulleit bourbon next.

I am a little (okay, a lot) OCD, and I want to limit my booze collection to what can fit on my bar cart, which holds between 20-25 bottles, depending on size and shape. (It's been spilling over on to my kitchen countertops, which I want to avoid given my limited space.) If I bought both a bourbon and a rye, one of my current bottles would have to go. The obvious choice is creme de violette because of its lack of versatility, but I love Aviations too much to bid it goodbye. Ditto for my Laird's Apple Brandy, which is required for this killer mezcal cocktail. My resposado tequila might be getting the boot after I finish it.


If I hosted parties, I would buy handles of Tito's, Hendrick's, Beefeater, and Buffalo Trace, in that order. That covers about 90% of what non-cocktail nerds would drink.

I am a firm believer that there is no need to spend a lot of money on spirits if you use them to make cocktails. Just make sure it's not swill. I laugh inside whenever I read on the internet someone insist that Monkey 47 makes a significantly better Negroni than a mid-tier gin.

Omg...
You're my doppelgänger.
I also have a bar cart that's spilling over to other places, and one of the bottles is..........Creme de Violette. Pimento dram is another that doesn't get a ton of use.

 

[Lizard23]

Are you scuba divers? Grand Cayman or Other? I keep meaning to get there.

We are not. That would interfere with the drinking and eating and doing nothing productive motif.

But apparently there is great scuba diving there.

 

[venividivicibj]

Spiegelau has this ridiculously beautiful glass I use for tequila/whiskey when I’m in the mood.


For mezcal I’ll use clay/stone copitas

for wine I’ll use the Schott-Zweisel Tritan burgundy glass (right side)