 |
| The Home Bar |
| Putting together a home bar can be a fun and challenging task. What to stock? What to keep off your list? Do you have to have every conceivable bottle of spirit available? Your liquor stock really depends on what you plan to serve. Assuming that you will want to make the most common cocktails, this is a basic list. The liquor store would love to see you coming if you were to completely stock your bar. I suggest that you start with some basics and add to your stock as you experiment with different drinks. Check the recipe collection for drinks you might want to make for additional selections. Brands are your choice and they depend on your taste and budget. Booze Bourbon Brandy Canadian Whiskey Gin Rum Scotch Tequila Vodka Whiskey Amaretto Bailey's Creme de Cocoa Dark or Spiced Rum Grand Marnier Kahlua Peach Schnapps Sweet Vermouth Triple Sec Stocking mixers is like stocking your alcohol. It really depends on what you plan to serve. The list below will prepare you for most any cocktail. Mixers Orange Juice Cranberry Juice Pineapple Juice Grapefruit Juice Tomato Juice Sour Mix Bloody Mary Mix Pina Colada Mix Bitters Lime Juice Grenadine Simple Syrup Worcestershire Sauce Tabasco Sauce Strawberries Bananas Club soda Tonic Cola 7 - up Ginger Ale Diet Cola Half & Half Milk Ice Cream Coffee Water Sour mix can be powdered, bottled or in concentrate form. Bloody Mary mix is not necessary if you aren't making a lot of them. Pina Colada mix can be made yourself with pineapple juice and a cream of coconut, such as Coco Lopez. I use one large can of pineapple to two cans of coconut. Use fresh fruit for your garnishes. Again, it depends on what you plan to make, but this will prepare you for most cocktails. You can use your imagination and add fresh fruits, candies, sprinkles, or even tiny umbrellas to give your own touch to your concoctions. Garnishes Lemons Limes Oranges Celery Olives Maraschino Cherries Cocktail Onions Whipped Cream Coarse Salt Sugar Powdered Chocolate Nutmeg Equipment In a pinch, you could probably make most of these drinks with a glass and a chopstick, but there are a few pieces of equipment which will make your mixing easier and classier. You should obtain the following items: Basic equipment: Tumblers [short, fat glasses, also known as "rocks" glasses] Tall glasses [tall, thin glasses, also known as "highball" or "collins" glasses] Shot glasses [for measuring and/or serving] Measuring glass Cocktail or Martini glasses Margarita Glasses [optional -- they look like rounded martini glasses] Stirrers [fancy glass wands, long-handled bar spoons, plastic forks, etc.] Corkscrew [none of these drinks include wine, but you really should have one of these] Cocktail Shaker Strainer [it's a round thing with coils all around one side] Blender [only used for a few drinks] Ice bucket and ice tongs Classic Cocktails B-52 1 part Grand Marnier 1 part Kahlua 1 part Bailey's Irish Cream Shake ingredients in equal parts with ice. Strain into tumblers or serve as shooters. Bellini 1 oz. Peach Schnapps 3 oz. Champagne Pour the Peach Schnapps into a champagne glass or a cocktail glass and add Champagne. Black Russian 1.5 oz. Vodka .75 oz. Coffee Liqueur A personal favorite. Pour Vodka [preferably Russian] into a tumbler filled with ice. Add Coffee liqueur and stir. This drink looks jaunty with a swizzle stick in it, but don't worry if you don't have any. Bloody Mary 1.25 oz. Vodka 2.5 oz. Tomato Juice Dash of Worcestershire Sauce Dash of Tabasco Sauce Dash of Salt and Pepper Pour Vodka into a tall glass with ice and pour Tomato Juice on top. Add the spicy stuff, and then garnish with a Celery Stick. Spiff it up a little and garnish with a pickled asparagus spear, or go all out and using a 6” wooden skewer layer on a jumbo shrimp, a thick chunk of Herkimer, and a pimento-stuffed olive. For a "Bloody Caesar," replace Tomato Juice with Clam-Tomato Cocktail. Brandy Alexander 1.5 oz. Brandy or Cognac .5 oz. Dark Creme de Cacao 1 oz. Cream or Ice Cream Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Cosmopolitan ½ oz. Cointreau ½ oz. Triple Sec 1 oz. Vodka ½ oz. Lime Juice ½ oz. Cranberry Juice Fill a mixing glass halfway with ice. Pour in all ingredients, shake vigorously, and strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a Lime wedge. Champagne Cocktail 3 oz. Chilled Champagne 1 cube Sugar Dash Angostura Bitters Place cube of Sugar in a chilled champagne flute or cocktail glass, fill with Champagne and stir once. Garnish with a Lemon Twist. Daiquiri 1.5 oz. Light Rum .5 oz. Lemon Juice 1 tsp. Powdered Sugar Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. If you're wondering where the ice slush is, you must be thinking of a Frozen Daiquiri, which I don't discuss in this article because of the emphasis on classic drinks. Fuzzy Navel 1.5 oz. Peach Schnapps 3 oz. Orange Juice Pour the Peach Schnapps into a tumbler with ice, add the Orange Juice and stir. Grasshopper .5 oz. Green Creme de Menthe .5 oz. White Creme de Menthe .5 oz. Cream Put the ingredients into a blender with a glassful of ice and blend until smooth. Serve in a margarita glass, a cocktail glass, or a tumbler. Harvey Wallbanger .25 oz. Galliano 1 oz. Vodka 4 oz. Orange Juice Pour Vodka and Orange Juice into a tall glass with ice. Float the Galliano on top of the other ingredients [don't stir] and serve. Irish Coffee 1.5 oz. Irish Whiskey Hot Coffee Sugar Cream Pour Irish Whiskey into a mug, fill with coffee and add cream and sugar to taste. It's Irish because it has booze in it. Irish booze, no less. Long Island Iced Tea .5 oz. Vodka .5 oz. Light Rum .5 oz. Gin .5 oz. Light Tequila .5 oz. Triple Sec Cola Shake the booze with ice and strain into a tall glass. Fill the glass up with Cola and make your apologies in the morning. Can also be served over ice. Manhattan 2 oz. Whiskey [not Scotch - use Irish or Bourbon] 1 tbsp. Sweet or Dry Vermouth Dash Angostura Bitters Pour ingredients into a tumbler, stir, and garnish with a Cherry. Margarita 1 oz. Tequila 1 oz. Cointreau or Triple Sec 1 oz. Sweet & Sour Mix or Lime Juice Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a salt-rimmed margarita glass or cocktail glass with ice. Alternatively, you can blend the ingredients with a glassful of ice. Garnish with a Slice of Lime. This is the classic margarita; all other "margaritas" are usually just fruity booze smoothies. To rim the glass with Salt, you simply place a small amount of Salt [Coarse Salt looks coolest] on a dry surface, rub a Lemon or Lime slice around the rim of an empty glass, and then rub the rim of the glass in the Salt. Martini 2 oz. Gin Dash Extra Dry Vermouth Shaken, or stirred? You can make your martini either way. Shake or stir the ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an Olive [or several Olives, as seems fashionable at the moment] or a slice of Lemon Rind [a.k.a. a Lemon Twist]. A drink of this importance deserves further comment. This recipe will yield a very dry martini; the less Vermouth you add, the drier the martini will be. Some recipes call for a 2-to-1 or 3-to-1 Gin-to-Vermouth ratio, and there's nothing wrong with mixing your martinis that way if you like them that sweet. Experiment with different ratios and see if you like your martini sweeter or drier. Try not to shake or stir long enough to allow the ice to melt and dilute the drink. Eight good shakes or about five seconds of stirring should be enough, and then you strain it into a glass immediately. Real martinis are made with gin, and they precede vodka martinis by decades. Do not upset purists by asking whether they want vodka or gin in their martinis; if someone asks for a martini, he wants gin, and if he wants vodka he'll have to say so. Old Fashioned 1.5 oz. Whiskey [any kind] .25 oz. Powdered Sugar 2 dashes Angostura Bitters 1 tbsp. Club Soda Cherry Slice of Orange Place Cherry [sans stem], Orange Slice, Sugar, and Club Soda in a tumbler and mash them around with a spoon until they have blended well. Add the whiskey and bitters and stir. Pina Colada 1.5 oz. Rum 2 oz. Pineapple Juice 2 oz. Cream of Coconut Shake with ice and serve in a margarita glass or cocktail glass over ice. Alternatively, you can blend it with a glassful of ice. Pink Lady 1.5 oz. Gin 2 tsp. Grenadine 3 oz. Cream Shake all ingredients with ice until well blended and strain into a cocktail glass. Planter's Punch 2 oz. Light Rum 1 tsp. Sugar 2 oz. Orange Juice Dash Grenadine 1 Tbs.. Dark Rum Shake Light Rum, Orange Juice, Sugar, and Grenadine with ice and strain into a tall glass. Top with Dark Rum. Rob Roy 2 oz. Scotch .5 oz. Sweet Vermouth Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. After a few of these, you'll be convinced that you're Scottish, and might be tempted to speak in a Scottish accent. Don't. Rusty Nail 1 oz. Scotch 1 oz. Drambuie This stuff is an alcoholic's candy. Pour the booze into a tumbler with ice and stir. Swirl the booze and the ice cubes around under your nose and inhale the sweet smell of excess. Singapore Sling 1.5 oz. Gin .5 oz. Benedictine .5 oz. Grenadine Dash Lemon Juice .5 oz. Cherry Brandy Club Soda Pour first four ingredients and into a tall glass with ice and stir well. Fill almost to top with Club Soda, top with Cherry Brandy. Garnish with a Cherry. Stinger 1.75 oz. Brandy or Cognac .25 oz. White Creme de Menthe Pour ingredients into a tumbler with ice and stir. Tequila Sunrise 1.5 oz. Tequila [your preference] .5 oz. Grenadine Orange Juice The idea of this drink is to pour it so that there are recognizable layers. You must pour it very gently or the ingredients will mix together and ruin the effect. Pour Grenadine into a tall glass and then place ice cubes into the glass with ice tongs until full. Then gently pour in Tequila, then Orange Juice. It should go from bright red to deep orange to light orange. If it doesn't, it's probably because you poured it too fast, so don't blame us. Garnish with a slice of orange, and then stop worrying about the layers and serve it or drink it. Tom Collins 1.5 oz. Gin 1 oz. Lemon Juice Club Soda Shake Gin and Lemon Juice and pour into a tall glass over ice. Fill with Club Soda and serve. Velvet Hammer 1 tbsp. White Creme de Cacao 1.5 oz. Vodka 1 Tbsp. Cream Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Vodka Martini 2 oz. Vodka Dash Extra Dry Vermouth Shake or stir ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with Olive[s] or a Lemon Twist. This recipe makes a very dry vodka martini [see the discussion of the Martini, above], so if you like it sweeter you should use more vermouth -- up to about .75 oz., depending upon your taste. James Bond likes his vodka martinis dry, so that's how I mix 'em. Whiskey Sour 1.5 oz. Whiskey [not Scotch, Irish, or Bourbon] 1 oz. Lemon Juice 1 tsp. Powdered Sugar Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a whiskey sour glass, or cocktail glass. Can also be served over ice. White Russian 1.5 oz. Vodka .5 oz. Coffee Liqueur .5 oz. Cream Shake all ingredients and serve in a tumbler over ice. Zombie .75 oz. Light Rum .75 oz. Dark Rum 1 oz. Pineapple Juice 1 oz. Orange Juice 1 oz. Lemon Juice 1 tsp. Powdered Sugar Dash Overproof Rum ["151"] Shake all ingredients except Overproof Rum with ice and strain into a tall glass [with or without ice]. Then float the Overproof Rum on top and garnish with a slice of Pineapple and/or a cherry. Copyright Thomas Saaristo All Rights Reserved tom@tomsaaristo.com |