How to Stock a Home Bar

     

For the gentleman who enjoys entertaining, a properly stocked bar is a must. A well-mixed drink can help schmooze a boss, romance a date, and impress a friend. Mixing drinks at home for friends and family makes me feel like some swanky 1960s gentleman pouring drinks in his Space Age-inspired mid-century home. I love that feeling.

Starting a home bar can seem like a daunting task to any man, but it doesn’t need to be so. Becoming a home mixologist should be fun! Today I hope to show you that stocking a home bar can be affordable and easy.

The Home Bar Rules

Home Bar Rule #1: Pick alcohol you actually enjoy imbibing. When I first started my own home bar, I only picked spirits that I thought would impress guests when I had them over. I ended up spending a fortune for alcohol that I hardly ever used. While you’ll use your home bar for entertaining, don’t forget that a home bar’s main customer is you. When you mix yourself a cocktail to sip on the weekends while you sit on the patio with your dog, you want to enjoy it. The dog doesn’t care what your favorite gin is. That is of course if this pooch isn’t your dog. He’s so smug.

Another reason I recommend picking spirits you enjoy is that the home bar is your chance to share your personal tastes with your friends and neighbors. I love seeing what other people enjoy drinking and the recipes they specialize in. What you stock in your bar and why you stock it makes for great conversational fodder.

Home Bar Rule #2: Start small. Repeat after me: Start small. Another mistake I made was trying to create a full working bar right out of the gate. Back when I bought my first house, I had a housewarming party. I just had bottles of vodka, gin, and scotch. I wanted to be a good host, so I dropped a boatload of money at my local liquor store. While I had a wide variety of liquors, because I had never used most of them extensively, I had trouble making the drinks people were requesting.

So my advice to the man just starting out: start small, grow gradually. Stocking a home bar is a marathon, not a sprint. I recommend beginning by getting the ingredients needed to make the cocktails you enjoy and know how to make well. Like Manhattans? Canadian whisky and vermouth. Martinis? Gin and vermouth.

As you get more comfortable mixing drinks, expand your menu to include other cocktails. When I entertain, I like to email people a week before the party to ask them their favorite cocktails. I’ll get the needed ingredients and practice during the week. *hiccup*

What follows are my suggestions on what a properly stocked home bar should have. But remember, use your own personal taste and take into account your own needs when making your final decision.

Alcohol

Gin. It’s one of the base spirits for many popular cocktails, so definitely have plenty on hand. Gin comes in four varieties: London Dry, Plymouth, Old Tom, and Genever. I suggest starting off with a London Dry gin. Later on, add a Plymouth gin to the mix.

Vodka. An excellent liquor for doing shots with singing babushkas or for mixing into popular cocktails like Bloody Marys and Cosmopolitans. Vodka doesn’t have a strong color, taste, or aroma, so it makes for a perfect mixing liquor. The differences between vodka brands comes down to what they’re distilled from (potatoes, grains, sugar cane) and their texture in the mouth. Some (like Absolut) have an oily, silky texture while others (like Stolichnaya) have a watery, medicinal finish.

My go-to vodka is Grey Goose. Mixes nicely with just about anything.

You also have your pick between the different flavored and infused vodkas on the market. Personally, I stay away from flavored vodkas in my home bar. I can do my own infusing with garnishes, thank you very much.

Bourbon whiskey. An essential American whiskey for the southern gentleman. Great for sipping and classic cocktails like the Old Fashioned. Two bourbons that I recommend for the beginner mixologist are Jim Beam and Wild Turkey. Very affordable and they taste nice. At least, I think they taste nice.

Scotch whisky. Like Jack Donaghy, I too enjoy staring out a window, while holding a glass of scotch. It soothes the soul and assists in the thinking of deep, manly thoughts. My favorite Scotch-based cocktail is the classic Rob Roy. I suggest having a blended and single malt scotch in your home bar.

Tequila. A must-have liquor for your trips to Margaritaville. What type of tequila you stock depends on what you plan on using it for. gold Tequila is usually the cheaper type of tequila and is a great pick if you plan on using your tequila for mixed drinks. If you’d like to take your tequila straight up, you’ll want to go with this agave-based drink in its purest form–silver tequila. My favorite silver tequila is Patron.

Rum. This tasty liquor from the Caribbean is distilled from molasses. Dark rums are best for punches. Light rums are for mixing cocktails. I say start off with a light rum and add a dark rum when you have a big party where you’ll be serving punch.

Other beverages to have on hand. Before I host a party, I’ll add a bottle of wine and some craft beer to my selection. I’ll also pick-up a pack of craft sodas for my guests who are on the wagon for whatever reason. A good host is thoughtful towards all his guests.

Read the rest of the article