Building a well stocked bar

[SlyMoose]

I'm 23 and my wife is 21 so we're just starting to delve into the world of adult beverages.

I'm curious as to what a home bar should be stocked up with?

We're still trying new things and figuring out what we like so a little bit of everything would be ideal

 

[BSAGuy]

A good representative of the following:

Rye
Gin
Vodka
Scotch
Possibly Rum
Bourbon as an option

Those are the basics. Look on-line or on restaurant menus for drinks that you like or that sound good and get appropriate mixers.

Enjoy!

 

[Doc4]

Mostly, whatever you and she actually drink and enjoy.

For example, lots of people would say vodka is essential, but we don't give a flying tinker's toss for that worthless spirit, so we own none. But if you are vodka-obsessed, you might need three or four different versions of that vile liquid on hand. I, however, need at least three single malt scotches on the go at once ...

 

[LostHighway]

I assume we're talking mixed drinks here?
I'm more of a beer or wine guy and less of a spirits/mixed drinks consumer than some here but I do occasionally indulge in spirits so here's my take:
Good soda water and tonic
a bottle of aromatic bitters - the ubiquitous Angostura are a fine start, you might also want Peychaud's or Boker's as well depending on your tastes
a citrus/orange bitters - again Angostura is fine but you might want to try Bittercube or maybe Regan's #6 as well
an orange liquer - Cointreau is more-or-less the benchmark
a bottle of dry vermouth (don't buy 750s or liters unless you're using it regularly, the refrigerated shelf life is only about a month) I prefer Dolin which is available in 375s
a bottle of sweet red vermouth - as above when it comes to bottle sizes, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino is very good
Gin (I'd make the case for two or three gins)
Rye
Rum, most definitely (again there is a case to be made for multiple types)
You also might want a coffee liqueur, Cocchi Americano (the closest currently available substitute for the extinct Kina Lillet), maraschino liqueur (Luxardo), Cappelletti or Campari, grenadine (if you need it either make your own or buy Jack Rudy's or Liber & Co - Rose's is terrible) and maybe a violette (if you really like the Aviation) or CioCiaro (closest available sub for the extinct Amer Pichon)

Bourbon, brandy, tequila, absinthe and scotch are all optional IMO as far as mixed drinks go, assuming you have rye I would opt for brandy and/or tequila before bourbon or scoth

I'm with @Doc4 when it comes to vodka although you might need it if you really get into Vespers. Some craft cocktail bars just don't/won't do vodka drinks, period.

Edit: Some mixed drinks disguise the alcohol content all too well. Be careful with spirits and mixed drinks as it is all too easy to consume a decidedly unhealthy amount of alcohol relatively quickly. I'm not of the school that the point of drinking is to get drunk.

 

[doofus]

My bar virtually consists of whiskey and some whiskey with a little bit more whisky. Like above its what you like unless you entertain alot than you would want a representation of each popular type.

 

[bobmsp]

1. Buy this poster - only $9!
2. Find a drink that you like on it and start there. Explore and buy more as you go.
3. Once (if?) you get tired of whiskey based drinks, buy a London gin and rum and start exploring again.

I think that a good whiskey - choose American, rye, or bourbon as a start - a good gin, and a good rum provide you with the starting point for almost any mixed drink. If you like Tequilla or vodka-based drinks, go with those too.

On the hardware side, I think you want to invest in a cocktail shaker (preferably a Boston shaker), a jigger or shot glass, a bar spoon, a cocktail strainer, and a muddler. Possibly a juicer/reamer as well. And, if you don't have one already, a paring knife.

 

[Doc4]

We're still trying new things and figuring out what we like so a little bit of everything would be ideal

Go to a decent bar, or restaurant that serves good drinks, and try ordering different cocktails ... Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Rusty Nail, Scotch & Soda, Gin Fizz, Singapore Sling, and so forth. See what you like. Go from there. Try some "sipping" drinks too (ie alcohol served neat or with the slightest dash of water) to see if you like those. Don't ignore dessert wines like Port, Sherry and Madeira.

 

[SlyMoose]

I keep seeing Rye, Rum, and Gin those are the spirits I have the least experience with, could you guys recommend some you like? in the $20-$50 range what do you like?

I've gone through a couple bottles of Captain Morgan with friends, and I've tried builet rye once. But absolutely 0 experience with gin

 

[BadgeToTheBone]

in that case just get bombay sapphire or even seagrams, it will be fine for your palette.

you are young and these guys are giving you old men(like myself) suggestions for a well stocked bar.

whats your budget and how many bottles do you want to carry? are you using a proper bar or just a cabinet? this will help people pick the right bar ware as well.

If yall are drinking capt morgans I cant imagine it's a very experienced group that requires really expensive stuff.

 

[LostHighway]

Generally, unless you're a trust fund baby, I don't recommend spending more than $35 to $40 for a 750 ml bottle of spirits to be used in cocktails (drinking straight or with just a touch of water is another matter). Do not, however, go cheap on the other ingredients. Use fresh fruit, not mixes, and good quality vermouth, tonic, liqueur, etc..
Gin - my personal go-tos are Plymouth (in a category by itself), Broker's for a London Dry, and your choice among Aviation, Back River or Bombay Sapphire East for a "modern/contemporary" gin. The modern gins tend to dial down the juniper and replace it with floral, spice/herbal or other flavors, e.g. the popular Hendrick's Gin in this category has a distinct cucumber note. Martin Miller's is excellent and sort of treads the line between classic London Dry and modern gins. Ford's is also fairly good. If you get really into gin cocktails you might eventually want to add a bottle of genever and a bottle of Old Tom.
Rye - nothing wrong with Bulleit but Rittenhouse and Russell's Reserve are worth trying for not crazy money. Sazerac is sweeter and softer.
Rum - this really calls for level of expertise I do not possess but if stocking a bar for cocktails I would go with Plantation 3 Stars for a light rum (Havana Club 3 or El Dorado 3 are viable alternatives) and Appleton Estate 12 or El Dorado 12 for an aged rum.

Edit: In addition to the drinks [MENTION=2453]Doc4[/MENTION] suggested to help you define your taste I would add the classic Martini, the Negroni, the Boulevardier, the Sazerac, the Whiskey Sour, Corpse Reviver No 2, the Last Word, the Sidecar and the French 75 - all classics. I don't know much about Tiki drinks like the Mai Tai, the Zombie or the Hurricane but they all seem to feature lots of rum (often multiple varieties) , lots of fruit and are generally on the sweet side.

 

[Doc4]

I keep seeing Rye, Rum, and Gin those are the spirits I have the least experience with, could you guys recommend some you like? in the $20-$50 range what do you like?

Rye ... can you get Alberta Premium where you are?
Gin ... don't know much here, other than my Dad always drank Gilbey's Dry, and people often recommend Bombay Sapphire.
Rum ... there is dark and light (clear). Focus on the dark stuff ... much tastier. Appleton Estate have good offerings ... get the best you can fit into your budget.

These are not "the absolute best" options out there, and anyone who is really "into" any of those spirits will roll their eyes at these "beginner drinks" rather than some obscure, artisan specialty that you need to be deeply engrossed into that spirit to recognise and understand. (Here's something not many people talk about: the special extra whatever that makes the uber-rare wonder-hooch better than run-of-the-mill good hooch is, to most people, very hard to notice. As long as you skip the cheap swill, you will be getting 90% of the experience for a fraction of the price.)

 

[TexLaw]

Good heavens, folks. We don't need to get too crazy.

If you just want to be stocked for entertaining at a moment's notice, get one, each, of a decent vodka (Tito's, Deep Eddy), gin (Beefeater, Bombay Sapphire, New Amsterdam), white rum (Mount Gay, Cruzan, Appleton Estate), Scotch (Glenlivet, Johnny Walker), and bourbon (Four Roses, Maker's Mark, Wild Turkey). A decent rye (already discussed) or Tennessee whiskey (Jack Daniel's) works if you like it or are interested. A decent tequila is good if folks in your area drink it or you enjoy it.

If you have a chance to plan or shop for entertaining, then do so. Either have a theme night for which you can prepare or ask your guests what they enjoy.

Over time, you'll end up accumulating all those bitters and other things as you need them. I do like the idea of getting some of the barware mentioned in an above post.

There are a million ways to go about this, so don't let it freak you out. Just get some basics, and let the rest happen according to your interests or your guests'.

Most importantly, spend what you are comfortable with, and have fun.

 

[Legion]

You really need to sides. The basic, decent but affordable stuff you drink from day to day, and the good stuff you break out for company.

(If your budget extends to drinking the good stuff regularly, by all means...)

You can work out the basics, but some decent stuff to get your "fancier" bar sorted out...

Two Scotches, a sweeter and a smokier. Start with Highland Park and Ardbeg.

Gin. Go with Bombay sapphire.

Vodka. Gray Goose.

Rye. Dunno. Ask an American.

Rum. Ask a pirate.


Make sure you have lots of mixers in the fridge, plus glasses, shakers, stirrers, lemons, cherries, paper umbrellas, plastic monkeys, so on and so forth. 50% is in the presentation.

Lots of ice!

 

[auk1124]

With all due respect to the brethren here, you are getting a bunch of Old Man answers, as another poster has already mentioned.

You and your wife are young. Your friends are presumably young. You aren't going to be sitting around knocking back scotch and gin. Your guests will be wanting Margaritas, screwdrivers, rum and Coke, and bourbon and Coke.

I suggest bottles of decent but not too expensive vodka, tequila, bourbon, and rum. Learn hot to make a good Margarita, and every twenty-something person you meet will be your friend. If you want to get fancy, try out some White Russians and Pina Coladas.

Edit: I forgot to mention strawberry daquiris. Give a 21 year old woman a good strawberry daquiri, and you are a hero.

 

[LostHighway]

One further word about your ambitions and about gin. I remain completely unclear as to whether your interest is in spirits straight up or in craft cocktails or simply as a vehicle to get blotto or some combination of those. Your answer to that might alter the suggestions.
I've made the assumption that you're interested in craft cocktails, and being in your twenties certainly doesn't preclude that. If that is the case the classic cocktail recipes from the period post WWI through the the 1960s or '70s would have been developed assuming the use of Plymouth or London Dry style gins (they are slightly different but somewhat interchangeable). If you're looking at very old recipes from the 19th C or very early 20th C they may call for Old Tom or genever gins. The modern/contemporary gins are largely a product of the last twenty years and tend to be quite different from London Dry or Plymouth gins. IF you are interested in classic cocktails I would suggest that you, at least initially, stick to the styles of gin the creators of these drinks intended. IMO Plymouth Gin is always an excellent answer. For London Dry my list would include Broker's, Beefeater or possibly Gordon's or Bombay. As always YMMV

 

[Doc4]

One further word about your ambitions and about gin. I remain completely unclear as to whether your interest is in spirits straight up or in craft cocktails or simply as a vehicle to get blotto or some combination of those. Your answer to that might alter the suggestions.

I think we all assumed some combination of (a) and (b) ... if he wanted "(c) blotto", he'd be asking if Two Buck Chuck or Colt 45 gave the worse hangover.

With all due respect to the brethren here, you are getting a bunch of Old Man answers, as another poster has already mentioned.

With all due respect to the brethren who posted that, I strongly suspect that the OP not only knew he'd be getting "old man answers" from us, but in fact came here in order to GET "old man answers". Not that there's anything wrong with the "young man drinks" that are vodka/fruit heavy and every second one is some Franken-martini or if you want to feel sophistimacated you have a mo-HEE-toh and pronounce it just like Brian on Family Guy ...

... but if he wanted advice on how to make the best chocolate-banana-vodka-martini, he wouldn't ask a bunch of middle-aged, shaving obsessed old farts on the internet who used to tie onions to their belts, because it was the style at the time. He's already immersed in that culture, and could probably teach us a thing or two about it. He's looking for some advice to take his drinking activities into older adulthood.

 

[auk1124]

Uh huh. We will see how it goes when OP hands his 21 year old wife a glass of scotch.

 

[emwolf]

1. Buy this poster - only $9!

Love that poster!

 

[Doc4]

Uh huh. We will see how it goes when OP hands his 21 year old wife a glass of scotch.

Who dares wins

 

[auk1124]

Who dares wins

Wins a faceful of Ardberg! Lol