How do you choose?

[pto]

Over the past year I've assembled a homebar in which I can make most drinks. I've tried almost all of the classics and gone on Mai Tai, Daiquri, Manhattan, Sidecar, Martini, etc kicks. But it's always tough to choose which drink(s) to make: a new one, an old favorite, my current fave, one with my newest purchase.... With so many amazing cocktails, just wondering how others decide?

[Lisa Shock]

I purchased the book Imbibe! and worked my way through it.

[ChrisTaylor]

Mood, mostly. It might be the kind of day when I want the bracing crispness of a Daiquiri. Other times something here--a post, a mention of a specific ingredient--might inspire me.

[lesliec]

Sometimes I just feel like something based on a particular spirit, sometimes I want a specific drink, sometimes it's something sparked by eG, sometimes I have no idea what I want.  In pretty much all cases, the solution is to fire up Kindred on the phone and do some browsing.

[weinoo]

Summer - lots more gin drinks

 

 Not summer - lots more brown drinks

[FrogPrincesse]

I choose mostly based on mood, season (summer = more clear spirits, more tiki drinks; winter = more brown spirits), what I have available, a new ingredient I am researching, variations on a theme I am interested in, creations or recommendations from my favorite bartenders and/or eG members, cocktail books I've acquired, a specific flavor profile or ingredient combination, etc, etc.

I have a running list of things that I want to try, so it usually does not take me very long to come up with something every night.

[Craig E]

It's a bit strange: if a bottle of a given liquor is almost empty, I'm motivated to finish it off. But if there's just a little more than a little left in it, I'll tend to avoid using it and to make drinks with things from the more flush part of the inventory. So ostensibly I'm thinking about clearing bottles out of the bar, but in practice I'm winding up with a ton of bottles that are hovering just above the tipping point. 

Kindred Cocktails is great for inspiration, and I use the "Suggest" feature to make my to-try list. 

[Czequershuus]

It's a bit strange: if a bottle of a given liquor is almost empty, I'm motivated to finish it off. But if there's just a little more than a little left in it, I'll tend to avoid using it and to make drinks with things from the more flush part of the inventory. So ostensibly I'm thinking about clearing bottles out of the bar, but in practice I'm winding up with a ton of bottles that are hovering just above the tipping point. 

 

I do the exact same thing. I think for me it stems from a feeling that if I finish off a bottle too quickly, I will probably run into a cocktail I really want to try with that ingredient later.

 

Other than that foible, I keeping a running list of cocktail that I want to try and usually go by this. I also keep track of what I have tried with ratings so I can revisit these when I am in the mood. It can be a lengthy process, sometimes choosing a drink takes longer than making it.

[tanstaafl2]

It's a bit strange: if a bottle of a given liquor is almost empty, I'm motivated to finish it off. But if there's just a little more than a little left in it, I'll tend to avoid using it and to make drinks with things from the more flush part of the inventory. So ostensibly I'm thinking about clearing bottles out of the bar, but in practice I'm winding up with a ton of bottles that are hovering just above the tipping point. 

Kindred Cocktails is great for inspiration, and I use the "Suggest" feature to make my to-try list. 

 

 

I do the exact same thing. I think for me it stems from a feeling that if I finish off a bottle too quickly, I will probably run into a cocktail I really want to try with that ingredient later.

 

Other than that foible, I keeping a running list of cocktail that I want to try and usually go by this. I also keep track of what I have tried with ratings so I can revisit these when I am in the mood. It can be a lengthy process, sometimes choosing a drink takes longer than making it.

 

I try to finish bottles that are close to empty but I don't worry about trying to save some for the next cocktail unless it is something pretty rare. I have found they will generally sell you more of it if you ask!

[Kerry Beal]

It's a bit strange: if a bottle of a given liquor is almost empty, I'm motivated to finish it off. But if there's just a little more than a little left in it, I'll tend to avoid using it and to make drinks with things from the more flush part of the inventory. So ostensibly I'm thinking about clearing bottles out of the bar, but in practice I'm winding up with a ton of bottles that are hovering just above the tipping point. 

Kindred Cocktails is great for inspiration, and I use the "Suggest" feature to make my to-try list. 

Ah - Allgoneophobia strikes again!

[pto]

The thing I find sightly annoying is when I buy something like fresh mint to make Julep and then feel obliged to make drinks using mint over the next couple days to use it up, even though I may not be in the mood for a drink with mint.

[EvergreenDan]

If I'm rushed or lazy, I make a favorite or variation on a favorite. For example, Perfect Negroni = 1 part spirit, 1 part Campari/Cynar/etc, 1/2 part each Sweet vermouth-like apertif and dry vermouth or other wine. In this way, I'm not getting tired of it. For example, last night I added a couple of dashes of orange bitters to a standard Perfect Negroni (well, with Punt e Mes). Or use Cachaca, Rye, Scotch, Tequila, Mezcal -- really almost anything.

 

If, OTOH, I have a little more time and energy, I try cocktails that I've added to my suggestions (or see on the recent list) on Kindred Cocktails or that I've seen on eGullet. Another idea is to open something like the Beta Cocktails or PDT cocktail book and try something bold.

 

And sometimes I open the cabinet and look for an interesting bottle that has gotten shoved to the back.

[Yojimbo]

It's a bit strange: if a bottle of a given liquor is almost empty, I'm motivated to finish it off. But if there's just a little more than a little left in it, I'll tend to avoid using it and to make drinks with things from the more flush part of the inventory. So ostensibly I'm thinking about clearing bottles out of the bar, but in practice I'm winding up with a ton of bottles that are hovering just above the tipping point. 

Kindred Cocktails is great for inspiration, and I use the "Suggest" feature to make my to-try list. 

 

 

I do the exact same thing. I think for me it stems from a feeling that if I finish off a bottle too quickly, I will probably run into a cocktail I really want to try with that ingredient later.

 

Other than that foible, I keeping a running list of cocktail that I want to try and usually go by this. I also keep track of what I have tried with ratings so I can revisit these when I am in the mood. It can be a lengthy process, sometimes choosing a drink takes longer than making it.

 

 

I try to finish bottles that are close to empty but I don't worry about trying to save some for the next cocktail unless it is something pretty rare. I have found they will generally sell you more of it if you ask!

 

 

Ah - Allgoneophobia strikes again!

 

Nailed it!

 

This behavior causes me to end up with too many kitchen sink cocktails designed to use up or finish off various bottles, rather than something that actually tastes good.

 

And because we're all a bit OCD here, I'll further diagnose the various categories of the disease:

 

I'm finishing this almost-empty bottle because it's:

 

1.  Not a keeper, and I need to open up room in the fridge/liquor cabinet for something new or better;

2.  Maybe a keeper, but I want to try another in the same category before I decide;

3.  Definitely a keeper, and if I finish it now I can buy a whole new bottle real soon and not have to suffer from Allgoneophobia for at least a month/week/ couple hours;

4.  Any of the above, and I can use it as an excuse to buy something under the "one out, one in" rule, plus one or two other items I've been meaning to score.

5.  Because it's what I want to drink tonight.  (Rare)

 

I'm not finishing this somewhat empty bottle because it's:

 

1.  One of my greatest joys in life, and therefore far  too good to actually drink except on special occasions;

     a.  Rare, Delicious, Smuggled from Abroad and/or Expensive, therefore ditto.

2.  A big mistake, but god forbid I should throw it out or give it away, maybe I can mix a batch of something with it for a big party?

3..  One of the cocktail ingredients that I'm supposed to have on hand, even though I don't like it that much;

     a.  because it's a classic (Creme de Violette)

     b.  because it's hot right now (mezcal, although in fairness if I had been able to score one of the awesome bottles I tried in Oaxaca before the rest of the family selfishly became ill, it'd move right up to category 1 above)

     c.  because it's too strongly flavored/overproof/full o' da funk to mix with unless I'm feeling very manly (Fernet, W & N, Lemon Hart 151, Smith & Cross, etc.)  N.B. I use "manly"  here in a totally stereotypical and non-gendered sense.

4..  Not as who should say awful, just not the first, second, or third thing I reach for, but I'll get around to it one day, honest;

 

and lastly and most importantly;

 

5.  because I've totally blown my budget already and my spouse/S.O./roommate/dog will disown me if I come home with another G-D bottle.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Yojimbo (log)

[Moto]

I've finally been diagnosed...I rarely feel pressure to finish a bottle but I score 80% on Yojimbo's second list