Starter bar?

[fignewton]

New to the forum...First post to the Spirits board.

Having been a beer and wine drinker for many years, I now find myself with the occasional urge for a cocktail on the deck. That said, I only have a few odd partial bottles of liquor left randomly by friends and family over the years.

I want to create a basic accumulation of liquor for the occasional urge and for guests who drink. What at a minimum, should I have on hand?. More specifically, if one is to have just one bottle of each type of liquor, what brands are suitable for all-around libation? Mixers?...Types? Brands?

I realize there is plenty of personal preference here and I'll have to develop that as time goes by, but in the meantime, I'd love some thoughts from those on the board and read their preferences.

While I'm at, I'm also in search of great a Bloody Mary recipe - Have had some great ones at bars (had one with clam juice once that was killer) but have rarely mixed them at home.

Thanks in advance,

Joe

[drcocktail]

Welcome!

Everyone who knows me here knows I could go WAY overboard with such a list but for the way you put your query, and riffing off what others in the past have advised...poll your friends. You'll have lots of fun putting together an utterly popular bar selection if you email or call any friend you would ever consider having over and asking them "What cocktail(s) do you like to drink when you go out?" Make a list of such friends, make a list of the drinks, research the ingredients in the recipes, make a list of them - which will be your shopping list. Don't forget family and yourself! What you may find is that once you've acquired what will probably be a rather small cache of the alcohol necessary to make THESE drinks, these components are also the ingredients in other drinks.

You can determine these spinoff drinks by typing some of the pairs or trios of ingredients you've acquired by typing them into the search mechanism at cocktaildb.com

These recipes will spur further acquisitions of spirits to fill in the gaps in those recipes. The great thing is, you'll be working from a foundation of proven winners among those most likely to sample your hospitality AND introducing them to NEW drinks - which from an ingredient standpoint are variations of what you know they already love!

Hope this helps! --Doc

[LJC]

For a basic "home bar" you should have:

Vodka

Gin

Scotch

Bourbon

Rum

Tequilla

Rye

Cognac

Triple Sec

Dry Vermouth

Sweet Vermouth

Beyond these the possibilities are endless, so this would be a good starting point. I did not post any brand names b/c it is a matter of personal taste and budget. I think you might want to follow drcocktail's advice and see what your friends like and then check out some liquor stores and price it out.

Have Fun!

[JAZ]

Yes, welcome, and thanks for posting.

For more opinions, check out this recent thread (the 21 challenge) and this one from the great Q&A with Gary and Mardee Regan (brands).

The problem, of course, with specific recommendations, is that you won't find much agreement on brands. And as for which types to start with, it really does depend on what you and your friends like to drink. It wouldn't do much good to have gin and bourbon if you and all your friends prefer vodka and brandy.

If, on the other hand, you start with a bottle each of gin, bourbon, vodka, white rum and tequila, a bottle each of white (dry) and red (sweet) vermouth, a bottle of triple sec and a bottle of bitters, and you have on hand lemons and limes, oranges or fresh orange juice, soda and tonic water, and you have a good cocktail book, you'll find that you can make a decent variety of drinks.

Finally, here's my preferred bloody mary type recipe. I've experimented a lot, and this is what I think is the best. Clamato gives the drink a much lighter texture than regular tomato juice, which I prefer. (And technically, this is a Bloody Caesar because of the Clamato.)

2 oz. gin

Two or three shakes Tabasco (I actually use a sauce called Hot Lime)

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. prepared horseradish

two shakes celery salt

two big grind of black pepper

4 oz. Clamato

This ends up spicy but not unbearably hot, but you may want to start with less Tabasco and horseradish.

[drcocktail]

My secret weapon in Bloody Marys is the use of Vietnamese Sriracha sauce in conjunction with - or in lieu of - Tabasco. It adds a rich flavor to the other ingredients, well outlined above. Just start with a little. It's available at many better markets.

--Doc.

[JAZ]

My secret weapon in Bloody Marys is the use of Vietnamese Sriracha sauce in conjunction with - or in lieu of - Tabasco. It adds a rich flavor to the other ingredients, well outlined above. Just start with a little. It's available at many better markets.

--Doc.

Oh, sure, tempt me to go make a bloody mary right now to test this theory. (Hey, I have the day off, it's almost 10 am... hmmm...)

[DrinkBoy]

This is a common question, that I've got a pretty stock answer for... one in fact that I'm sure I've given before on this board, but a quick search didn't find it, so I'll just repeat :->

The first impulse always appears to be the construction of a mildly inclusive "shopping list" to take with you to the liquor store. For somebody like my self, Doc, JAZ, or other experienced mixologists here this isn't a bad way to re-construct your bar after a tornado (or big party) might have cleaned us out. But for a "beginner", I personally think this is the wrong approach. You'll not only end up spending a -lot- of money, but chances are you'll end up buying ingredients that you may never use, as well as a lot of really, really, bad brands (when faced with needing ty purchase upwards of hundreds of dollars of booze, you will surely feel you can "make do" with some of the $8 brands...)

Instead of trying to stock your bar so you you are prepared to make "almost anything", it would be far better to simply start your bar up to make "one drink at a time".

Pick a drink (hopefully one that you know you like) do a little research on the recipes for this drink. Look for variations, as well as a little history. Can you identify what you think is "the" way to make this drink? Or perhaps there are a couple of different styles. Now go pick up all the ingredients you need to make this one drink, including the different variations you think are appropriate.

Now spend the week making this drink up for yourself, significant other, and any friends that might happen to drop by. Try the variations. Take notes. Figure out what "you" think is the right way to make this drink, and now write this recipe down in your own private recipe book.

For the next week, select a different drink. Go through the same process of doing a little research, finding the variations, doing the shopping, and then spending a week mixing it up.

Eventually, following this process, you will not only build up a fairly good bar, but you will also know how to properly use -everything- in it. I think your friends will find this far more impressive then having a bunch of bottles that you aren't sure how to use.

Another tip, is that as you are running low on a particular ingredient, be sure to buy a "new" bottle before you run completely out. And don't buy the same brand, try something else, a little cheaper, or a little more expensive, then do your own little taste test between the two to help you figure out which is the better "bang for the buck". This way you'll figure out which brands you like the best and are willing to spend your hard earned money on.

-Robert

[DrinkBoy]

My secret weapon in Bloody Marys is the use of Vietnamese Sriracha sauce in conjunction with - or in lieu of - Tabasco. It adds a rich flavor to the other ingredients, well outlined above. Just start with a little. It's available at many better markets.

--Doc.

...my secret weapon is chili powder. It doesn't add any heat, but it does add some great depth of flavor.

-Robert

[Squeat Mungry]

My secret weapon in Bloody Marys is the use of Vietnamese Sriracha sauce in conjunction with - or in lieu of - Tabasco. It adds a rich flavor to the other ingredients, well outlined above. Just start with a little. It's available at many better markets.

--Doc.

...my secret weapon is chili powder. It doesn't add any heat, but it does add some great depth of flavor.

-Robert

And my tip: wasabi!

Cheers,

Squeat

[Lan4Dawg]

I prefer V-8 juice to tomato or clamato juice in bloody marys. But then I like gin instead of vodka & lemon instead of lime so what do I know?

A little horseradish, lemon zest, pepper, worcestershire, sprinkle of celery seed, & a dash (or 8-10) of a good hot sauce--usually Cholulah and I am ready to go. I also keep some pickled "Zydeco" green beans around as a garnish.

About the bar: JAZ linked the post fr/ the other day where we had a similar discussion. I said then--as the good doctor paraphrased--to get the stuff that you know is going to be consumed. It is kind of silly to buy a bottle of Lillet only to find that no one ever drinks it & it sits on the bar for ten years collecting dust. Instead spend the money on an extra bottle of Jack (or whatever) that you know all of your friends are going to drink or splurge on a better bottle of Scotch that some people will appreciate.

[beans]

fignewton:

Another welcome to eG!

I think the home bar is well covered. It all comes down to knowing your guests' and your own preferences in drink. Curious about trying something new? Make a few additions and you'll find what to keep on hand.

I love Sriracha in a Bloody Mary.

I change things up, depending on my firey mood. Absolut Peppar sometimes does it. If I have a homemade chile pepper vodka infusion -- that's the best. I've even tried this interesting Bols product.

It depends upon how involved you'd like to be in creating wonderful Bloody Mary drinks, or any variation thereof. For a excellent, somewhat premade mix, I wholly recommend Dimitri's. See this thread dedicated to the Bloody Mary.

Adventurous?

If nothing but homemade/made from scratch will do -- here is a luverly variation from this recent eG thread about another master mixologist's cocktails.

Another show stopper was his sampling of the Heirloom Tomato Martini garnished with a cherry tomato and basil leaf. The ingredients were similar to a Bloody Mary but Lafranconi’s drink included dry sherry, celery salt, fresh basil and homemade clear tomato water to enhance this classic drink.

* * * * * * *

Heirloom Martini

1 oz Vodka

0.5 oz Dry Sherry

2 oz Heirloom Tomato Juice*

Juice of 1 Lemon Wedge

Celery Salt to taste

Ground Green Pepper to Taste

4 Drops of Worcestershire Sauce

4 Drops of Green Tabasco

In a mixing glass, stir together lemon juice, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco. Add the tomato juice and ice, and then add the sherry and vodka. Stir all ingredients together and strain into a chilled cocktail glass (do not shake). Garnish with a cherry tomato on a cocktail stick and 2 thin-cut strips of fresh basil.

*Francesco’s Heirloom Tomato Juice: Simmer the tomatoes in hot water (180F) for about 7 minutes; extract the liquid from the tomatoes with a strainer lined with cheesecloth to remove the pulp and seeds. Keep refrigerated (it will last up to 48 hours).

And lastly, here is another Bloody Mary variation from this eGCI.

Japanese Mary

This is a recipe created by my lovely friend Queneau. It’s his idea of a Bloody Mary.

1 3/4 ounces Vodka

Lemon Juice to taste

Half a teaspoon prepared Wasabi

Salt and Pepper to taste

6 Basil Leaves

Dash Worchester Sauce

4 ounces Tomato Juice

Squeeze lemon into a mixing glass filled with ice. Combine all; shake and strain into a ice filled Collins glass. Garnish with fresh basil and lemon.

Cheers!

[herbacidal]

While I'm at, I'm also in search of great a Bloody Mary recipe - Have had some great ones at bars (had one with clam juice once that was killer) but have rarely mixed them at home.

Thanks in advance,

Joe

My method is to infuse vodka with habaneros.

Do it strong enough, and you don't even need black pepper, horseradish, or tabasco.

Of course, I like mine with extra kick, so I'd add 2 or 3 of those anyway.

[stephenc]

My secret is to use tequila instead of vodka. Bloody Marias taste much better than bloody marys. Oh yeah, lots of hot sauce and lime.

[stephenc]

Oh yeah, for a home bar all you need is:

vodka,

gin,

rum,

tequila,

scotch

bourbon

triple sec

vermouth

that's it.

"hey! can you make me a midori sour?"

"nope, how bout jack on the rocks?"

[evilhomer]

drinkboy i think offered the best advice so far, it's the approach i started with about two years and now don't have half of what most people suggested and haven't yet been left in any sort of a lurch.

Mind this is a highly personal list, I stock

Gin (plymoth)

Grand Marnier

Rum (amber - haven't settled on a brand yet)

Scotch (Te Bheag and a single malt, currently laphroaig - hope to have a few more eventually but still finding my way around at the whiskey bars)

Vodka (stoli - lives in the freezer)

white vermouth (noilly)

rye (canadian club, pretty cheap - permits excess)

limoncello (brought back froma trip to italy 3 years ago - no plans to refill when it finally empties)

I plan to add sweet vermouth as i do enjoy manhattans, but i just have them at inlaws over christmas and don't tend to crave them until next christmas.

I also think an anise licquor would be welcome as i like a splash in my gin and tonics, for now that's a treat when i hit the patio bars.