When you consider what to stock your home liquor cabinet with, besides your own personal favorites, you must consider the basics: both clear and brown spirits, and the mixers (kept in the refrigerator after opening as they are perishable) that go with them. If you want to make cocktails, invest in a good cocktail book like the 12 Bottle Bar book by David Solmonson and Lesley Jacobs Solmonson, which will give you some easy recipes and only 12 main bottles of spirits.
Clear: Vodka, gin, white rum, and silver tequila.
Colored: Bourbon, rye, aged tequila, blended whisky, single malt scotch whisky, and rum.
Standard mixers for these spirits include tonic, soda, fruit juices, and ginger beer. Besides mixers, to build a cocktail you will need aromatic bitters, sweet and dry vermouth, mint, cherries, orange, lemon and lime for garnish, and simple syrup.
For you and special guests, you should also consider stocking a Cognac. During one Cognac class, I learned that unless your home is as cold as a French Chateau a couple of hundred years ago: chill your Cognac. After that lesson, I now keep my Cognac in the freezer and enjoy it in a chilled coupe. The aromas and flavors don’t close, and the liquid itself takes on richness, in my opinion, when chilled over serving at room temperature.
Glassware: Presentation is key in serving a fine spirit or cocktail. You will want to invest in both a rocks glass for single spirits and cocktails, a coupe for Martini style drinks and if you are a serious scotch connoisseur consider investing in the Glencairn or NEAT nosing glass that is used for judging all spirits in serious competitions including the Proof Awards in Las Vegas.
Ice: If you want to really elevate your cocktails and single spirits you can simply use a large square ice mold. The idea is the larger the cube, the longer it takes to melt and dilute the drink. To make it clear: my favorite tray is made by True Cubes, which will give you clear ice on the top of the tray while the sediments that make cubes cloudy settle on the bottom of the tray. I even have a mini cube tray for Tiki drinks if you like those types of cocktails.
Finally, for cocktail building, you will need a cocktail shaker (or a beaker if you prefer a stirred drink), a strainer, a long bar spoon, and a jigger for measuring.
Finally, let me share just a few of my favorite cocktail recipes you can try with your new well-stocked liquor cabinet:
Manhattan: 2 ounces bourbon or rye, 1-ounce sweet vermouth, 2 dashes bitters. Can build over ice in a shaker or stirred in a glass beaker. Strain into a rocks glass over ice, garnish with a cherry, lemon and/or orange peel.
Old Fashioned: 2 ounces bourbon, 1-teaspoon simple or muddled brown sugar, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, shake or stir, garnish with a cherry, lemon and/or orange peel.
Moscow Mule: Over crushed ice pour 2-ounces vodka, juice from half of a lime, top with ginger beer. Swap vodka for any spirit of choice, rye and bourbon work well. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Gin Martini: In a shaker with ice add 2 ounces gin, a half cap of dry vermouth, 2 dashes orange bitters, and then strain into an iced coupe or Martini glass.
Eve Bushman is Wine and Spirits Education Trust certified, a North American Sommelier Association American Wine Specialist®, authored Wine Etiquette for Everyone, and has served as a judge for the Proof Awards, Cellarmasters, LA Wine Competition, Long Beach Grand Cru, and the Global Wine Awards.
