Setting Up Your Home Bar

This is a very basic and introductory guide to stocking a home bar.

You may be daunted by the prospect of building up your home bar.  "What should I buy?  Everything is so expensive.  What brands are good?" may be some thoughts that run through your mind.

If you spend a bit of time thinking about the basics, invest in some basic tools and glassware, and stock up on some essential liquors,  you can have a homebar that will impress amateurs and even make die-hard cocktail enthusiasts nod in quiet approval.
Core to your liquor cabinet will be the six basic spirits:
Brandy, Whiskey, Rum, Tequila, Gin, and Vodka.
To this you will also want to add Dry Vermouth, Sweet Vermouth, and Triple Sec. With just those nine basics, and some pantry items like lemons, limes, sugar, juices and soda, you can get started making many mixed drinks.
Of course, over time, there will be additional spirits, liqueurs, and cordials that you'll discover you'll need, and we've provided a list below to get you started.

One thing to consider is your personal taste, and the drinking habits of your friends. Are you a gin drinker?  Do your friends like tequila drinks? If the answer is no, don't be in a hurry to add a bottle to your collection just because it is on a list.

Below, is a list of some basic supplies you may want to consider adding to your home bar.  Specific brand recommendations are added (in pink) for a bit of guidance, but keep in mind that this is a matter of personal preference.  Links in blue will take you to an page that will introduce you to that ingredient.

Base Spirits (one bottle each of these six spirits)
Brandy, Cognac, Grappa, Pisco, Calvados and Apple, Cherry, Plum

(Ernest and Julio Gallo makes a serviceable Californian brandy for mixed drinks)
(Macchu or BarSol for a decent Pisco)
(Laird's Bonded 100, or AppleJack for a decent apple brandy)

Whiskey, Scotch, Irish, American Rye, American Bourbon, Canadian

(Old Overholt for Rye, Buffalo Trace for Bourbon)

Rum, Rhum Agricole, Cachaca

(Cruzan for white rum, Gosling's for dark rum)

Tequila, and Mescal

(Sauza Plata is fine for mixed drinks)

Gin
(Gordon's, Tanqueray, or Plymouth)
Vodka

(Sobieski or  Ketel One)

Cordials
Amaretto
Bitters(Potable) (Campari)
Coffee (Kahlua is fine)
Curacao, Triple Sec, or other Orange Cordials (Cointreau is best)
Creme de Cacao (chocolate)
(comes clear or brown, choose clear for your first bottle)
Creme de Cassis (blackcurrant)
Creme de Menthe (mint) (comes clear or green, choose clear)
Herbal (Benedictine) do not buy B&B, which is mixed with brandy
Maraschino (Luxardo)
Sloe Gin (Plymouth)

Bitters
Angostura find at any supermarket
Peychaud's find at Premier Gourmet
Orange Bitters (Regan's) find at Premier Gourmet

Syrups and Sweeteners
Table Sugar, Bar Sugar, and Simple Syrup
Honey
Agave Syrup
Grenadine, and other flavored syrups

Juices
lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit,
pineapple, cranberry, tomato

Diary
milk, cream, butter
eggs

Garnish
lemon (for peel and twist), lime (for peel and twist), cocktail olives

Tools
Two piece Cocktail Shaker (Boston Shaker)
Hawthorne Strainer (Oxo makes the best one)
Fine Tea Strainer
Measuring Jigger (Oxo makes a good one)
Citrus Juicer
Long Handled Bar Spoon
Muddler
Wine Bottle Corkscrew
Bottle opener


Glassware
V-Shaped cocktail glass, highball glass, old-fashioned glass