Posted: 2/1/2017 6:52:48 PM EDT
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Halp!
Need recommendations for good bar stock. So far: Vodka-Tito's (because reasons) Bourbon-Eagle Rare and whatever else I feel like having What else should I stock. |
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a gin, whiskey, whisky, vodka, tequilla, tripple sec, rum
and whatever you like I would buy a small "good" bottle of each, and a larger bottle of the okay for mixers. I would add bitters and some juices(frozen lime/lemon/pineapple are pretty good if you cant get fresh. |
One of everything? 
Once in a while, I wonder about stocking a noteworthy bar. Aside from the usual assortment of stuff that supports American drinking style, random stuff like: Campari selection of good sake Mekhong whiskey (example of "you don't have this one" stocking philosophy) no absinthe (too hipsterish) |
A few bourbons and one with a higher proof for cocktails. A good rye. Gin. A decent rum. An Islay and a highland single malt. A blanco tequila and an anejo/reposado with the Blanco for mixed drinks and the other for sipping. A good cocktail kit and book, and of course some bitters, cherries, grenadine...etc for making a drink. And of course the right selection of glasses for everything.
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i should have saved the bar stocking post that i've re-typed like 8 times. not going to put in that much effort on this one.
main thing is primarily to stock what you drink, while giving yourself and your guests some reasonable options. this will serve you far better than trying to emulate your favorite restaurant's bar selection. you will want liquors, cordials, and mixers. liquors are primary intoxicants--the base of your drinks. they provide the horsepower for your drinks. the most common liquors are vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and whiskey. you don't need all of them. cordials (or liqueurs) are flavor agents that are usually added to bases in order to formulate cocktails. one of the most important is triple sec, which is added to tequila to make margaritas, to bourbon to make lynchburg lemonades, or as a component of a long island tea. other cordials are kahlua (coffee), amaretto (almonds), frangelico (hazelnut), midori (honeydew melon), and so on. others like rumple minze and grand marnier are consumed straight. you don;t need many of these. again, come up with a list of cocktails that you drink, and look up the cordials for those. mixers are everything else: tomato juice and such for bloody marys, fruit juices, aromatic bitters, and so on. figure out what you drink, come up with a couple of things that your friends drink, and go from there. the motif should be clear here: stock for the drinks that you normally drink. you can always add stuff, but it sucks to get stuck with a bunch of crap that you don't need. for gear, what you really need is: waiter's wine tool (which includes a bottle opener), good luck. |
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To my mind, you'd want everything on hand to make "classic" cocktails. that's definitely you. i venture to say that most people are less adventurous when it comes to experimenting with new stuff, and therefore trying to buy 'everything' would result in a lot of wasted money and dusty bottles. |
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Gin - Hendriks / Greenhouse
Whisky - russles reserve / bulliet Rye - templeton Scotch - Glenlivet 12+ Brandy - (ick.. pick whatever) Rum - not experienced to make a recommendation Wine - red (blends suit more peoples tastes)/white(pinot gris)/pink Tonic water/club soda/ginger ale/lemon/lime/simple syrup/plenty of Ice to start with. |
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Rum- Cruzan 2 year
Bourbon- Elijah Craig for neat and Evan Williams for mixing Vodka- Luksosowa Tequila- Lunazul Blanco Gin- Beefeater? Triple Sec Simple Syrup Margarita mix Tonic Club Soda Zing Zang Bottled Lime Juice Bitters Will need to buy fresh as needed, but fresh squeezed lemon juice, limes, oranges, mint etc. depending on what you are making Also a set of tins, a jigger, strainer, bar spoon and a bar mat are nice to have. My roommate and I just got a lot of this together and have been playing round making various things, its a lot fun. |
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To my mind, you'd want everything on hand to make "classic" cocktails. Correct. Which makes the answer to the OP's question, "Knowledge." Learn to make drinks, and then you'll know what you need to stock your bar with. I'll recommend the Manhattan as a first step, since it's simple and all required ingredients are must-haves in any bar. 2oz Mid-level bourbon (e.g. Templeton rye) - don't listen to the people who say you must use rye, though. Use what you like. 1oz high-end sweet/red vermouth (I like Dolin) - Don't ever, ever, ever buy cheap vermouth. If you can't sip it neat and find it enjoyable, if a little intense, you shouldn't use it for cocktails. I made that mistake for too long. Angostura bitters - but feel free to use Peychaud's if you prefer those Shake with ice, strain into lowball (or a coupe if you feel like washing it afterwards) 1 Luxardo cherry (and don't use any other brand. You'll need to order these unless you have a baller liquor store.) There, now you've got good ingredients to make a respectable drink. Branch out into Old Fashioneds, Julep, Sazerac, and other bourbon drinks first, then go after gin and dry vermouth. Or vice-versa, if you prefer gin. Get some books (as in plural), and only believe what's common/shared in all of them. The IBA is a good guide, and Wikipedia generally has that recipe listed as the authoritative one, but do be wary for your own personal preference and some common conventions. Your taste is probably immature if you're a beginner (not insulting, you'll see what I mean in time), so don't trust it too much at first (see also: this is why we measure and do things in a repeatable way), but eventually you'll come to form an opinion on certain things and the reasoning behind it. Note the former is worthless without the latter. I have a very strong opinion about the proper glass for a Margarita, for example. It's a chunky, straight-walled rocks glass. But it's the why that's more important. That gets into the fact that it's basically a tequila sour, yet (a good one, at least, using aged tequila) hits all four major tastes of the tongue (sweet, salty, sour, bitter), and delivery to the whole tongue is thus important. With a stemmed broad-rimmed glass (cocktail, or those gay-ass upside-down sombrero things), you're pulling in a bunch of air with each sip. Which is good for aromatic drinks like the Martini, but somewhat useless for a Margarita. Worse, it keeps the delivery towards the front of the tongue, and you miss the bitter flavors (in fact, I'll bet you probably thought I was bullshitting you when I said that aged tequilas contain bitter flavors - because you've been drinking it wrong). Yes, you could use a straw, but you miss the salt (if you choose to use it), and what's the point of the fucking stemware if you're going to use a straw? So you can pay $10 for $1.50 worth of tequila at a Tex-Mex chain? Not that I'm above slamming a few Margaritas at a Chili's on a Tuesday, mind you. Point is, form follows function, and I have experimented enough to make the argument convincingly. You can come to my house and ask me for a Margarita, and I will make you a fantastic one. But the ingredients and the hardware are just small parts of that. |
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Lots of good suggestions so far, and I don't have much more to add in terms of brands.
My preference is to definitely keep stock of what I like to typically drink (bourbon), have some of the staples (rum, gin, tequila, vodka, etc) on hand, and have a bit of a spread in terms of quality. I have some nicer bourbons literally on my top shelf that are for honored guests or special occasions, and then every day bourbons on hand where easy to get to for a quick drink. If you regularly host guests it is a nice gesture to keep their favorite drink on hand, even if that is just a regular light beer. I try to keep some wines on hand as well... a couple of reds, like a Cab-Sav and Merlot, maybe even a Zinfandel or Chiraz, and then some whites like a Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay and often a Riesling as well. Usually keep a few blends that are pretty sweet for my wife as well. Never hurts at all to be prepared, and nice thing is with wines is that you can get some really good quality $10 bottles to keep around. Also, great post above about having the right "bar tools" around as well. Nothing is more annoying then scrounging for a bottle opener, a win glass, or a tumbler for a mixed drink when you want it. I also like to keep a few beer mugs in the freezer for the "frosty mug" effect if folks like it that way. My dad loves having a beer in a frosty mug, so always have one ready for him. Probably my best advice is don't feel like you have to do it all at once an go sink $500 in liquor all at once. All you'll do is feel bad about spending that much money and talk yourself out of some things. Instead, pick up a bottle or two here and there when at the grocery store or at the liquor store and build it up little by little. |
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Quoted:
Correct. Which makes the answer to the OP's question, "Knowledge." Learn to make drinks, and then you'll know what you need to stock your bar with. I'll recommend the Manhattan as a first step, since it's simple and all required ingredients are must-haves in any bar. 2oz Mid-level bourbon (e.g. Templeton rye) - don't listen to the people who say you must use rye, though. Use what you like. 1oz high-end sweet/red vermouth (I like Dolin) - Don't ever, ever, ever buy cheap vermouth. If you can't sip it neat and find it enjoyable, if a little intense, you shouldn't use it for cocktails. I made that mistake for too long. Angostura bitters - but feel free to use Peychaud's if you prefer those Shake with ice, strain into lowball (or a coupe if you feel like washing it afterwards) 1 Luxardo cherry (and don't use any other brand. You'll need to order these unless you have a baller liquor store.) There, now you've got good ingredients to make a respectable drink. Branch out into Old Fashioneds, Julep, Sazerac, and other bourbon drinks first, then go after gin and dry vermouth. Or vice-versa, if you prefer gin. Get some books (as in plural), and only believe what's common/shared in all of them. The IBA is a good guide, and Wikipedia generally has that recipe listed as the authoritative one, but do be wary for your own personal preference and some common conventions. Your taste is probably immature if you're a beginner (not insulting, you'll see what I mean in time), so don't trust it too much at first (see also: this is why we measure and do things in a repeatable way), but eventually you'll come to form an opinion on certain things and the reasoning behind it. Note the former is worthless without the latter. I have a very strong opinion about the proper glass for a Margarita, for example. It's a chunky, straight-walled rocks glass. But it's the why that's more important. That gets into the fact that it's basically a tequila sour, yet (a good one, at least, using aged tequila) hits all four major tastes of the tongue (sweet, salty, sour, bitter), and delivery to the whole tongue is thus important. With a stemmed broad-rimmed glass (cocktail, or those gay-ass upside-down sombrero things), you're pulling in a bunch of air with each sip. Which is good for aromatic drinks like the Martini, but somewhat useless for a Margarita. Worse, it keeps the delivery towards the front of the tongue, and you miss the bitter flavors (in fact, I'll bet you probably thought I was bullshitting you when I said that aged tequilas contain bitter flavors - because you've been drinking it wrong). Yes, you could use a straw, but you miss the salt (if you choose to use it), and what's the point of the fucking stemware if you're going to use a straw? So you can pay $10 for $1.50 worth of tequila at a Tex-Mex chain? Not that I'm above slamming a few Margaritas at a Chili's on a Tuesday, mind you. Point is, form follows function, and I have experimented enough to make the argument convincingly. You can come to my house and ask me for a Margarita, and I will make you a fantastic one. But the ingredients and the hardware are just small parts of that. I'm curious what your margarita recipe is. I'm used to the usual margarita mix+tequila+triple sec. I have a feeling you've got something better going on. 
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that's definitely you. i venture to say that most people are less adventurous when it comes to experimenting with new stuff, and therefore trying to buy 'everything' would result in a lot of wasted money and dusty bottles. Martini Tom Collins Manhattan Daiquiri Whiskey Sour Screwdriver Old Fashioned Mojito Rusty Nail Sidecar Bloody Mary Long Island Margarita Tequila Sunrise Mint Julep White Russian (not really a "classic", but The Big Lebowski changed everything  )
Oh, and I'd keep some Galliano on hand for a Harvey Wallbanger, because I was born too late and probably would have loved the 70's. And my grandfather might show up. Â 
Enough booze on hand to make these (with an occasional trip to the store for the fresh stuff before a party), would have me in high cotton. |
What are we looking at there, bro? Â 
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What are we looking at there, bro? Â Quoted:
What are we looking at there, bro? Â Yeah, what @FuriousYachtsman ? Looks like a garbage disposal on the bottom of a cooler. |
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What are we looking at there, bro? Â Quoted:
What are we looking at there, bro? Â Blender |
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Shellback Spiced Rum if you can find it, Ron Diaz Spiced and Gran Reserva if you can't. Both are cheap.
Malibu coconut rum George Dickel Black, Elijah Craig 12, and 4 Roses Single Barrel bourbons Rittenhouse Rye Label 5 8 year and Laphroig 12 year scotches New Amsterdam Vodka Patron Cafe XO tequila Pepsi 1893, Coca Cola, Sprite, Squirt sodas |
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When I do opening orders for bars I break it down by category.
I will list some of my brands for you. But let it be known, there is a lot more. Vodka- Titos, Absolut, Skyy, Chopin Gin- Beefeater, Tanqueray, Bombay Rum- Malibu, Cruzan, Captain, Plantation, Zafra Whisky- Canadian Club, Crown, Jameson, Bourbon- Beam, Bookers, Bakers, Knob Creek , Wild Turkey Scotch- Chivas, Glenlivet, house of Walker Tequila - Sauza, Patron, Casamigos, Don Julio Cordials- Gran Mariner, Midori, Kahlua, Godiva |
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To my mind, you'd want everything on hand to make "classic" cocktails. Bingo. Gin Vodka Bourbon Rye Canadian whisky Irish whisky Scotch (single malt and blend) Rum (dark and light) Tequila Dry Vermouth Sweet Vermouth Bitters Sour mix Various liqueurs Olives Cocktail onions Maraschino cherries Lemon Lime Club soda Tonic water Ice bucket Shaker Martini pitcher Various appropriate glassware |
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Neat, if anyone tries to mix this, break their arm. https://img.thewhiskyexchange.com/540/irish_bus8.jpg Taste pretty good with sprite
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I used to try to stock everything. Now I just have a cheap plastic tray on our buffet with rye, bourbon, scotch, and cognac with bitters, sugar cubes, a bar spoon, and some rocks glasses. I could pare it down though because I mainly just drink old fashioneds. Attached File |
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Martini Tom Collins Manhattan Daiquiri Whiskey Sour Screwdriver Old Fashioned Mojito Rusty Nail Sidecar Bloody Mary Long Island Margarita Tequila Sunrise Mint Julep White Russian (not really a "classic", but The Big Lebowski changed everything )this is a great list to show how well a smart stock can do. everything on this list (and more) can be made from the following ingredients: liquors: vodka, gin, rum, tequila, whiskey cordials: orange liqueur, kahlua, drambuie mixers: vermouth, bitters, sour, simple, mary, rose's lime & grenadine, fruit juice, half & half, carbonated stuff. plus garnish and a few special ingredients like mint. and the list could be even shorter if sub didn't have an almost hipsterlike taste for arcane stuff (is neo-retro-hipster a thing?). for example, if one were to knock off the rusty nail (which very few people even know about any more), there goes the need for drambuie, which the bar version of alton brown would call a monotasker. kahlua is another that only makes one appearance on this list, but it's much more flexible. the above, plus the high end sipping scotch/bourbon/brandy of your choice, would be a very nice stock. other than the one expensive bottle, with smart shopping it could probably be had for <$150. |
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There's the full bar.
But you might also need the smaller, satellite bar for the office or library... Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File |