Comments on: How to Stock a Home Bar

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:10:05 +0000

This thread has been a pleasure to read. I have been slowly accumulating a nice home bar. The bar itself is very unassuming and fits in our dining area (fairly narrow brick row home in Philly). I like to keep a mix of high and low end liquor. I tend to use the lower end liquor for various mixed drinks. For drinks that are fairly straight forward (whisky neat, martinitis, gin and tonics, etc) I like to use those for which I am a big fan:

Scotch: The Balvenie Doublewood 12 yrs, Lagavulin 16 (my favorite and the manliest scotch that I’ve had)

Irish Whiskey: Jameson 18

Bourbon: Knob Creek, Bullet bourbon (not bad and is inexpensive)

Gin: Hendricks (great martini with cucumber not olives), Beefeater (inexpensive)

Vodka: Belvedere, Froggy (inexpensive)

In addition to these, I keep some silver patron, dark rum, bitters, countreau, dry vermouth, sweet vermouth, kalhua and grand marnier around. Keep a nice stock of soda water and tonic. For tonic: Fever Tree or Q-tonic are great tonics that don’t have high fructose corn syrup. Lots of fresh citrus and some mint if having a party. Same goes for Prosecco, Champagne, Red and White wine.

When solo, I tend to lean towards Scotch or Bourbon.

Great article and topic to discuss. I’ve had a great time slowly building a collection.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 02:49:35 +0000

If you’re talking single malt I can’t recommend Highland Park nearly enough. It’s a little on the pricey side but I’ve yet to meet a better sipping scotch than the Highland Park 18yr.

By: Travis

Travis — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 21:49:54 +0000

no mention of Hennigan’s?

-”…no smell, no tell. Scotch.”

By: miles

miles — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 23:46:39 +0000

um.. no mention of triple sec? a must-have for many mixed drinks

By: R.C. Albright

R.C. Albright — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:40:33 +0000

For Bourbon I would suggest Rowans Creek or Noahs Mill. $30 a bottle for an amazing value. In my humble opinion.

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 02:34:27 +0000

Some good ideas for just starting out. Don’t know if anyone mentioned this but two things I think the list needs for a basic bar set-up are dry and sweet vermouth. Can’t make a manhattan or martini without em! Two very simple cocktails that every man should know how to make, and make well. Also Eric Felten’s “How’s Your Drink” is an excellent book on cocktails and stories about them, complete with “recipes.” Used to love his weekly column in the WSJ. Bottoms up!

By: Devin Gonzales

Devin Gonzales — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:05:06 +0000

I was a little turned off after scanning info about tequilas. Perhaps it is also good to start small when writing about your bar.

But I try to be constructive so let me share what I mean. The author asserts that silver tequila is premium, and “gold” tequila cheaper. This is misleading. There are 3 main types: Silver, Reposado, and Anejo. Reposado and Anejo are aged in wood barrels which adds a characteristic gold color. Anejo is the darkest because it is aged the longest. Silver tequilas are ideal for margaritas, and reposado/anejo are ideal for sipping in order to appreciate the more complex flavor from aging. I would hardly describe them as cheaper. Of course, this author could be referring to Jose Cuervo or Suaza tequilas. The “gold” tequila from the cheaper distilleries gets it’s color from food coloring and is not aged in barrels. Patron is ok, but indeed the world beyond patron is grander (and often less expensive).

I’m not sure this article would be helpful in terms of stocking your bar. If you want a great book that will educate you I suggest, “The Essential Cocktail: The Art of Mixing Perfect Drinks.” It’s the best I’ve seen so far.

By: Wayne

Wayne — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 09:52:11 +0000

one of the jeffs: (48)

Hard Cider is cider that is allowed to ferment naturally like a beer and isn’t distilled (Commercially available hard ciders like Woodchuck are more like a malt liquor drink.) Apple Jack is a liquor distilled from apple juice, closer to apple brandy. It’s actually kind of hard to find Applejack, nobody really makes or drinks it anymore.

http://www.lairdandcompany.com/products_applejack.htm

Someone mentioned Cruzan already, but I highly recommend their Single Barrel variety. It’s about 30 dollars for a 750ml bottle, but I think it tastes better than their normal light or dark blended rums and is leagues ahead of spiced bottom shelf varieties like Captain Morgan.

By: Brian Splash

Brian Splash — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 02:06:23 +0000

“backfire effect” what can l say , you are very passionate about the brands you drink , and good for you , but shouting down other peoples preference in consumables is pointless so why do it .
As far as my choice of beverages , l try to go with something that is close to its origin
re : bourbon , l will go with something that is made in Kentucky , like ” bakers ”
rum , British ” british navy pusser’s rum ” and so on , so shout me down and watch me dig my heels in !
As far as the article goes , it was a good read , as are all the articles on this site .

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 11:55:24 +0000

Good article! I am very pleased to see others backing Beefeaters Gin on this post. When I first started drinking Martini’s, this was the first one I tried(because it was my grandfather’s choice)and have been using it ever since. I’ve tried others; Tanqueray, Bombay Blue, New Amsterdam, some good, some bad, but I always come back to the Beefeaters.
On the comment about the craft beers being over hoppy and not too good, Thats a problem with beer right now, a whole lot of it being produced and not a lot of quality. All in all, a good article and thanks for the info.