So, in the margarita thread in the Tailgate, I mentioned the housewarming party and the start of my liquor cabinet.

So, it appears I will get the green light to actually incorparate a "bar' of sorts into where I am going to set up the components for the TV in our family room.

So, looking for what I need for basics in terms of liquor/mixers for a properly stocked bar. I don;t drink that often, but now that we have a larger house we may be hosting more often, and I want to be able to be sure to provide my guests with whatever they would like.

Any specific liquors/brands I should consider?

What key mixers do I need to keep in stock?

Anything else?

Baileys
Bourbon* (Kentucky) (only one bottle? Wild Turkey; alt -Knob Creek or Makers Mark)
Brandy
Cognac
Canadian whiskey
Jack Daniels
Gin* (only one bottleTanqueray; alt - none)
Kahlua
Rum* (light and dark)
Scotch* (only 1 bottle? Johhny Walker Black Label; alt - Aberlour 10 year, if you want single malt)
Tequila*
Vodka* (only 1 bottle? Smirnoff; alt - Stolichnaya)
Cointreau
Grand Marnier
Dry Vermouth

The ones marked with the * I'd consider getting at least 2 brands - a cheap one for mixing and a decent one for tasting.

Also:

Angostura Bitters
Bar sugar
Black pepper
Olives
Lemons
Limes
Oranges
Tabasco Sauce
Worchestshire sauce

Cocktail Shaker
Bottle Opener
Corkscrew
Measuring cup
Paring knife

Coke
Cranberry Juice
Ginger Ale
Lemon Juice
Lime Juice
Orange Juice
Club Soda
Tomato Juice
Tonic Water

He said he's stocking a bar, not opening one.....

I think you could get away with less than what Furd suggests. Those his is a fine list.

I would imagine either brandy or cognac but not both (just make sure it's a decent bottle)
Evan Williams makes a great bourbon and it's nice and cheap. I would do a bottle of that, a bottle of Rye (Jim Beam), and skip the JD.
Specifically for the Tequilla, if you go with 2, I'd pick Sauza Blanco for the mixer and Don Julio Anejo for the sipper. That way you get two distinct styles and the Sauza is goon enough to shoot if someone prefers a plata.
Cointreau on it's own is actually pretty tasty, so I wouldn't think you'd both Grand Marnier and that.

Now, if I was stocking a bar from scratch, one place that I certainly wouldn't skimp was the vermouths and bitters. We did a taste test making martinis, manhattans, etc. One each with premium booze and cheap vermouth, the other with decent booze and premium vermouth. The ones that had the better vermouths tasted way, way better. It wasn't even close. Now, these may cost 2x the price of the cheap stuff but when you consider how little you use, it's by far the most bang for the buck in terms of improving your cocktail.

My vermouth of choice is Vya. They make both a dry and a sweet.
For bitters, Regans Orange #6 and peychaud are essential. Funny story about Regans. Because bitters is considered a grocery item rather than booze (like extracts), the FDA tests it to make sure it's nasty enough that you wouldn't want to drink it by itself. They turned down his first several recipe submissions because it was "too potable". Finally, he made it nasty enough to qualify as bitters.

One important tool missing from Furd's list is a twist knife (or whatever they're called). A pairing knife will do in a pinch but the tool for digging twists out of citrus makes the job much easier and we've found that so many drinks are greatly improved by the inclusion of a twist.

You're also going to want a jigger. Even among pros, there's a movement towards using them rather than counts because people are starting to take great pride in their recipes.

Also, I wouldn't bother with too many canned juices. Maybe cranberry and pineapple but if you're going to use citrus juice, use fresh. If you've got lemons, limes, and oranges around, you can always juice enough to get you through an impromptu cocktail hour. If you know you're going to have a party, then you can always stock up on the fresh stuff for the night. In fact, when we're having a party, I typically tend to decide upon a particular cocktail that we're going to "push". Of course, you're going to want to be able to get someone something else, but it's sort of fun to have a themed drink of the night. You'll find that most will end up wanting that one.

Well, I like to drink.

Don't forget glassware:

Beer mug
Beer pint
Beer pilsner (overkill maybe)
Brandy snifter
Cocktail glass (martini)
Highball glass
Margarita glass
Old-fashioned glass

You don't want to pour a decent drink into a water glass.

Grenadine

Fancy umbrellas for all the flavored margaritas you will be mixing . . .

Don't forget the blender!!

I like Furd's suggestions, and of course Taz, but I'm picky about my vodka, only get Polish potato vodka, like Belvedere or Chopin---who was 1/2 Polish btw

Just make sure your guests know there drinking an inferior drink.

drill out baseball bat fill with lead

Pimms

Bruichladdich (scotch)
Brunello di Montalcino (wine)
J Rose (wine)
Deschutes' Black Butte & Mirror Pond (beer)


If one of those five doesn't appeal, do you really want them as a friend?

Walker black over Glenfidditch?

Fixed for accuracy . . . .

No bar is complete without Busch Light.

I'd keep it cold.

in addition to Furds list. Roses lime juice, grenadine, Amaretto, Triple sec (cheaper than cointreu and a mixer used in a lot of drinks. Frangelico. Sweet vermouth for those that might want a manhattan or rob roy

Sour mix

Eventually some flavored vodkas

Citron
Orange
Vanilla

Many others. Obviously you want get all the stuffe we list but its good to see what people suggest

Disagree on the lime juice. Just use fresh as the color in a bottole of Rose will change over time and resukt in an unsightly appearance.

Unless all your guests drink Gimlets, it will just go to waste . .

Obviously depends on how much you want to spend. Furd's list (with a few additions) is bitchin', but that would cost you an arm and a leg.

Off the top of my head, here's what I would at least start out with, with budget in mind.

- A good bottle of tequila, for shots of course.

- A decent bottle of tequila, for margaritas

- A good bottle of whiskey, for the occasional shot

- A decent bottle of whiskey (Jack, I'd guess) since I know you like Jack n' Cokes

- A good bottle of vodka (Goose, Level, etc.)

- Baileys and Kahlua

- Good bottle of gin (Tanq, I'd guess... I'm not a gin drinker but some are, obviously)

- Good bottle of scotch (Glenfiddich is advisable)

- Good, but not too expensive bottles of light and dark rum

- If you have martini drinkers around, you'll need dry vermouth

- Some lemons, limes, olives, margarita salt... and Furd nailed all the mixers

Fresh lime juice has a shorter shelf life than Roses but isnt terribly expensive so I guess you can go either way.

I highly suggest Pinch for your Scotch drinking friends.

Yep. Its just a good, all around, inexpensive scotch.

IMO, if you want to have a functioning bar, you need the mixers, not the booze. You will buy what you want in that regard. But if you already have vermouth (sweet and dry), bitters, triple sec (you could go cointreau or grand marnier - particularly if you might use those from time to time for cooking as well. Same goes for port, sherry or maderia) , simple syrup (make it yourself) and fresh juices (no excuse for anything else) then a bottle of whiskey goes from being able to be served 2 ways (up or on the rocks) to being able to be served in any way whiskey can be served, as does every other liquor.

As for the booze, if you are mixing drinks, middle of the road should suffice (particularly if you take Detlef's suggestion and get nice mixers.) There are a handful though that IMO, there's just no substitute for high end, like tequila for example. True, you may not be a big tequila drinker, but the bottle will last that much longer, and you'll look classy when you pull it out. If you are going to be drinking it straight up, get the good stuff.

The glassware isn't a bad idea either if you have the dough. A highball can be served in any kind of glass, but a up-martini served in a rocks glass just lacks that certain asthetic, as would brandy or port in a wine glass. Buy based on what you like to drink. If you don't ever drink brandy or cognac, there's no need to spring for snifters.

This is I think where you might be making things difficult on yourself. "Whatever they would like" is a really tall order. IMO the best way to do a simple bar is to establish a few staples that you like, and that are good quality bottles.

Furd has the right of it. My main concern would be staying away from too man choices in a type of alcohol. Pick your "house" brands.

I don't mix much. I might toss an ice cube in my scotch or bourbon, but I don't have to, and outside of that I don;t like to foul up mu liquor with other ingredients.

Vodka: Pick one that you like. Absolut, Stoli, Kettle One, Belvedere, Chopin, Smirnoff, etc. There are tons. If I could only keep one it would probably be the Chopin( (for sipping), but that's on the pricey side. If I was taking a second on it would most likely be the Stoli (for mixing).
Rum: Rum has come a long way and can be very enticing because there are so many ways to drink it. Many people stick within the Bacardi Light, Myers Dark, Captain Morgan, and Parrot Bay/Malibu Rum. Chicks dig Malibu Rum. Unless you plan on drinking the rum straight, you can probably get by best with a bottle of Captain Morgan and a bottle of Myers Dark. Third consideration would be the coconut rum, and then if you really wanted to go bananas you could find a nice sipping rum.
Gin: Tanguery is a really good choice. Unless you are really a gin martini guy, there is no reason to stock more.
Tequila: There's a lot of tequila out there these days. If you don't mind spending the $, a good bottle of Cabo Wabo will do you fine for sipping and for mixing. If you are looking to save $, buy the Cuervo Gold for mixing.
Whiskey/Bourbon: If I were keeping one, it would probably be the Knob Creek. Good juice for the price point. If you are a mix it with coke kind of guy (*gack*), then perhaps you want some jack. A bottle of Crown Royal wouldn't hurt either.
Scotch: Scotch is tough. You have your Single Malt Snobs and then your wannabe scotch drinkers/ scotch and water crowd. Johnny Black will do for the second group. If you want to keep one single malt, I keep the Balvenie Doublewood on hand. It's not super expensive ($40-$45 per bottle), and it's smooth without a powerful taste. Most people will be happy to drink it if they are scotch drinkers. I have yet to hear someone that did not take to it.
Cognac/Brandy/Armanac: All similar stuff. If you plan to make mixers with Brandy, a bottle of EJ's will do fine. If you are planning on having a nice sipping bottle, IMO it's worth the money to grab a bottle of Remy or Henessey XO. Delemain is nice too, but in my area it's more expensive and IMO not noticibly better enough to justify the money.
Port: I would suggest keeping a couple of bottle of Taylor Fladgate 10 year old tawney port on the bar.

The rest of the stuff Furd mentioned are the "Must Haves". Ask at the liquor store what the best vermouth* they carry is. It makes all the difference in the martini, much more than the Vodka does.

A couple of things I forgot...
Irish Whiskey A bottle of Jamesons or Bushmill will be appreciated by most adult drinkers that try it. Very under rated stuff.
Coffee Mixers Furd mentioned Bailey and Kahlua, but other things to consider are Sambvca, Frangelico and Amaretto DI Saronno (The only kind of Amaretto)

*Martini and Rossi will do, but Vya Extra Dry and Vya Sweet are top notch

You should actually try Dewar's new higher end blended they created to compete with Johnny Black.

BTW, I agree with you in general and think that blended scotches taste better than all but the really, really nice single malts so I certainly choose it for a general purpose one. That said, maybe because I'm more of a bourbon guy than a scotch guy, I prefer Dewars Black (I can't recall the exact name right now). It's a bit fuller and smoother. Maybe a scotch purist wouldn't like it as much as Johnny Black, but I like it a lot. It's also about $5 cheaper here in NC.

Thank you all for the input. Will take it all under advisement.

All good stuff here!

Do you need some wine suggestions - you don't have to spend alot of $ to find some nice wines.

I've got some wine at home, but nothing great. Not the biggest wine drinkers, but I would not be oppossed to having a few nice bottles on hand for diner parties or when my parents come to town. Speaking of which, definitely need some nice Glen Livet of Glenfiddich for my Dad. His drink of choice.

Go to Trader Joe's for some great deals on wine. We miss TJ's.

My small "bar" which has never had a problem serving anyone at my house whatever they want (or second choice) contains:

Crown Royal
Makers Mark
Jack Daniels
Bacardi Rum (light & dark)
Tanguery
Tequila - Quervo 1800 silver
Macallan 12yr scotch (sub the Glen here if that's what your dad likes. I like both)
Burnett's Vodka (Smirnoff if you must impress


Rose's Apple and Pomegranate martini mixers
margarita mix
Tonic Water
Soda Water
Ginger Ale
Coke

For special parties or if in the mood for something fancier I might get additional mixers. If I want something really different I go to a real bar. I guess it depends on how much you are trying to impress people.

speaking of Belvedere, I bought a bottle today here in Longview TX for $33 and some change, it's gone up in price, think I got it for less than $30 last time

Jameson and Bushmills are good, and are popular in the US. But you may want to try Powers Gold Label, which is the most popular whiskey in Ireland, I understand.




I'll give it a try.

I personally prefer Tullamore Dew, but I am not sure that it's readily available in other areas of the country. I have not seen Powers in my area. Jameson and Bushmills are pretty much everywhere. A bottle of Bushmills 16 year old is top notch stuff, though, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

This is probably my favorite whiskey.

It's on my "staples" list. Something like:

Bushmills 16 year
Jameson 12 year
Balvenie Doublewood
Oban 14
Lagavulin 16
Knob Creek
Woodford Reserve
Sazerac Rye
Cruzan Rum
Cabo Wabo Tequila
Taylor Fladgate 20 year Tawney
Delemain XO
Chopin Vodka
Bombay Sapphire
B&B (For a friend, really)


For really high end juice I like to have:
Chevis Royal Salute
Gran Marnier 150 yr
Sandeman's 40 year Tawney
Macallen 25 year (but my bottle ran out )

Just curious, why Cabo Wabo? I've seen you mention that a few times. What about it do you like, as it's pretty clear you know your way around the good stuff.

I've always found that, while good, it never shows well against it's price point. Mind you, I haven't tried every level in taste tests. Most recently I tried the Plata and Repo and wasn't all that knocked out. The brand that I'm really digging right now is Corzo. Not Corazon, mind you, but Corzo. Apparently they only use the heart of the agave (hence the name) which is supposed to yield a smoother product. Well, it does. The packaging is pretty handsome as well.

It's JMO, but I think Cabo Wabo is a little more versatile than some of the other recognized names around. It's fine for sipping (not outstanding, but still good) and makes a fine margarita and/or tequila sunrise. I have a few other bottles of tequila ( my bar is well stocked...and I hardly use it any more ), and if I had to keep one for all around use it would be the Cabo over the Don Julio, the Cuervo 1800, and my other bottle whose name escapes me at the moment.

Edit to add: and that just might be me. I certainly doesn't offend me to use the Cabo in a mixed drink the way it would to use Corzo....which I have tasted and have been eyeing when I have had chance to be in a package store recently.

There are a few other things I will try to mention when I get home later, in particular a couple of brandy choices that, for within the $40-$50 range I think are outstanding and a perfect choice when you are thinking of cuddling up to a nice stogie.

second edit: Also...I am somewhat speaking from a mindset of having stuff that entertains well. I looooove sipping tequila, but most people think of tequila as shots or mixed drinks, so I guess I tend to play to that.

The only thing I disagree with is your characterization of Jack as good whiskey. There are plenty of good whiskys and they are all called bourbon and come from Kentucky.

I am guessing I didn't convince Detlef with this....

I guess it just comes down to a matter of to each his own. Thing is, because I think there's better options than Cabo Wabo for the money, I'd either rather drink those if I want a fine tequilla or simply slide down the scale a bit if I don't want something so special.

For instance, at least in NC, Cazadores and Herradura both cost as much or less than Cabo Wabo and I prefer both. Corzo only cost a bit more and I think it blows all of them away (so far I've only had the plata because none of the other levels are sold in the state but I'm told that could change soon).

And if I wanted something that was more all purpose. That would be cheap enough to mix but good enough in case someone wants to sip it, I'd go with Sauza Hornitos Repo which is cheaper than all of those and really not bad at all. (something I was just reminded of when I poured a round for the volunteers at Sunday's MS benefit)

That I never liked Sammy Hagar.

No worries. It really is just an issue of "if you are just going to keep one bottle". Not all of us own a bar, let alone 2

FWIW, I said Jack was "decent", and from the number of Jack n' Cokes I've had with BC, I figured that'd be in the bar to begin with.

Liter of jack and the 1.75 of gentleman Jack are already in place.

I agree that Jack Daniel's is not that great. However, because of its popularity, I think that every bar should have it.

Sigh...I know, I have one on my bar as well.

I didn't realize he would be inviting my great-grandparents over for drinks !

I don't know. It's my house so you can take it or leave it. Certainly at the restaurants, I'm not going joust that many windmills and find it easier to just give the people what they want in cases like this (and frankly Jack is pretty easy because I think it's fine enough stuff). However, I'm gonna buy what I wanna buy for my house. And for American whiskey, I'm drinking Evan Williams Black Label on the cheaper side and then sliding right up to the fancy stuff from there. Of course, I do keep a bottle of Jim Beam Rye around for sazeracs because it's pretty much the only Rye I can get in the state without going through a major hassle.