How to Stock Your First Home Bar
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Most home bars fail the same way: a dozen impulse bottles, none of which build a complete drink. The fix is to think in categories, not brands. With one good bottle each of mezcal or tequila, whiskey, vodka, and gin, you can pour the overwhelming majority of classic cocktails.
Start with the big four
An agave spirit covers Margaritas, Palomas and Ranch Waters. A characterful whiskey handles the Old Fashioned, the Sour and the Highball. A clean vodka takes care of Martinis, Espresso Martinis and sodas. A juniper-forward gin unlocks the G&T, the Bee's Knees and the Negroni. Everything else - vermouth, bitters, liqueurs - can come later, one drink at a time.
Buy the liquid, not the label
At the $30-45 mark, small-producer bottles routinely outperform the household names, because the money goes into ingredients and slower distillation instead of advertising. That is the entire idea behind our Craft Bartending Kit: four small-producer bottles, chosen to beat the big brands in their own categories.
Must be 21+. Please enjoy responsibly.