Stocking your home bar
 

All I have is whiskey. Would like to pick up a handful of bottles that can meet a variety of needs, for starters. Will gradually grow over time.

I know I need vodka, everyone loves it but me. I want tequila, I like it (especially for cooking.)

What else? And what vodka and tequila are good?

'42 Below' Vodka from NZ - Very nice, and a bit of a talking point...

bacardi and amaretto

Bombay Sapphire Gin

Talking point for who? I would think that only aficionados care about that stuff.

+1 :thumbsup

A lot of people know their vodkas - Its something they will not have come across before...

Edit: Perhaps it just the bunch of alcoholics I hang around with...

I like finlandia and absolut..

I could be wrong, I just don't see any girl looking at a bottle of vodka and saying "oh my God I've never had that before!"

LOL.

Hey if I'm wrong, tell me!

http://www.belvederevodka.com/ :thumbsup

Luksusowa potato vodka is excellent and inexpensive, goes great with any mixers. And good old Russian Stolichnaya vodka should give you good coverage.

.

Oh its girls - Then you can't go wrong with a bottle of Cristal and some roofies - Or so I hear - Not really my area of expertise...

Yeah - Champagne and Stoli cocktails - A Boli Stoli - Yum...

good call on the tequila + get some girly drinks, pink, green, etc., you don't have to know their names, maybe Baileys too, girls love it

Good selection of 100% agave tequilas is a must, blanco, reposado, anejo... Cabo Wabo, Dos Lunas, Sauza, 1800, 1921, Patron, etc.
Few gins: Tanqueray, Hendrick's, Bombay Sapphire, Beefeater, Martin Miller, Plymouth, etc
Rums: Angostura, Bacardi, 10 cane, etc
Vodkas: Most of them will do :thumbsup
Triple sec: Cointreau

Also be sure to check various bitters like Angostura or other orange bitters, they really spice cocktails up :thumbsup

This, I use it for a lot of cocktails :)

Go to Costco and get the big bottles of what they carry, they carry the more popular varieties and their own brands are not bad. Do this to get a good stock, then expand to the brands that are more expensive, but go by taste, not hype.
Vodka, everyone has their favorite, I like Kettle1
Rum, Sailor Jerry
Whiskey, Jack Daniels
Scotch, Macallen, single malt. 18 year or older
Tequila, NOT Patron, I like Cabo Wabo. But make sure it's 100% Blue Agave, anything less is crap
Gin, I don't drink the stuff
Always have some Kahlua and Baileys for mixing with coffee after dinner.

fine choice there :thumbsup

I like to keep at least one of the major types, and 1-2 cans/bottles of all the popular mixes and juices to accomdate everyone.

I think right now my cabinet contains: Grey Goose, Russian Standard, Crown Royal, Crown Royal Maple, Jim Beam, Macallan 18, Hendricks, Bombay, Patron silver, Don Julio anejo, Captain Morgans, Zacapa Centenario, Contreau, Baileys, Jaeger, Goldshlager, plus a couple flavored liquors like cherry and chocolate and stuff like that.

You also need a really nasty liquer bought on some holiday to store at the back. For those occasions when you are desperate for a drink and everything else has gone.

You should get a couple bottles of wine and some craft beers, like a trippel or quad (they age well)

Baileys and Amarula are always good to have on hand for the featherweights ....

glass bottle cokes from tijuana

You can't go wrong with Tito's Vodka, it's relatively inexpensive and it's so damn smooth even people that normally can't drink vodka will enjoy it...

Luksusowa is great, and inexpensive. One of my favorites, along with Russian Standard and Grey Goose.

I've tried Tito's, didn't really like it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...onerkit004.jpg

Baddog has a pretty nice bar set-up at his place...

:stoned

ADG

tito's vodka is very good - made in texas - six times distilled

:1orglaugh

I didn't like it either. Tito's is the only vodka I've tried that made me feel strange.

Here's my typical alcohol inventory:

Woodford Reserve Bourbon Whisky
Skyy Vodka
Absolut Vodka
Grey Goose Vodka
Belvedere Vodka
Beefeater Gin
Bombay Sapphire Gin

The beer I typically stock:

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Stone Brewing IPA
Lagunitas IPA
Racer 5 IPA
Coors Light (aluminum bottles)
Bud Light (aluminum bottles)

Champagne I typically stock:

Roderer Estates Brut ($19.99 @ Bevmo)
Roderer Estates L'ermitage ($46.99 @ Bevmo)
Moet & Chandon Imperial ($39.99 @ Bevmo)

And of course you have to keep fresh mixers on hand:

Kirkland or Ocean Spray Cranberry juice
Simply Limeade
Simply Orange Juice

And last but not least... make sure you have proper glassware, decanters (whisky decanter, wine decanter), shaker, coasters, ice bucket, and champagne bucket. I would not go cheap on these. Whisky rocks are a nice touch. You will also need a Vacu Vin Wine Saver so you can keep your wine from spoiling for a few extra days. Add to the list a "professional" bottle opener, a "rabbit style" wine bottle opener.

Whiskey snifters
Martini glasses
Champagne flutes
Tumblers (short, and tall)
Wine glasses (stemmed and stemless)
I recommend Riedel pilsner glasses for beer, sold at Target

If you surf reddit, there was a post recently that had a few different options for stocking a home bar.

Four Loko Watermelon

http://images-mediawiki-sites.theful...0930733831.jpg
Doubles as fuel.

Try vodka+ouzo. Supper buzzer. .. :1orglaugh:1orglaugh

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

Here's the thread I mentioned above. They were stocking it with quite a bit for $300. Going cheap, but some interesting info to be had.

http://www.reddit.com/r/liquor/comme...a_bar_for_300/

Oops...guess what I posted could be misconstrued. :helpme

The photo is a reference to my being alcohol-free, although I consume cannabis. Even though the strongest thing I drink these days is infused herbal tea, I still have a fair stockpile of booze in the house (I'm not a 12-stepper). My cabinet contains various Bacardi Rums (my drink of choice during my drunk days), a couple of bottles of Gin, a few kinds of Vodka, some Tequilas, and a handful of Whiskeys, various liquors (Amaretto, Courvoisier, Bailey's, Kahlua, etc), a variety of mixers, plus a nice collection of California wines. That's for when friends or family come by. Lots of world-class drinkers in my clan. :Oh crap

Don't keep beer around much anymore, but I buy what I know my guests like when I am having beer drinkers over. My favorites beers back in the day were Newcastle, Bass, and various microbrew beers.



Anyway, the statement about Baddog having a pretty nice bar set up (or at least he did the last time I was there), well, that was a totally separate thing.

To reiterate, the above photo and the statement below it which I posted are mutually exclusive.



Time for some Fire OG and Cherry Pie... :smokin



Having been a heavy drinker (fifth of Bacardi a day) for too long, I have to say it is pretty funny these days to be stoned while sipping on a fruit drink in a room full of drunk people. I definitely don't party as much these days, but the good part is that I am a lot more productive than I was. :drinkup

:stoned

ADG

Anything I can put ice into is fine.

Finlandia Vodka - the original is really nice, but all the other flavors are crazy amazing yummy.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/i...00OdnZMa1MXOFA

Czech beer is what I want. I always keep a bottle of descent whiskey and a bottle of vodka at hand too.

A mid level scotch 18 year Macallan can't do you wrong.

Beluga Vodka is great. Also a good conversation piece. For Tequila, if you can ever find one called
"Jarana" it is amazing. I have only found it in Costa Rica and on the internet from a store in Ohio. Its Mexican and goes down like water. Other then that. Tres Generaciones is an Amazing tequila. A little pricey but very tasty and smooth. Better then any of that patron bullshit. For scotch, a nice bottle of single malt like Glenlivet Glenfidich or Macallins is nice. You can get one for a decent price for a 12 year old.

I saw a pretty convincing blindfolded vodka taste test done fairly reasonably on TV a few years ago and it just confirmed what I already knew (I love it when that happens). I'm sure you already know what the results were.

Grey goose or ketel one have great bottles and are leg spreaders.

I received from whiskey stones as a gift recently and was not impressed with them... They warmed up pretty quick. I also don't mind throwing a small ice cube into my single malt.

They do tend to warm up pretty quick. I think the reason they're in favor with whisky connoisseurs is that whisky isn't supposed to be cold as ice, although sometimes I like to change it up with ice, or a bit of water.

I think I want to pick up one of these next...

http://www.thewhiskeyball.com/

That's what a Russian would drink in Greece :)

Cafe Patron here...does a body good on a cold day ;)

I always keep a bottle of Champagne and white wine chilled. In the bar I have about 4 wiskeys, 10 wines, vodka in the freezer, mixers, and Tequila. :thumbsup

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