Help me stock my home bar!

I thought minatures were banned in Texas, but my trip to the Liquor Store today (a rare occurence) proved otherwise.

Thus, I have a great solution on how to stock my new mini bar.

Instead of buying big bottles of the stuff I would NEVER drink, I will buy a few minatures of the standards. This way I can offer my guests whatever they want without having to buy a full bottle.

So, I ask you guys this:

What do I need to have on hand to have a respectably stocked bar?

No brainers:

Crown Royal (big bottle as it is my drink of choice when I hit the sauce).

Tequilla

Vodka

Jack Daniels

Gin

Scotch

Rum

ACCESSORIES/CHASERS/TOOLS:

Canned OJ
Canned Grapefruit Juice
Tonic Water
Cola
Olives
Cocktail Napkins
Toothpicks
What types of glasses do you recommend?
Little help?

Many people like Peach Schnapps.

Chambord (spelling?)

Southern Comfort

Blackberry Brandy (that Polish one…can’t remember. Good stuff and cheap too)

Triple Sec.

Gotta go will try back later.

Oh…and Grand Marnier.

My spelling may be way off so forgive…

I just put in a home bar recently. (And packed it up and put it in storage even more recently due to roommate woes.) It depends on what you and your friends like to drink. I don’t know anyone who drinks Scotch, so I didn’t buy any; several of my friends are rum drinkers, so I have a few varieties.

What I would recommend is to get a book on the subject - I have The A-Z Bartending Guide and The World’s Best Bartender’s Guide (both available from Amazon), as well as The Bartender’s Black Book and another book devoted entirely to tequila drinks. These cover not only what types of liquor, wines, beers, mixers, and garnishes to keep in the well-stocked bar, but also glasses and other equipment. The one thing they didn’t cover was bar furniture; since I had limited space I couldn’t get an actual bar with stools and all, so I went with a nice wooden baker’s rack with a stainless steel counter, a couple of shelves above and a cabinet for the glassware below.

My glassware list was:

highballs
double old fashioneds
martini glasses & pitcher
red & white wine glasses
champagne flutes
margarita glasses & pitcher
iced tea glasses & pitcher
cosmopolitan glasses (roommate referred to these as ‘alien glases’
shot glasses
cordial glasses

If you have friends that drink beer you’ll probably want appropriate glasses for that as well; my beer-drinking friends go straight from the bottle, so I didn’t bother.

You’ll also want things like a cocktail shaker, ice bucket & tongs, strainer, jigger, cutting board & knife for garnishes, church key, etc. Check kitchenware stores (or maybe Amazon again, I didn’t look there) and you should be able to find a set with several of these items sold together. These are also listed in the books I named, along with any other items I can’t think of off the top of my head.

Good luck, and have one for me!

IF you have olives and Vodka/Gin you HAVE to have Vermouth!

How about some Port? (Can you get that in mini bottles?)

Drambuie

How about a nice Single Malt scotch - Lagavulin is a nice choice - but I don’t know about minibottles (although I have seen some little collections/sampler sets of Scotch in minibottles … which might be a nice choice … you really can’t have just one single malt in your collection)

Some of the flavoured vodkas have become quite trendy … like Vanilla Vodka and Coke

Accessories:
To go with Vodka: Clamato juice, Tabasco, Worchestershire sauce, Celery Salt, Celery

To go with Whiskey (like Rye Whiskey not scotch), Maraschino Cherries, Lemon Juice, Sugar … and a shaker)

Other Accessories: Grenadine

This is a matter of opinion, so I’ll move this thread to IMHO.

bibliophage
moderator GQ

Thanks. Great help all around.

But this bar isn’t just for my friends. It should have things to anticipate the needs of a guest or a client who I have never socialized with before.

Now, if they want something odd, they’re outta luck.

But I want to be able to accommodate the staple requests.

(I certainly need Vermouth)

I probably need Bailey’s as well.

I rarely wonder out of Cafe Society, so I wasn’t sure. For the record, what is the standard for “General Questions”?

Factual…ok, I get it.

you need a bottle of single malt scotch. Doens’t really matter which one (ok it does but single malts are in a class by themselves).

You might have a bottle of Harvey’s Bristol Creme on hand, I nice after dinner drink that doesn’t have too much kick.

Watson, most people have a “basic” alcoholic drink they enjoy when they’re not at a “real” bar…so as long as you have the usual (vodka, gin, rum, etc.) and some kind of mixer, like Coke or Sprite or juice, most people will be perfectly happy.

Having said that, don’t cheap out on the brands if you can possibly avoid it; I drink vodka, and I’m perfectly happy to drink it with a splash of Sprite, but if it’s cheap vodka I just won’t drink it at all. You don’t have to go “top shelf” but you’d do well to stock at least a good call brand. (Absolut/Skyy vodka, Bacardi rum, Dewar’s scotch, Tanqueray gin, Cuervo/Sauza tequila, etc…)

In addition to Bailey’s, you might want to stock a couple of liqueurs for people who don’t want what I call a “drink drink.” This would include Frangelico (hazelnut), Kahlua or Tia Maria (coffee), Amaretto (almond), etc., etc. They have a low alcoholic content and they’re nice on the rocks. Some of these make lovely mixers with vodka, too, or to spike an after-dinner coffee.

And if you want to have a little fun, DeKuyper’s Puckers make fun martinis and mixers, too; they come in flavors like watermelon, sour apple, peach, etc…and they’re inexpensive.

Glassware can be an expensive investment; as a “starter set” I would recommend short and tall rocks glasses, martini glasses, snifters, and red and white wine glasses. That should cover just about any drink a home bar would offer. (If you serve beer, a handful of chilled pints in your fridge or freezer are a nice touch.)

And the bartender in me can’t help but give you a word of caution: in Texas, the law holds you, as the host, just as liable for your guests as if you were a bar. So make sure you purchase jiggers and/or pour spouts for accurate/safe pouring, and that you know enough about liquors and their proofs so that you’re aware of how much alcohol people are actually drinking. (Some of the worst excesses I’ve ever seen are at parties where no one really knows much about what they’re serving/drinking/mixing.) If someone leaves your house really intoxicated and wraps their car around a tree, you’re legally liable, so always err on the side of caution if you’re throwing a party, and always offer food or snacks.

And there ends the Safety and Liability Lecture. :smiley:

Vodka and Frangelico…1/2 and 1/2 with a sugared lemon. Sip it or shoot it. Tastes like chocolate cake batter…mmmmm…but dangerous!

Don’t forget some sour mix - good for margaritas, daquiris.

Goldschlagger = Liquid cinnamon Dentyne = Yum!

You gotta take the sugared lemon before you shoot it for maximum effect. (In case anyone was thinking of taking it like a tequila shot.)

That’s the shot I give (nice) people who tell me it’s their birthday. “Have a Chocolate Cake!”

[sub]What I give not-nice people is a whole other thread.[/sub]

And, unless I missed someone else saying it, grab some Sour Mix.