Home Bar Essentials: Tools, Bottles and Glassware

People often ask me what to buy for a home bar. My answer is always the same: buy less than you think, buy better, and buy the tools first. A bartender with good technique and three bottles will make better drinks than a beginner with a full shelf.

The tools

• Shaker: a two-piece tin-on-tin Boston shaker is what most professionals use. It seals well and is easy to open.
• Mixing glass: a heavy glass or beaker for stirred drinks.
• Bar spoon: a long, twisted spoon for stirring.
• Jiggers: measure everything. Consistency starts with accurate pours.
• Strainers: a Hawthorne strainer for shaken drinks, a julep strainer for stirred ones, and a fine mesh strainer for double straining.
• Citrus press: a hand-held press makes fresh juice in seconds.
• Peeler and knife: a sharp Y-peeler for twists and a small knife for garnishes.
• Muddler: for herbs and fruit.

The first twelve bottles

This list covers most of the classics on our cocktails index:

1. London dry gin
2. Rye whiskey
3. Bourbon
4. White rum
5. Aged rum
6. Cognac or another brandy
7. Sweet vermouth
8. Dry vermouth
9. Orange liqueur (triple sec or curaçao)
10. Campari or another bitter aperitivo
11. Angostura bitters
12. Orange bitters

Next, add maraschino liqueur, Bénédictine, a blended and an Islay Scotch, apple brandy, Peychaud's bitters and a bottle of absinthe for rinses. Read our vermouth guide before you buy, and remember to refrigerate vermouth once opened.

Glassware

Three types cover almost everything:

• Coupe: for shaken and stirred drinks served up, such as the martini, daiquiri and Hanky Panky.
• Rocks glass: heavy-bottomed, for the Old Fashioned, Negroni and Penicillin.
• Highball or Collins: tall glasses for spritzes, highballs and slings.

Keep a couple of coupes in the freezer. A chilled glass makes a noticeable difference.

Ice

Ice is an ingredient. Use plenty of fresh, hard ice made from clean water, and keep it away from strong-smelling food in the freezer. Large silicone molds make big cubes for spirit-forward drinks. Our ice guide goes much deeper.

Fresh ingredients

• Citrus: lemons and limes, squeezed the same day.
• Simple syrup: equal parts sugar and water, stirred until dissolved and kept in the fridge.
• Rich syrup: two parts sugar to one part water, for stirred drinks.
• Herbs: mint and basil, ideally grown at home (see our botanicals guide).
• Garnishes: good cocktail cherries, olives and oranges.

Build it in three stages

Stage	Add	What you can make
1. Foundation	Gin, bourbon or rye, sweet and dry vermouth, Angostura, simple syrup, lemons and limes	Martini, Manhattan, Old Fashioned, gin sour, whiskey sour
2. Range	White rum, Campari, orange liqueur, orange bitters, cognac	Daiquiri, Negroni, Sidecar, Boulevardier, Margarita (with tequila)
3. Character	Maraschino, Bénédictine, Fernet-Branca, apple brandy, Islay Scotch, Peychaud's	Hemingway Daiquiri, Vieux Carré, Hanky Panky, Jack Rose, Penicillin

Choosing tools that last

• Weighted shaking tins in stainless steel are nearly indestructible. A 28 oz and an 18 oz tin fit together well.
• Jiggers: look for clear internal markings at 7.5, 15, 22.5, 30 and 45 ml or the equivalent in ounces.
• Hawthorne strainer: a tight spring holds back ice and pulp.
• Y-peeler: a sharp vegetable peeler makes better twists than a channel knife.
• Freezer space: it is the most useful tool of all, for ice, glasses and batched drinks.

Storing bottles

Spirits above about 35 percent alcohol keep indefinitely once opened, as long as they are sealed and kept out of sunlight. Wine-based products, including vermouth, Lillet and sherry, must go in the fridge after opening and are best within a month or two. Liqueurs with cream or egg have a shorter life and should be refrigerated. Citrus juice is best on the day it is squeezed.

Do not forget the non-drinkers

A good host offers good alcohol-free drinks. Keep tonic, soda, ginger beer and a couple of syrups on hand, and you can make a fresh lime and ginger highball, a grapefruit and rosemary soda or a non-alcoholic spritz in seconds.

Common mistakes

• Buying everything at once. Build around drinks you actually like.
• Cheap tools. Leaky shakers and wobbly strainers make mixing frustrating.
• Not measuring. Free pouring is for professionals with years of practice. Use a jigger.
• Old citrus and stale ice. They ruin more drinks than cheap spirits do.

Syrups and fresh ingredients

A few homemade ingredients do more for your drinks than any expensive bottle. They take minutes to make and keep well in the fridge.

Ingredient	Recipe	Keeps
Simple syrup (1:1)	Equal weights of sugar and water, stirred until dissolved.	About 2 weeks
Rich syrup (2:1)	Two parts sugar to one part water, gently warmed.	About 1 month
Honey syrup	Three parts honey to one part warm water.	About 1 month
Grenadine	Pomegranate juice and sugar, 1:1 by weight, a few drops of orange flower water.	2 to 3 weeks
Ginger syrup	Fresh ginger juice and sugar, 1:1 by weight.	About 2 weeks

Store syrups in clean glass bottles, label them with the date and throw them away at the first sign of cloudiness. Citrus is the other essential: buy firm, heavy lemons and limes, keep them at room temperature if you will use them within a few days, and juice them on the day of your party.

Glassware without the clutter

Three shapes cover almost everything: a coupe or Nick and Nora glass for drinks served up, a rocks glass for drinks on ice, and a highball for long drinks. Buy six of each in plain, thin glass. Keep two coupes in the freezer at all times, and you will always be ready to make a martini properly.

Five drinks to master first

1. The Old Fashioned (stirring, dilution, garnish).
2. The daiquiri (shaking, balance of sour and sweet).
3. The Dry Martini (temperature, vermouth care).
4. The Negroni (equal-part building).
5. The whiskey sour (egg white, dry shake).

Once you can make these well, every other cocktail is a variation.

Sources and further reading

• Cocktail shaker (Wikipedia)
• Bartending terminology (Wikipedia)
• Difford's Guide