Setting up your home bar

By R. Aguiar

The thing to keep in mind is your guests. Are they vodka drinkers? Is tequila their thing? What do you like?

Have a signature drink in mind and really try to perfect it. Then you can tweak it, to make it your own. When you get to the store of your choice, keep in mind whom you’re buying for. The typical bar has vodka, gin, tequila, rum, whiskey, triple sec and various mixes.

Before you set out on your quest, visit some websites like webtender.com or drinkstreet.com

I use these a lot to try to find those made-up drinks that someone concocted after a night of trying to satisfy a picky customer. Look at some of their recipes and notice the common threads. More than likely it will be vodka, a liqueur and a mix. The alcohols will be an ounce to an ounce and a half each. This should give you the sizes of bottles you’ll need, also. Make sure to buy them in the quantities you’ll need. Save your money by buying a small bottle of galliano or other rarely used accent flavors.

Look for sales when you’re out shopping for groceries or nail polish. A bottle here and there, and before you know it, you’re ready to cut the lemons and slice the limes.

Here’s some of the bartending

hardware:

Boston shaker
Julep strainer
Double jigger (1.5 and 2 ounce)
Glasses (4-6 ounce buckets, enough for the number of guests plus 25 percent for glass. If you don’t want to do the dishes during the party then the plastic ones will do; not as formal, but much easier.)

Here’s a good start on your first setup:
1 liter bottle of Kettle One vodka
1 liter bottle of Grey Goose vodka
750 ml. bottle of Tanqueray gin
750 ml. bottle of Patron tequila
750 ml. bottle of Cointreau
750 ml. bottle of Bacardi light rum

Sweet-and-sour mix (see recipe, below)

Cranberry, pineapple and orange juices (small cans if you’re not going to use them too often)

Garnishes, such as olives, baby onions, lemon peel, limes, etc. (Try to learn the traditional ones. Your guests will be impressed. It’s really up to you, but a drink seams naked without one.)

Sweet-and-sour mix

Place sugar and water in pan, place on stove over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar. Then turn stove off and add the juices. (No seeds; they will make it bitter.) Add the salt.

Place in airtight jar and refrigerate immediately. Feel free to adjust the tartness level. Remember, this is sweet and sour, not lemonade.

R. Aguiar, aka the Professor Bartender, lives and bartends in Redding. He can be reached at raygear@yahoo.com