I get asked this question quite a bit: What makes a great bar or, in this case, What amounts to a wellstocked liquor cabinet at home? My immediate answer is, well, a question: What do you typically drink? And, do you entertain often? Regardless of the answer, the old adage ‘the more the merrier’ is true when it comes to home bars. The key is variety.
>> Let’s start with the basics. Just like any professional bar, a good home bar must have the Long Island essentials: gin, vodka, tequila (silver), rum (white), and a house whiskey (we will cover later). Thinking along the same lines, no good Long Island would be complete without a triple sec of sorts (Cointreau and Grand Marnier are great), some citrus (lemon, lime, orange) and some basic mixers like cola, diet cola, ginger ale, tonic and club soda. It’s obvious that by thinking along the lines of a ‘Long Island Iced Tea,’ we already have the framework to a well-stocked cabinet.
>> For those who would like their parties to be seen as the bee’s knees, I suggest taking it up another level from the housepour liquors (read: nothing in plastic need apply). Some homes will venture into the tantalizing world of dark spirits. The guidelines I recommend for them are as follows: Everyone needs a blended scotch, a single malt scotch, a rye, a bourbon, an aged tequila and an aged rum. These spirits are great for mixing, or can be consumed neat or on the rocks.
>> Finally we will end with liqueurs. This is solely a matter of what you are planning to do. For the cocktail enthusiast in everyone, go crazy. Buy a liqueur a week and play around with it: study its mixability and flavor profile. My ‘must-have’ liqueur would be any amaro. I love the bitter-sweet components it brings to the party. Now that you have the essentials, go forth, my fellow booze hounds, to stock your bars and entertain justly (just don’t forget the ice … and cups, definitely need cups)!
[try this with that]
>> barceleona gin & tonic
This month I want people to try gin and tonics with game (venison, boar or simply roasted pork); it will certainly change their perception of gin!
2 orange slices
2 lime slices
3 oz. gin
3 oz. tonic
>> Rub the inside of the glass with the oranges and limes, and keep them
in the glass. Put in ice, then top with both gin and tonic. Serve.
By Cory Cuff
[Cory Cuff is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and the restaurant & bar manager at Cielo in the Four Seasons St. Louis. Have a question? Email us at wine@townandstyle.com or connect with us on Facebook.]