home bartender - Unlocking your home bar
a few keys to unlocking your home bar
Welcome to the first of our home bartending blog posts! With this blog our intention is to help you grow your home bartending ability and skills. Eventually we will cover all the fun topics of bartending technique and share all the professional tips and secrets from our collective years of experience, but we need to start with a few basics first...so let's start with building the foundation of a great home bar. Welcome to home bartender!
Build YOUR home bar first!
*This probably seems like a no-brainer, but to really appreciate and enjoy your home bar, it must be stocked with the spirits you enjoy drinking. Keep it simple and think through the drinks that make you happy. Are you a straight whiskey drinker? Do you prefer the clear spirits? It's been pretty easy for me to build an adequate bar at home over the years just by purchasing the household favorites. I LOVE American whiskies in all forms and esoteric and flavorful liqueurs, and my wife LOVES vodka. Thus, by keeping the home bar stocked with our faves we can please a wide variety of drinkers.
Who are you drinking with and what do they like?
*We host a regular Sunday night supper at our home. The guests are typically the same and we have really gotten to know each others preferences. For example, Jim is a Scotch drinker. With a little further questioning I determined that Jim really likes Scotch from the Islay region. So being a passable host, I try to keep a bottle of Laphroaig, Laguvulin or Ardberg on hand. Andrew, on the other hand, is a gin drinker. Thus we keep a bottle of dry London style gin on hand at all times. By accomdating these two friends, our home bar is now prepared to make hundreds of cocktails...or we can enjoy a little tipple neat.
How adventurous are you?
*I still remember the first time I had Absinthe. My best friend had been working in Austria for a couple years teaching high school kids English and he shared a small bottle of this amazing elixir! Thus the bar was then stocked with a very adventurous spirit that led to many interesting conversations. From that point on, I was always on the lookout for something unique, esoteric and fun to put in the home bar. By tapping in to your advernturous spirit, you will unlock a wealth of possible cocktails!
Key links to spirits discussed
*I have to say, KNOWLEDGE is one of the biggest keys to unlocking your home bars potential!
*Some interesting links on Whiskies:
*Some interesting links for gin and other spirits:
