A solid bar cart setup at home makes for solid cocktails at home. With a few simple tools, you can elevate the ritual of making a cocktail — whether for a drink to be sipped on while you relax, or a drink to be the talk of the dinner party. Admittedly, what we know about professional cocktails could fit in a kitschy souvenir shot glass, so we brought in the big guns. Annie Blake, the EVP of sales at Cocktail Kingdom, is a friend and, also, a wealth of knowledge on the making of a great cocktail. She compiled a list of tools for any great home bartender and the spirits she would select if she were forced to build a bar cart from scratch. Read on to see what she considers her must haves on a bar cart.
Must Haves
Cocktail Kingdom Essential Cocktail Set:
This set is a great place to start when building out a bar cart. All items can also be purchased individually. The set consists of a jigger, shaker, strainer, mixing glass and barspoon.
Jigger:
Jiggers aren’t just for cost savings. Using a jigger, particularly when making cocktails with more than one liquor/liqueur, will ensure drinks are properly balanced.
Shaker:
For shaken drinks the goal is to emulsify the ingredients while achieving proper temperature and dilution. Koriko Weighted Shaking Tins are ubiquitous in cocktail bars for that reason. The shape allows the ice to crack while quickly moving the liquid back and forth.
Strainer:
The Koriko Hawthorne Strainer has a super tight coil and a gate that closes to pour one or two drinks at the same time. You never want to dump “dirty ice” into a fresh drink. Ice that has been shaken will over dilute your cocktail — unless you have extremely thirsty guests — and no one wants ice floating on top of their drink.
Mixing Glass:
Cocktails with clear ingredients (no juice, cream, purees, etc.) should be stirred in a mixing glass. A martini, Manhattan and old fashioned are all stirred cocktails. This will allow proper temperature and dilution without serving a cloudy spirit. Your old fashioned should be crystal clear.
Barspoon:
While you could stir your cocktails with a butter knife, that’s no fun. Cocktails are about ceremony as much as they are about proper balance. Get a nice barspoon and stir like a professional.
$113.14
Not Must Haves (But Still Fun to Have)
Coco/Fine Strainer:
A fine strainer like the Cocktail Kingdom Coco Strainer is perfect for egg white cocktails, or if using an Usagi Cobbler Shaker. It’s an extra step to ensure your cocktails are perfectly strained of any egg white, mint leaf, etc.
Muddler:
Many commercial muddlers have metal prongs that act to only bring out the bitterness in ingredients like mint or basil. You can either give these items a good smack, or let the bad ass muddler do it for you.
Cocktail Picks:
If you’re taking the time to craft cocktails at home, it’s worth it to garnish them professionally.
Bitters Bottle:
Bitters are the salt and pepper of cocktails. Like salt and pepper, we tend to use a little and have them on our home bars forever. A beat-up bottle of Angostura is pretty unappealing. Decanting into a bitters bottle ensures accurate dashing and is much prettier on the eyes.
Ice Trays:
Ice is essential for proper dilution but can also elevate presentation. We have a number of ice mold options, but a 2”x2” cube is a must. Less surface area means your cocktails will dilute less quickly. It also looks cool. If you like a highball, the Collins Ice Tray is also a nice touch. Shaking/stirring with the 1.25” cubes is also a great way to ensure you get the correct amount of dilution.
Glassware:
The correct glass for a cocktail elevates the presentation tremendously. Personally, I love the Beatrice Coupe for shaken up drinks, the Nick and Nora for stirred up drinks, and the Danuta Double Rocks Glass for drinks over a 2”x2” cube. These are dishwasher safe.
Spirits
Gin
I find a lot of people think they don’t like gin. Try Hendrick’s, Nolet’s or Fords. They are way more cucumber, citrus and floral forward versus London Dry gin, which has that Christmas tree juniper forward flavor. If you like a London Dry, Plymouth is a good choice.
Vodka
Vodka doesn’t bring that much to the party, but when you’re making an espresso martini or a salty dog it’s a must have. Ketel One and Grey Goose are both great. Wodka is a terrific budget-friendly option. Vodka is intended to be colorless and flavorless so if you don’t bargain hunt too much, every choice is just fine.
Rum
Rum is my favorite spirit and gets a bit of a bad rap because there are few laws governing the rum category, with the exception of countries like Barbados and Jamaica, who take their rum very seriously. Plantation Original Dark is a very versatile rum. It’s not expensive and can work in almost any tropical cocktail, as well as a classic daiquiri.
Whiskey
It’s very hard to pick a whiskey because bourbon, rye, scotch, Irish, Japanese, etc. all have such different profiles. That said, on this “desert island” seven spirit challenge I’d pick a bourbon. Old Forester 86 is extremely versatile and will nail an old fashioned and a whiskey sour (New York sour is my favorite variation). You can also make a Manhattan with it, though it’s not the classic preparation. Evan Williams is another good choice.
Tequila
Like rum, some tequilas have color and flavor added post distillation. Arette Blanco uses only blue agave and is additive-free, as is Tapatio Blanco (less budget friendly).
Modifiers
Modifiers will take you from mixed drinks to great cocktails. My honorable mentions are Licor 43, Mandarine Napoleon (or Triple Sec), and Tempus Fugit Crème de Banane. I’d also always have simple or demerara syrup on hand, get a bottle of Angostura Bitters and Orgeat Syrup (so long as there are no nut allergies).
