IGX

Okay, a topic which you lushes may actually have some useful input on. I am stocking my liquor cabinet for the holiday season and realize that I really only do justice to drinks which I like (hint: whiskey) or cocktails, like Old Fashioneds and Manhattans. So, search your gin-soaked minds for things which you think are imperatives for a well-stocked home bar. I'm thinking:

-Bourbon
-Rye
-Irish Whiskey
-Scotch

-Bombay Gin
-Vodka

-White Rum
-Dark Rum
-Spiced Rum

-Cointreau
-Cognac

-Sweet and Dry Vermouth
-Angostura Bitters

-Simple Syrup
-Olives
-Maraschino Cherries
-Lemons
-Sugar Cubes
-Tonic
-Soda
-Coke

Of course, the beer and wine will be accounted for, glassware, etc. but if there is any equipment (shaker?) or specialty device, lay it on me slick. Help me get my wife's lady-friends drunk enough for a rough threeway under the mistletoe.

Tequila
Baileys and/or Kahlua

And this might just be me, but I always keep white corn whiskey around now (Jim Beam Ghost, George Dickel #1, etc., or homebrew).

You gotta tequila you like?

Glassman and Andy like a fine can of Sterno filtered through piece of 3 day old French bread.

I'm sorry, you said drinks for the home. Bread filtered Sterno is more of an outside drink. Best enjoyed after scoring enough loose change to buy some Indian cigs.

You look like you have it covered. Depending on the type of company (close friends/family vs. business) and the type of party (informal vs. formal); I would recommend copious quantities of each of the following:

All mid-price range bought at Cosco or Liquor Supermarket (what's on sale)

1 Irish Whiskey
1 Bourboun
1 Single Malt Scotch
1 Canadian Whiskey or Rye
1 Gin
1 Sipping Vodka
1 Mixing Vodka
1 Light Rum
1 Dark Rum
1 Sipping Tequila
1 Mixing Tequila
1 Cognac
1 Brandy
1 Inexpensive but good quality Red Wine that you like
1 White Wine (probably Pinot Grigio) for the Ho's.
Anything you know that someone you like or care about drinks, (I.E. one of my in-laws only drinks Johnny Red, I have another good friend who drinks exclusively Maker's and Coke).


To complement the above:
Soda (coke, sprite and ginger ale)
Tonic
Club Soda
Ice
Limes
Lemons
Cherries
Olives
Sour Mix
Bitters
Bottle Openers
Corkscrews




Nice but not necessary:
Ginger beer (if you can find it) - With the Dark Rum and lime = Dark and Stormy (delicious)
Apple Schnaps/Apple Pucker - For anyone (chicks) that like Appletinis
Frangelica, Bailey's, Kahlua - Mudslides, Nutty Irishmen, etc.
Creme de Menthe, Peppermint Schnaps - Candy Cane Drinks
Hurricane Mix, Margarita Mix, Pina Colada Mix
Blender
Shaker (you can use two different size cups - smaller inside the larger)
Mint
Lime Squeezer
Martini Glasses

Fat Cat wrote:You gotta tequila you like?

I don't drink much of it, but I keep a bottle of Trianon. It's definitely quality stuff, but I buy it mostly because the American importer is a dude from my area.

On Vermouth and gin- I've been experimenting and researching the classic Martini lately. Many people use the wrong vermouth- Martini and Rossi is all over the place, but the name is a total coincidence. It has an oregano base. For Martinis, if you are going for a classic profile, the appropriate Vermouths are French, and are more floral in scent. Dolin or Noilly Prat are what I use. Very Important: have some inert gas in a can to displace oxygen from the the Vermouth after you open it. It's a wine, and oxidizes and goes bad just like any bottle of wine. You can use the same bottle of Vermouth for weeks without it getting yucky this way. It's handy to have the gas any way so you can open multiple bottles of wine and have a glass of whatever anytime.

My usual evening drink is a stiff Martini these days so I've been taste testing a lot of them. There's a huge number now. My personal top pick is Tanqueray #10. It's their flagship gin. Boodles, Broker's, Bombay Sapphire, those are good too. But to me the Tanqueray # 10 is head and shoulders above.

The Martini gets ignored a lot these days, or made only half-heartedly because it's so old and simple, but it rewards quality ingredients. Depending on mood I make 3 recipes:

Original 1896: equal parts Vermouth and gin, dash of bitters.
1920's to 40's: 2 parts gin, 1 part Vermouth, dash of bitters (my fave)
1960's: as previous, but omit bitters.

I am not a fan of the later versions with almost no Vermouth. That's just pretending you're not drinking straight gin.

double post

Oh, and also make some home-made sour mix. If you've never had a whisky sour or amaretto sour with home-made sour you are in for a treat. Keeps a week and more in the fridge no problem.

good shit lads keep it up

Fat Cat wrote:You gotta tequila you like?

Herradura Anjeo

Also, a licqueor would be nice. A little Gran Marnier suits a lot of tastes. Maybe some Frangelico.

And this may just be the crowd of ne'er-do-wells I hang with, but someone always wants Crown or a Canadian blend (Seagrams, VO, etc.).

stosh wrote:And this may just be the crowd of ne'er-do-wells I hang with, but someone always wants Crown or a Canadian blend (Seagrams, VO, etc.).

Got dat covered with the Rye. My mama is Canadian and they don't actually call it "Canadian Whiskey" there.

I'm with Tonka on the 1 mixing and 1 sipping tequila. Sauza Hornitos or Espolon blanco for mixing. I like Chinaco and Casa Noble Anejo for sipping. I have heard good things about Clooney's Casamigos as well. Just get an anejo or a nice reposado and don't buy Patron. One caveat.. unless you have tequila fans around the anejo may not get touched and it is expensive. The sipping tequila would be low on my priority list for a Christmas party, YMMV.

I would also ditch the spiced rum unless you have a relative that drinks captain morgans. You could spring for a sipping rum (same caveat as the sipping tequila). I've just recently got into rum but I like the Ron Zacapa 23 yr and 10 Cane. For dark rum get Goslings and some ginger beer for Dark and Stormys (Barritts is good). D&S are easy as fuck to make, look cool and everybody loves them.

Get the small vermouth bottles cuz that shit spoils quick.

Bitter herbal liquers- Chartreuse, Campari, Fernet, Averna, Ramazotti etc. The baddest ass one I've ever had is Riga Black Balsams from Latvia.

Always good to have some non-herbal/bitter liquers as well: Amaretto, Kahlua, Grand Marnier, etc. Those would be low on my list but some of my family has been known to sit down and polish off a handle of amaretto over ice during the gift grab.

For mixing gin in something like a negroni, I like Beefeater, for martinis or highballs Hendricks is a good because it is a little more subtle on the juniper side and has more depth of flavor, vegetal/herbal-wise.

For tools- you should be fine with a jigger, a boston shaker and a strainer. I would specifically not have a muddler so I wouldn't be required to muddle anything.

What kind of bourbon and scotch are you considering?

One more thing... can often help to make simple syrup ahead of time and store it in a squeeze bottle like this:

Champagne... Or whatever you call it in the U.S. Chicks love the 'bubbly'... Can't go wrong with it.
Get half a dozen bottles. Nothing too expensive but not so cheap that is tastes bitter/flat.
For instance this Lindauer Brut Cuvee NV would be classed 'mid-range' as far as taste goes (good for xmas party), but it only costs $16 down here, so it's a bargain:


And I second the tequila for margarita's and other girl friendly drinks.

Remember to have a selection snack foods or whatever so it can suit what you are drinking.

No bar is complete without Tullamore Dew irish Whiskey and Jack Daniels.

Hell, David Allen Coe even sang a song about Jack.

Gonna need some Flunitrazepam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flunitrazepam

Bob Wildes wrote:No bar is complete without Tullamore Dew irish Whiskey and Jack Daniels.

Hell, David Allen Coe even sang a song about Jack.

I know that it's a matter of taste, but I can never get into Old No. 7. I would reach for the Booker's first every time. I do like Tullamore Dew but my favorite is Redbreast Irish Whiskey.

I like having 4-5 bottles of my go to sipping whiskeys and a big ole bottle for mixing, Beam and even the Evan Williams are not bad for mxes.

Have you tried Blanton's? It's perhaps my fav. Bourbon followed close by Four Roses.

Sipping Tequila, Deleon (anejo is best but the diamante is just fine as well)

Blow their minds with home infused spicy vodka. Grab a bottle of Titos or some other Organic vodka. Buy a mix of Scotch bonnets and other fiery peppers. Fill a mason jar with the voda and peppers, leave in the fridge for at least 5 days, preferably a couple weeks. Shake the jar every couple days.

PS - either be careful getting rid of the seeds before putting it in the mason jar or sift it before pouring into another bottle to make sure no seeds make their way into the drink...no bueno.

Then grab a lychee liquor and do 4 oz vodka to 1 oz lychee and watch the bitches swoon...you're most welcome my feline friend. Your wife will think you are a god and her girlfriends will agree, after a couple of these :)

For the faint of heart, mix regular vodka with the spicy stuff until they can deal with the heat.

Blaidd Drwg wrote:I like having 4-5 bottles of my go to sipping whiskeys and a big ole bottle for mixing, Beam and even the Evan Williams are not bad for mxes.

Have you tried Blanton's? It's perhaps my fav. Bourbon followed close by Four Roses.

Agree that Beam is totally adequate for mixed drinks and cocktails. I have not tried Blanton's.

Fat Cat wrote:

Blaidd Drwg wrote:I like having 4-5 bottles of my go to sipping whiskeys and a big ole bottle for mixing, Beam and even the Evan Williams are not bad for mxes.

Have you tried Blanton's? It's perhaps my fav. Bourbon followed close by Four Roses.

Agree that Beam is totally adequate for mixed drinks and cocktails. I have not tried Blanton's.

Blanton's is one of the best readily available bourbons. I've done tastings with it next to PVW Lot B, 15, and 20yr. Not as special as the VW but very very close. A bit pricey, I think a fifth is $55. For cheap but good mixing bourbon consider WL Weller. I spoke with an avid collector/distributor a few months ago and he thinks that Heaven Hill is going to be the next big distillery in light of Buff Trace running so low on quantity over the last few years. They make Bernheims and Larceny, with wheat, and Elijah Craig and Henry McKenna, with rye.

Agreed on Redbreast being the best Irish. I also like the Powers gold label for lower end. It's become my go to when someone suggests shots of Jameson.

HOLYFUCKTHO!! PVW.

Was at a function in Boston this fall.....(several IGXrs in attendance no less). I had a chance to try Pappy Van Winkle 23 yr family reserve. It completely lived up to the hype... I fell into a deep despair at its price point and availability.