Stock your Cocktail Bar

Stocking your cocktail bar so that you will have the necessary ingredients to make a variety of cocktails is expensive. Over the years I have found that several acquaintances have gone about establishing their own cocktail bar stock by throwing a cocktail party and asking every invited guest to bring along either a basic spirit such as rum or gin, or a liqueur such as schnapps. The party thrower writes up a list of cocktails they intend to serve on party night and then determine how many bottles of each drink they will need to service the party. Invariably there is a lot of alcohol left over and this forms the basis of the stock for their cocktail bar.

If the thought of throwing a cocktail party so that you can stock your bar on the relative cheap is unappetising to you, then you will need to get the stock yourself. I would recommend buying a bottle each of scotch, gin, rum, vodka, brandy, cointreau, creme de cacao, baileys irish cream, tequila, some grenadine (or red cordial if you can't find grenadine), Angostura bitters, and some margarita mix. Buy a couple of bottles of champagne as well. It is also a good idea to have some coconut syrup on hand, a tin or two of pineapple, orange, and tomato juice, and some soft drinks to use as mixers.

As you go along you can replace the stock that has been drunk, and you can gradually add to your basic collection by grabbing bottles on special as they appear.