How to Stock a Home Bar: The First 10 Bottles

A good home bar is built one useful bottle at a time.

Start with the drinks you already enjoy, buy the bottles those drinks share, and let the collection grow from there. Ten well-chosen bottles will cover most of the classics.

Eight bottles of spirits, vermouth and liqueur in a row on a polished wooden bar, with two small paper-wrapped bitters bottles and a brass bar spoon in front, lit by candlelight and a table lamp

Four base spirits

1. Bourbon or rye: The backbone of the Old Fashioned, the Manhattan and the Whiskey Sour. Bourbon is rounder and sweeter, rye is drier and spicier. Either one works in all three.
2. London dry gin: Gin and Tonic, Gimlet, Tom Collins, Martini, Negroni. Few bottles appear in as many classics.
3. Light rum: A Daiquiri needs only rum, lime and sugar. Add mint and soda water and it becomes a Mojito.
4. Blanco tequila: Margaritas and Palomas. Choose one labeled 100% agave.

Four modifiers

5. Sweet vermouth: Essential for the Manhattan and the Negroni.
6. Dry vermouth: The other half of a Martini. Vermouth is wine, so keep both bottles in the fridge once opened and replace them after a month or two.
7. Orange liqueur: Triple sec or a similar orange liqueur sweetens the Margarita and the White Lady, and turns up throughout the classic recipe books.
8. A bitter aperitivo: Campari gives you the Negroni, the Boulevardier and the Americano.

Two bitters

9. Angostura bitters: A dash or two finishes an Old Fashioned or a Manhattan. One small bottle lasts for years.
10. Orange bitters: The traditional accent in a Martini, and a bright addition to whiskey drinks.

The fresh shelf

Bottles are half the bar. Keep these on hand and the ten above go a great deal further:

Lemons and limes. Fresh juice is the single biggest improvement you can make to a homemade cocktail.
Simple syrup. Equal parts sugar and water, stirred until clear. It keeps in the fridge for a few weeks.
Soda water, tonic and ginger beer. Small bottles or cans stay fizzy for the next round.
Ice. More than you expect to need.

Choosing bottle number eleven

The best next bottle is the one that opens up the most new drinks with what you already own. A bottle of Campari is worth far more to a bar that already holds gin and sweet vermouth, because the three together make a Negroni. Think in combinations and every purchase earns its place.

This is the question I answer with Stock Your Bar. Add your bottles and ingredients, and I'll suggest a bottle, a bitters and an ingredient that pair with what you already own, each with a note on why it works. It's free to use.

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