As you know I just moved, which means I get to start from scratch (after all the years of traveling I sold all my stuff!). Next up? A bar cart! For the beer lovers among us, an alcohol cabinet can often seem like an elusive thing. Many of us are happy to stick with the beers we know, or even better, the stuff we make in our own microbreweries. But, alcohol cabinets are handy things to have for those times when you fancy something a little bit different. A change is as good as a holiday as they say. Your guests, too, are sure to appreciate the selection that an addition like this can bring. That’s exactly why we’re going to take you through a crash course on stocking a selection to make any barman proud.
Get the essential alcohol collection
You can’t have an alcohol cupboard without alcohol. That much is obvious to everyone, right? The trouble is that, when you drink beer the majority of the time, it can be tricky to know what on earth you should be stocking in a cabinet like this. Things like vodka and rum are standard and the chances are that you know that, but two bottles do not a cabinet make. To make matters worse, there are no hard and fast rules about how to get this right. Most connoisseurs would urge you purely to stock drinks you know you’ll use. If you’re at a total loss even with that in mind, remember that some standards include
- Whisky
- Tequila
- Brandy
- Vermouth
- Gin
With these staples to hand, you should be able to make near enough any of the cocktails listed on sites like alcoholprofessor.com. That should be enough to impress any guest and make sure you add a little zest to your tipple when the mood takes you.
Stock up on mixers which last
Even the most committed of drinkers need a few mixers to go alongside that cabinet stock. Fail to stock up on these, and your moderate evening drinking will get out of hand before you know. Of course, if you tend towards beer more often, buying mixers with short lifespans won’t serve you very well. Instead, stock up things like cordials which are sure to stay fresh for a long time to come. If you buy juices, make sure to stock up on long-life concentrated options. Make sure, too, that you keep things like tonic water and coke sealed until you know you’ll use the whole bottle in a short time.
Create garnishes out of things you already have
Many would argue that no alcohol cabinet is complete without a fair few garnishes. You’ll certainly struggle to make those cocktails sparkle without them. But, if you don’t use your alcohol selection often, olives and limes could end up rotting among those bottles. Don’t let it happen. Instead of stocking up an elaborate additions, create easy garnishes like those found at blog.williams-sonoma.com out of things you already have in the kitchen. Something as simple as a raspberry or a slice of cucumber could see you through here. They’ll certainly brighten up your beerless evenings from here on out.