The goal of this column is to show you how to make that possible
and to let you in on some of the secrets of the trade. Cocktails
come in so many forms and shapes that you can drive yourself batty
trying to categorize them. To keep things simple, I group them under
three broad groups:
-simple mixed drinks or High Balls;
-complicated mixed drinks and shooters like the Red Headed Slut;
-frou-frou drinks (think little umbrellas and lots of fruit).
It costs a considerable amount of cash to fully stock a bar with
all the special types of liquor necessary to make the more complicated
drinks, so we'll focus on drinks in the High Ball category. One
way to stretch your dollar is to learn to prepare the same basic
drink several different ways. For instance, a vodka and grapefruit
juice (known as a Greyhound) can also be made with gin (Salty Dog)
or tequila (Chihuahua) and you can either salt the rim or not. So
right there you have six different drinks that you can offer and
you only needed 3 basic types of alcohol, one mix and one side item,
each of which can be used in other types of drinks.
Another alternative is to choose one type of spirit, like vodka,
and then see how many different types of drinks you can make with
it. The most simple cocktails contain the ingredients in the name
of the drink, as in a Vodka Tonic, Vodka Cranberry, and so forth.
Get yourself a few bottles of decent mixing vodka (no need to use
a super premium like Grey Goose or rich flavored potato vodka- see
AlcoholReviews.com for suggestions) and then get some of every mix
you can think of- tonic, cranberry, grapefruit juice, ginger ale,
and orange juice.
If you include both a domestic and an import beer and a bottle
or two of red and white wine (again, see AlcoholReviews.com for
suggestions), you've got the potential to please just about every
taste.
Next lesson I'll be covering the tools that bartenders use and
some of the various side items that you can purchase to set up your
home bar. Please send questions or comments to rluck@TheSingleLife.com.
Rodger Luck is currently a software developer residing in South
Carolina. He gained his bar experience while in college and has
maintained his expertise over the years by working in just about
every type of bar, restaurant or nightclub you can imagine.
