Having a well-stocked bar is one of the luxuries of good living, and the sign of a generous host. This is a complete list of supplies needed to make every cocktail in this book, including some substitutions (check the recipes to learn which are meant as substitutions). Ingredients are organized in descending order by the most frequently used within each category.
SPIRITS
Vodka (unflavored, citrus or citron and orange); Gin; Rum (light, dark, aged,151, coconut-flavored rum); Tequila (silver, reposado and añejo); Brandy; Fruit brandy (apricot); Bourbon; Rye whiskey (substitute bourbon); Single-malt scotch; Shochu/Soju; Wokka Saki
WINE/SAKE
Sparkling wine (such as champagne, cava and prosecco); White wine, fruity (such as Reisling); Sake; Japanese plum wine
FORTIFIED WINE/APERATIFS
Vermouth, sweet and dry (Sweet vermouth refers to red vermouth, the best of which is traditionally from Italy. Dry vermouth is white, and the best is traditionally from France.); Lillet Blanc (a French aperitif fortified with brandy); Sherry, medium dry (a Spanish wine fortified with brandy); Pimm’s No. 1 Cup (a British aperitif fortified with gin); Campari (This extremely bitter aperitif is sometimes classified as bitters and sometimes as a spirit due to its high 20 percent alcoholic content.)
LIQUEURS
Triple sec/Cointreau (Triple sec is a generic term for orange liqueur, some of which are quite sweet and low in alcohol. Cointreau is a drier, more sophisticated orange liqueur. It’s handy to have both, though one can be substituted for the other if the amount used is adjusted or if the amount of simple syrup, if included in the cocktail, is adjusted.); Schnapps (peach and apple); Crèmes (noyeaux, peche [peach], mure, cassis); Fruit (black raspberry [such as Chambord], raspberry [such as Aqua Perfecta], black cherry [Cherry Heering], pear [such as Marie Brizard’s Poire William or Mathilde Pear Liqueur], lychee [SoHo Litchi], pomegranate [Pama]); Other (green tea [Zen], amaretto, Bénédictine, Licor 43, anisette)
MIXERS
Juices, fresh and bottled; Club soda; Spicy ginger ale or “beer,” such as Reed’s or Blenheim; Teas; Calpico
Here is a basic citrus shopping guide:
1 lemon yields 1½ ounces (45 ml) juice
1 lime yields 1 ounce (30 ml) juice
1 tangerine yields 2½ ounces (75 ml) juice
1 orange yields 2½ to 3 ounces (75 to 90 ml) juice
SWEETENERS AND FLAVORING AGENTS
You can use homemade syrups for most of the recipes in this book, however, there are some instances when the syrup called for can’t be easily replicated at home—such as cane or mango syrup. In those cases it will be easiest to purchase ready
made syrup. Angostura is easy to find in any grocery store. Orange bitters is available at specialty stores or online. Syrups (simple, grenadine [homemade or store-bought], orgeat or almond, mango, rose, coconut, caramel, cane, blackberry); Bitters (Angostura and orange [Fee Brothers; Gary Regan’s No. 6 (the latter is the more bitter of the two)]; Sugars (White, honey, demerara or raw sugar, brown sugar); Sweetened lime juice (calamansi or other such as Rose’s or Stirrings’s Clarified Key Lime); Herbs, Spices and Aromatics
GARNISHES
Maraschino cherries (for a more adult alternative to the bright-red artificially colored cherries that top ice cream Sundays, try Luxardo brand or make homemade maraschino cherries [search online for recipes]); Citrus and other fruits (for wedges, twists and fruit wheels); Kosher or sea salt for rimming; Sugar (white, demerara, raw or honey granules) for rimming; Miscellaneous: Crystallized ginger candy, pickled ginger, dried coconut shavings, fresh edible flowers, pineapple leaves
MISCELLANEOUS SUPPLIES
Ice, Cocktail picks, Miniature bamboo forks, Tiny Paper Umbrellas (for the Tiki Bar effect), Straws, Eggs, Dark chocolate, Ice cream, Heavy cream, Cream of coconut