HOW TO STOCK YOUR BAR WITHOUT SPENDING ALL YOUR RENT MONEY

GLM

Drinking at home is always fun, but it’s so much better when you have everything you need to make great cocktails. Just as you need a few specific tools and gadgets to keep your kitchen running, and some basic pantry items to make up your meals, your home bar needs outfitting. These are the basics for drink mixing and cocktail shaking at home.

Equipment

SHAKER TIN AND STRAINER: Next time you go to a bar, order an apple martini or a cosmo and watch the bartender make it. She’ll pour the ingredients into a tin shaker and use it to shake the drink before straining into a glass. Like a knife and cutting board for cooking, a shaker set is the most basic tool for cocktail making. Get yours at a restaurant supply store and you should pay no more than $12. Look for plain stainless steel tins (15-ounce and 30-ounce) and a strainer. For a few bucks more you can opt for the all-in-one set that includes a fitted cover with a built-in strainer. You can find these at Target, BevMo!, or on ye olde internet.

While you’re at it, pick up a muddler and, if you don’t already have one, a wine bottle opener.

CITRUS JUICERS: Juicers are the quickest way to make fresh orange, lemon, lime, or grapefruit juice, and they look so cute! Plus, you can juice the citrus right into the jigger to measure.

GLASSWARE: We like using mason jars (we know, so Brooklyn), but IKEA, Target, and thrift shops are great places to get whole sets on the cheap (or buy individual pieces, for a more eclectic look).

LIQUOR: The following list is based on the principle of buying few but versatile products. It’s really the only way to save money and still have a lot to offer.

VODKA AND RUM: The building blocks to so many cocktails, and the most versatile and useful spirits to have around. If you’re a gin drinker, add that as well.

WHISKEY: Bourbon, rye, scotch—whatever you like and enjoy drinking. I like to buy an inexpensive one for mixing in cocktails and a higher-quality variety for sipping.

TRIPLE SEC (OR COINTREAU IF YOU’RE FANCY): You’ll use this in margaritas, cosmopolitans, and just about every other fruity cocktail.

Garnishes

ICE CUBES: Do you always forget to buy ice when you’re entertaining? Do you end up last-minute frantically texting your friends like, “Somebody please pick up ice or else the world will explode right now,” and then everyone’s on their way and you have no ice, and you feel all your efforts have gone to waste because the one most basic element is missing? Well, we do. And a perfect way to ensure this doesn’t happen is to make ice cubes a part of your garnish. We love edible flower petals, pomegranate seeds, fresh herbs (think mint and rosemary), berries, and cucumbers, but anything from lemon slices to gummy bears to mood stabilizers will do. These cubes flavor your beverage as they melt, and they make you look like you were born in Pinterest-city.

CHERRIES: We love garnishing cocktails with good old-fashioned maraschino cherries, as well as showcasing our tongue dexterity by attempting to tie their stems into knots. We always keep a pre-tied stem hidden under our tongues because neither of us has ever succeeded in doing it in our mouths (nor, we assume, has anyone ever in the history of time). Anyhow, darker, more serious cherries, like Luxardos or Morellos, are a fab bar staple to keep on hand.

RASPBERRIES ON ROSEMARY: We realize that a full stick of rosemary in a beverage might seem a little unorthodox, but trust us. It’s especially good with gin-based drinks (the herb plays up gin’s juniper berry flavor), as well as anything citrusy or fizzy. Make sure to drop these in your cocktails with the raspberries on the bottom so they’ll add fruity sweetness.

GARNISH FOR SLUTTY/VIRGIN MARY: Sure, you can jam all your savory garnishes directly into the Mary itself, or you can layer them elegantly onto a long skewer and stick it directly into the drink, making it that much easier and more fun to snack as you sip.

TOASTED MARSHMALLOWS ON A STICK: Marshmallows are good, but everyone knows toasted (let’s be honest: slightly burnt) ’mallows are where it’s at. We take the campfire indoors by poking as many as we can onto a toothpick and lighting them on fire for a few seconds (trust us, that’s plenty of time to char them nicely) and dunking them in our hot cocoa, with or without booze added. Just remember: if you are adding booze, blow out the fire before you add them to your drink so as to avoid singeing off your eyebrows.