Hi, it's Anders! Today I'm going to tell you my top bottles and spirits to help you build your bar.
Don't worry we're going to make sense of all this. We'll break it down one by one.
I promise.
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Welcome back!
I recently spoke to a few of you who have said you're building cocktails along with the videos,
and I think that is super cool. Thank you so much!
If I were to start a bar from scratch, these would be the first bottles I would buy.
So let's get started.
Number one - rye whiskey.
First on my list is rye whiskey, and that is because rye is the workhorse behind my bar.
By rule, rye has to be at least 51% rye in the mash bill.
And what that does is it makes a whiskey that is a little bit spicier -
that I really like to mix with - because it cuts through citrus and sugar and bitters.
It really holds up in cocktails. So rye whiskey is my go-to for whiskey.
Also I like to make classic cocktails, and the recipes call specifically for rye whiskey.
I recommend Rittenhouse Rye.
It happens to be a hundred proof, but what I like about it, is it's very balanced, it's affordable, and it's readily available.
I really like Rittenhouse. If you want a lower proof whiskey, I would go with Old Overholt,
which is also readily available, balanced, and less expensive.
Number two - bourbon.
Bourbon is another whiskey that I like to have behind the bar. In fact, I considered whether or not this made the absolute essentials,
but the truth is, if I were building up a bar, I would grab a bottle of rye whiskey and
I would grab a bottle of bourbon. Bourbon has to be at least 51% corn.
There are other rules as well, but the important thing is it's a sweeter whiskey because of the corn.
I really like it with citrus, or a drink that has a lot of bitters - like an Old Fashioned.
It's also just really good on its own. I will have bourbon neat and be happy.
Buffalo Trace has been my go-to for a long time,
but there are a number of other good bourbons out there. You can end up spending lots and lots of money,
or get quality bourbon for a low price. If you are looking for a cheaper bourbon that is really, really good,
I'd highly recommend Evan Williams Black Label. All right, moving on.
Number three - scotch.
Another whiskey that I like to mix with because it just tastes very different than both bourbon and rye.
There are a number of different styles of scotches, and when it comes to mixing, I prefer a blended.
This is a blended malt whiskey. Monkey Shoulder is just a great value for the price,
and it goes well in classics like the Blood and Sand, or a contemporary classic like the Penicillin.
There are also single malt scotches for those that are really into flavor.
You've got the blended scotches, which are more about smoothness, and then the single malts, which are about flavor.
So if you like a big, smoky scotch, then you might want to go with Laphroaig 10 Year, which is an Islay scotch.
You are going to spend a little bit more money, but it'll be worth it. i like to actually have
I like to actually have both of these behind the bar - but not necessary. If there was just one bottle I had to have,
it would be the Monkey Shoulder for mixing.
Number four - gin.
We finally moved on from whiskey.
Not everybody is a whiskey drinker, so you should have gin behind your bar.
Gin is in.
Gin is called for in a number of classic cocktails as well.
There are styles that range from Dutch style gins known as genever,
your old tom gins, your navy strength gins - which are stronger, London dry styles, Plymouth style,
and new American style. I like the Plymouth gin because it tastes good,
and it's not quite as juniper-driven as a London dry. It mixes well, it tastes good on its own, and it's at a good price point.
It's also a pretty bottle.
If you do like a gin and tonic, then you might want to stick with the London dry style.
In which case, I like Brokers very much. As far as other styles that I like,
a lot of smaller distilleries are doing new western styles, and there's some really interesting stuff out there.
This is Journeyman Distillery's Bilberry Black Hearts Gin, which happens to be local for me,
but I think that you should go out and find a local distillery, and support them, and see what they're up to.
Number five and six - light and dark rum.
Rum, rum - here we go. This is a tough one.
I narrowed it down to two very different rums, but there are 30 different rums.
There are so many different styles of rum. This was really difficult, and if I was building a tiki bar,
I would have at least half this list, if not more, would be rum.
But for this list, I've come up with light rum and dark rum.
And when I say that I'm not referring to the color of the rum. I'm talking in terms of flavor.
Light rum - and light flavor, and dark rum - not really dark flavor, but full flavor.
So I should say light and full - I guess.
As far as light rum, I really like the El Dorado 3 Year. It's been aged for three years and then charcoal filtered,
so it's a really smooth rum that goes well in daiquiris and mojitos. You can get quality rums for low prices.
If you're looking for an affordable light rum, I'd recommend Don Q Puerto Rican.
As far as the dark rum, I like the Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black.
It's really big flavored, holds up in tiki drinks. It's a fun rum to work. with if you want a rum
If you want a rum that's a little less assertive, I would recommend Appleton Estate Jamaican Rum.
I always have that on hand too. I almost put that in this category, but I'm really excited about this rum right now, so that's why it's there.
Number seven - brandy.
Brandy is a staple you want to have behind your bar because it's called for in classics like the Sidecar,
which is one of my personal favorites.
Brandy is a distillate made from fruit, most notably grapes. Kind of the most sought after would be cognac,
which comes from a specific region in France, but there's also armagnac, and then brandies from all over the world.
Maison Rouge, however, has been my go-to brandy for many years.
And I love it because it's a V.S.O.P. cognac that is very affordable. It is round, and balanced, and mixes very, very well.
You do really only need one bottle of aged brandy, but I happen to have two.
Korbel - I have this for one reason, and one reason only, and that's to make a Wisconsin Old Fashioned.
California brandy is lighter and sweeter than cognac, and I grew up in Wisconsin, so it reminds me of home.
But that'll be another episode.
Number eight - tequila and/or mezcal.
This is something you wanna have behind your bar because sooner or later you're gonna have a friend that orders a margarita.
Thing about tequila is unlike rum, don't go cheap. Spend a little bit more money and get a decent tequila.
Look for 100% agave. A lot of the cheaper tequilas will use agave flavored spirits
just as filler. That's a headache waiting to happen. There are a few bottles that I fear behind the bar,
and one of them is cheap tequila. This is a blanco tequila, also known as a silver tequila.
There's also reposado and anejo, and those are different levels of aging. For mixing, though, I go with a blanco or reposado.
As far as the mezcal, you can use mezcal interchangeably with the tequila.
It does have a different flavor profile though, and has more of a smoky aspect to it.
I prefer to mix with mezcal, actually.
Siete Leguas Blanco is a really nice mixing tequila. Highly recommend that one,
and as far as mezcal, Vida de San Luis del Rio is a really good mezcal. This is kind of an entry level as far as smokiness.
They do get smokier, but taste them and see what you like. You're probably gonna be like me and get both these bottles.
Number nine - vodka.
Okay vodka.
There's always going to be somebody who doesn't like the taste of alcohol, and vodka is the perfect answer because
by definition it is flavorless and odorless. This is also another opportunity to support smaller distilleries.
I really like this Rider Vodka from Union Horse Distilling. It's made from 100% wheat,
and it has a creamy texture that adds something to the cocktail other than just firepower.
Vodka is great in mules, or you can swap them out for white rum, gin. Not called for in a lot of classics.
However, it's really easy to work with. Just pour this into a glass of lemonade and you got yourself a
cocktail of sorts. If you want a more readily available, bigger name, classic Russian style vodka,
then Russian Standard would be a good one. Pick a vodka that - that you like the taste of nothing.
I'm sorry.
If you don't want to taste booze, but you want to drink, have vodka!
Number ten and eleven - sweet and dry vermouth.
These are the first of our modifiers. The Italian style vermouth is a sweet vermouth,
and the French style vermouth is the drier vermouth. These are part of my essentials because
they're called for in numerous classic cocktails. You're going to use the sweet vermouth
in a Manhattan, the dry vermouth in a Martini or Brooklyn. They're fortified wines that once opened
should be kept in the refrigerator. So I've said it before, but get yourself a smaller bottle unless
you are guzzling vermouth. The sweet vermouth that I like is Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, which is a richer vermouth.
and the dry vermouth is Dolin, which is kind of a lighter style vermouth.
If you're feeling adventurous, you might want to try something like Lillet Blanc, Lillet Rouge, or take it a step further
and use some sherries - which are outstanding in cocktails. Not part of my essential list but if there's sherry behind the bar,
I'm excited to mix with it. I've got an amontillado sherry here which is a drier sherry.
When I'm talking about this I'm not talk about dessert sherries like cream sherry, but the drier ones.
They go really well with base spirits. That's if you're feeling adventurous.
But vermouth, you should definitely have.
Number twelve - orange liqueur.
This is one liqueur that I've got on the list.
It was hard because there are many many liqueurs out there, and orange liqueur is
called for in a lot of different cocktails. And there are different kinds of orange liqueurs as well.
So the two main ones - you have your curaçaos, which are going to be brandy based, and then your
triple secs, which are grain spirit based. The triple secs tend to be a little bit drier and
the curaçao is a little bit richer, but all of them will vary as far as level of sweetness.
So I like to have a few different ones behind the bar. Not necessary. The one I find I use the most
is the Pierre Ferrand on Dry Curaçao, which I've mentioned in my videos in the past. But I do keep a richer
curaçao, and then I like to have a triple sec as well. If you wanted to go with more of the triple sec style,
I really like the Luxardo Triplum. The Marie Brizard is a richer curaçao,
and if you like things a little sweeter and richer, then this would be for you. Otherwise Grand Marnier is a great example of this.
But yeah - it goes drier to sweet, sweet to dry, dry to sweet, but my go-to,
I really like the Dry Curaçao from Pierre Ferrand.
Number thirteen - an apéritif or digestif.
Hold on.
So an aperitif is a bitter spirit that you're going to have before a meal. It's to kind of kick-start your appetite.
And the digestif is a slightly bitter spirit that you're gonna have after a meal to kick-start digestion.
They're meant to be enjoyed on their own, but what I like about them
is they add a bitter component to cocktails. And if I had to choose one - I mean, I like to have
all of them, don't get me wrong - but if I had to choose one, Campari is the go-to because there are
a lot of cocktails that call for Campari. Like the Negroni or the Boulevardier.
There's a family of cocktails that all kind of stem from Campari. There are other options. If you wanted to go a little sweeter,
then I'd recommend Aperol, but Campari is definitely - on my bar - is one that I
like to have on hand. Alright, number thirteen is Campari. Done.
Number fourteen - absinthe or pastis.
Some cocktails will call for an absinthe rinse in the glass, like the Sazerac, a Corpse Reviver Number 2,
or if you want to mix something like a Momisette. I like to put it in a misting bottle because that
way you're not wasting it when you make the rinse in the glass. You're not having to pour it in and then dump it out.
You can just spritz it in and get exactly the right amount that you need.
Absinthe is an anise flavored spirit. Pastis came along when absinthe was banned because it was made with wormwood.
Which everybody thought made you crazy. That was in the early 20th century.
Pastis is essentially a spirit with the same flavor profile as absinthe, but without the wormwood.
Now absinthe is legal and you can get the real deal with the wormwood. You're not going to go crazy, but you might get really drunk
because it is high proof. And it's rather expensive, so they do offer it in smaller bottles.
I do like La Clendestine, which is a Swiss absinthe. They come in all different colors.
So you have your traditional green absinthe, you've got a white or blue absinthe, red absinthe.
If you wanted to go the pastis route, then you have Ricard or Pernod. So get a little bit of absinthe, or pastis, and you're good to go.
Number fifteen - bitters.
Bitters is something that every bar should have.
Everybody says it, "It's the salt and pepper."
Hmm? Everybody? Everybody out there's saying it right now - I can hear 'em.
It's what makes everything so good, and it brings everything together. And you just need a few dashes.
If I were to only have one bitters, it would be Angostura Aromatic Bitters
because it is the classic cocktail bitters. But I will say that with bitters, this is an opportunity
for you to kind of let your personality show. There are so many different kinds of bitters out there -
if you want to cherry bitters or tobacco bitters. It's incredible. The list goes on and on.
So you can have a huge collection of bitters or you can make your own. I do also like to have,
while we're on the topic, an orange bitters on hand and Peychaud's Bitters - which Peychaud's is another
aromatic bitters from New Orleans. If I had to pick one bitters though, it would be Angostura Bitters.
It's traditional, it's the original, I use it in cocktails, and I do it by the shot.
Bitters, bitters - bitter, bitters, bitters.
I could conclude the list there, but I do have a couple of honorable mentions.
Maraschino liqueur and Chartreuse.
Both of these are called for in classic cocktails,
and I use them quite often.
Maraschino is a cherry liqueur, and Chartreuse is an herbal liqueur.
If I were to step behind a bar and they didn't have either one of these it wouldn't be the end of the world.
So that's why they're not on my essential list, but it wouldn't be long before I took off and went to
the liquor store to buy them. If you want to get these, they do come in smaller bottles.
Especially the Chartreuse, it can be a little bit expensive.
I have half a cocktail right here. This is half of the Last Word.
Liqueurs - it's tricky because there are so many different liqueurs. It depends on the cocktails you like.
You know - if you want to be making a Brandy Alexander, you're going to need a chocolate liqueur.
Or if you like White Russians, you're going to want a coffee liqueur.
Your list can go on and on and on if you want, or you can take some of the things out that I mentioned
and build your own list. I will say that if you're building up your bar from nothing,
just think about the drinks you want to make, buy a couple bottles, and then one at a time just let your bar grow.
Thank you again for making your cocktails with me. You make me so happy.
Follow me on Instagram if you want, and send pictures of the cocktails that you make - I will put it on my story.
Other than that, if you like this video, like and subscribe. And I will see you next time.
Cheers!
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