“The weather is very hot, so I can have a cold Mojito before I go out.”
I believe many people are thinking this way now.
In fact, the desire to achieve bartending at home is not as complicated as imagined. This article will teach you how to easily build a tasteful home bar, and it is definitely an enviable one. Although the home bar cannot have everything like a professional bar, it is enough to produce dozens of delicious cocktails.
01 | Bartending Tools
Necessary tools | auxiliary tools | commonly used wine glasses
02 | Bartending Wine
Essential base wine | Optional ingredients
Bartending at home is actually as simple and common as cooking. You don’t need to prepare all the materials and tools at the beginning. You only need to prepare some basic products, and the others will be added slowly according to your mood and conditions. With this in mind, let’s talk about the necessary tools and wines for bartending at home.
01 | Bartending Tools
Professional utensils have the function of “good-looking when used, and good-looking when not in use”. When it comes to practicality, use chopsticks as a spoon, a measuring cup for cooking rice, and even a small stainless steel thermos bottle as a cocktail shaker. There is no problem. Do whatever you want and adapt to local conditions is the secret of happiness at home.
Necessary tools
Bar spoon: Whether it is the blending method or the reconciling method, the bar spoon is essential. The front part of the bar spoon is a spoon (approximately 1/4 ounce) with a spiral pattern on the rod. The spiral pattern of different bar spoons is wide or narrow, and you can choose according to comfort. The ends also have different designs. For example, the drop type can be quickly stirred, the three-pronged type can be used to insert fruits, and the flat type can be stirred up and down in a wine glass with large ice cubes.
Wine measuring device: also known as an ounce cup (1 ounce is about 28 milliliters), if you want to have a good idea when mixing wine, you must have it. There are three types of wine measuring devices, large, medium and small, with different capacities at both ends.
Bartender: An open thick-bottomed glass specially designed for blending. You can also directly use the inner glass of the Boston shaker.
Ice strainer: used with the cocktail glass to make blended cocktails. In order to filter the ice in the wine, it can also filter out the pulp or impurities. There are two main types of ice strainers. One is the Hawthorne ice strainer with a spring ring and a claw shape on the spoon surface. It is also a partner with the Boston shaker. There is also a more retro styled Julep ice strainer, which resembles a tea drain and is also very suitable for ice shovel.
Cocktail shaker: If you want to use the shaking method to mix wine, you must start with a shaker. There are also two types of cocktail shakers. The first is the three-stage cocktail shaker used in traditional British cocktails, which is also one of the standard in the bartending industry. The other is the Boston shaker, which is commonly used in American bartending. It has only two sections. Because the ice filter of the three-section kettle is simplified, it needs to be equipped with an ice filter to be complete. Boston is superior in its large capacity, and the inner glass can also be used as a cocktail glass, which is more practical.
Ice box and ice shovel: Ice cubes are indispensable for the bar. You can make your own in the ice box. Nowadays, supermarkets can easily buy bags of edible ice cubes. In addition, for convenience and hygiene, it is strongly recommended to prepare an ice shovel.
If you use the ice box, you can play more tricks, such as the following.
The above are the basic tools needed to build a bar. Of course, there are many ways to prepare cocktails. The blending method, blending method and shaking method are most commonly used. If you only need to use one method, the tool can be further simplified.
For example, the simplest blending method only needs to mix various raw materials directly in the cup, and the tools used are the least. The latter two methods are more technical, especially if you want to drink a cocktail made by shaking and mixing, then the shaker must be prepared.
Blending method Build: bar spoon, wine measuring device
Blending method Stir: bar spoon, wine measuring device, cocktail glass, ice strainer
Shake method Shake: wine measuring device, shaker
In addition, you can also try to use the mixing method when you first get started, that is, add all the ingredients including ice cubes to the mixing juicer and quickly stir it. This method is so simple that only one tool is required. Without technical content, of course the taste is simpler and cruder, so I won’t talk about it here.
Auxiliary tools
There are also some tools that can add to the cake, and are very commonly used in the kitchen, basically no need to purchase. For example, cutting boards and fruit knives can be used to cut lemon wedges to squeeze juice, or to make some fruit decorations, as well as peelers for orange peel decorations and toothpicks for stringing olives. The ice hammer used to mash fruit, ice or sugar can be replaced with a rolling pin and is completely stress-free. There is no need to say more about small objects like straws.
Commonly used wine glasses
With the tools ready, and a few cocktail glasses, the bar will look like it.
Martini glass (Martini): The most typical cocktail glass, in an inverted triangle shape, composed of a foot and a trumpet-shaped body, suitable for short drink cocktails.
Old Fashioned: Cylindrical large flat-bottomed cup, suitable for short drinks with high alcohol concentration.
Shooter: With a small design, it is generally used to hold spirits or cocktails with high alcohol concentration.
Highball: Also known as Collins, it is generally used as a cocktail of distilled spirits and soft drinks.
Margarita: also known as Coupette Glass, a goblet with a wide rim or a platform, which is conducive to the salt rim decoration of Margarita.
02 | Bartending Wine
The bar must always have a few wine town scenes, especially mainstream base wines that can produce a variety of cocktails. You don’t need to be too extravagant at the beginning. Basically, the commonly used base wine can be bought at around 100 yuan.
Essential base wine
Gin
The herbal and spice flavor of gin itself can add a lot of complexity to the cocktail. Therefore, the cocktail based on gin is much more than other spirits, and it must be indispensable for home-mixing.
Recommended brands: Bombay, Beefeater, Gordon’s, Tanqueray
Cocktail: Tom Collins, Gin & Tonic
Vodka
Because of its pure body and more plasticity, all-match vodka has become one of the ideal base wines for cocktails, and its appearance rate is comparable to gin. If the budget is limited, you can choose between gin and vodka according to your preference.
Recommended brands: Absolut, Smirnoff, Skyy
Cocktails: Screwdriver, Dry Martini, Moscow Mule
Rum
Rum can be said to lead the trend of modern cocktails. The cocktails made with lime and mint are cool and refreshing. Therefore, it is also one of the best choices in summer, especially suitable for family parties.
Recommended brands: Bacardi, Havana Club, Captain Morgan
Cocktails: Mojito, Cuba Libre
Whiskey
If you want to improve your rank, then you must have a bottle of whiskey that represents an old-school cocktail. Bourbon whiskey is cheaper, rich in fragrance and sweet in the mouth. It is most suitable for cocktails.
Recommended brands: Jack Daniel’s, Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark
Cocktail: Mint Julep, Old-Fashioned
In addition, if you still have a budget, you can also choose to choose a Tequila, that is, tequila. This wine has a special flavor. You may like it like durian. Different people have different opinions. If you are interested, buy a bottle and try it, and make a glass of classic Margarita.
Optional ingredients
Vermouth
Recommended brands: Martini, Cinzano, Noilly Prat
Bitter
Recommended brands: Campari, Dubonnet, Amer Picon
Both of these wines are indispensable for making Dry Martini and Manhattan, but the amount is very small. If you don’t drink it often, it is recommended to buy a small bottle.
In addition, for some liqueurs, although the color and taste are very attractive, they may not be used several times a year when they are bought home for bartending. It is recommended not to buy them in the initial stage.
Other ingredients, such as tonic water, soda water, lemon juice, etc., do not need to be prepared, just buy as you use them.
Bantendrink 