The 6 spirits you need for cocktail making at home.
Advice on how to plan your own cocktail party at home. There are 6 bottles of spirit you need to get started if you’re planning cocktails at your place.
Elsewhere on the blog, I offer tips and advice on the basics of how most cocktails are made up. Once you get the hang of how cocktails are constructed it will give you more of an idea on how to make up your own. Which frankly is a lot of the fun in doing it.
What could be more fun than sitting by the fire (or on your patio in summer) sipping your own made up cocktails ?
For now I’ll start with the basic ingredients. Most cocktails have either a spirit or liqueur as their base, and the vast majority 90% or so contain a spirit. The good news is that there are only 6 of these : so if you want to start your own bottle collection these are the 6 must haves. The 6 to buy are ;
- Whisky
- Brandy
- Rum
- Tequila
- Gin
- Vodka
Of course each of these further subdivide into types – so for instance for whisky, you can buy Scotch, Irish, Bourbon etc, but I suggest starting with whichever one you prefer. And no Southern Comfort isn’t a whisky, it’s a liqueur so don’t put that in place of whisky in your recipes. They’ll be too sweet.
The next things you’re likely to buy are glasses, some straws and an inspiring cocktail recipe book. There are many in Waterstones, but if you’re planning your own cocktail party at home, these are the 6. The 6 spirits you need for cocktail making at home. Happy partying.