Reviewing the Mixing Ingredients Home Bar
After a year of perfecting house recipes, what's actually in the liquor cabinet and the fridge? And what else can we do with all of that?
The last year has been about as much fun, and as much work, as I’ve ever had writing MI. It was certainly also the most expensive, but it was worth it. And that’s not nothing since I’ve somehow been doing this pretty consistently for 6 years now…
Over this year, I’ve finally perfected my standard recipe for 6 standard cocktails. And that’s had the added benefit of building out my house “well.” Because I’ll always have the same bottles on-hand for my house cocktails, my selection is much more predictable. And that’s fun because I think it’s going to allow for some more creativity again coming up.
So, let’s review what we’re working with on a daily basis.
The Spirits
The Liqueurs
The Aromatics
Fresh In the Fridge
Cocktail Cherries (don’t really need to be in the fridge, but where else do I put them?
Coming Up Next
A few things, probably. First, there are definitely gaps in the “well” - no scotch, only aged rum and tequila, relatively few bitters and liqueurs, nothing non-alcoholic. And those are probably gaps worth filling and finding standard house recipes for.
I’m also toying around with a few house beers and wines, both of which I know a decent amount about but have written precious little in support. All of this will be added and linked in this post, so this will be the living and breathing inventory of my standard offerings.
Finally, the bar detailed above can make a whole lot more cocktails than just the 6 house recipes we’ve established so far even before anything else is added. So, the house recipe list can expand quite a bit before any new bottles are even added. And it will.