10 Essential Bottles for Making Cocktails at Home
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- Опубликовано: 25 июл 2024
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These are my bottle recommendations for starting your home bar when making cocktails. You don't have to purchase all 10 at once rather use it as a guide to build out your bar incrementally. Pick a couple of cocktails that you enjoy making and start your collection around these drinks. Expand your collection over time.
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WILD TURKEY 101
- Good value bourbon
- Bourbon is typically a sweet and creamy whiskey, thanks to the corn
- Aged in deeply charred barrels for more character
- Blend of 6-8 year old bourbons
- 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley
- Higher proof (101 / 50.5%)
TRY IT IN - Gold Rush, Old Fashioned, Whiskey Sour
RITTENHOUSE RYE
- Good value in the US although some countries, such as in Australia, it can be expensive. Here it’s $100+ AUD.
- Lower rye content, sitting at the minimum 51% in order to be named a rye whisky, meaning it’s a fruitier rye rather than heavy spice.
- 100 proof / 50%
TRY IT IN - Manhattan, Vieux Carre
APPLETON ESTATE SIGNATURE BLEND
- Jamaican aged rum
- Blend of pot and column still rums
- 4 year average age
- Dried stone fruit and molasses
TRY IT IN - Mai Tai
PLANTATION 3 STAR
- Blend of rums from Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad
- Column and pot still
- Blend of aged and unaged rums
- A lighter style rum yet it still has complexity
- Notes of tropical fruit and brown sugar
TRY IT IN - Daiquiri
BEEFEATER GIN
- Classic London dry style
- Heavy focus on juniper and citrus
TRY IT IN - Bees Knees, G&T, Negroni
ST-REMY SIGNATURE FRENCH BRANDY
- Great value French brandy for cocktails
- Features notes of dried fruit and sweet spice
TRY IT IN - Champs-Elysees, Sidecar
OLMECA ALTOS BLANCO TEQUILA
- Two bartenders partnered with a master distiller in Los Altos, Jalisco, Mexico to make their tequila
- Distinct citrus and agave notes make it excellent for mixing in cocktails
TRY IT IN - Margarita, Paloma
COINTREAU
- French orange liqueur
- Made from sweet and bitter orange peels
- Sits at 40%
- Bright citrus flavour
TRY IT IN - White Lady, Margarita, Corpse Reviver No. 2
CAMPARI
- Italian bitter liqueur
- Bitter citrus, clove, cinnamon
TRY IT IN - Negroni, Jungle Bird, Garibaldi, Boulevardier
MARTINI & ROSSI
- Very inexpensive Italian sweet vermouth
- Use more than dry vermouth
- Wine based so keep it in the fridge and use it while it’s fresh
- Pairs especially well with gin and whiskey
TRY IT IN - Boulevardier, Manhattan, Roby Roy
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Between you, The Educated Barfly, Behind the Bar and the Whiskey Vault RUclips channels, I have acquired a taste for a lot of different spirits. Thanks for the great content.
Yes and Anders Erickson!
@@katarinajanoskova and Truffles on the Rocks. Forgot both of those.
Just had this idea at Costco for a home bar starter pack and glad this popped up a week later.
This is superb. Thank you so much for sharing. You are a natural and the selections spot on.
Sweet vermouth is delicious on its own. A liter bottle of sweet vermouth never makes it past a month in my house :-) My wife and I really like Cinzano which is also insanely cheap.
Very well explained. Moving beyond the essentials will be interesting for a next video.
Perfect video, honestly very great choices, almost exactly what I'd recommend too
Great List, great explanations. Certainly a better idea and build slowly rather than end up with tons of obscure bottles. DeKuyper 03 can stand in for Cointraeu I would say.
I will have to check for substitutes for some of these, because I like the feeling of going to the store and buy a bottle.
Excellent ten first bottles of a home bar wide range of cocktails. The staple bottle I am missing is Grand Marnier because is outstanding by itself and coffee 😊
Thanks for the video,
I would be happy if you make a video on how to make Angostura bitters at home, thanks
Amazing list please do the best affordable/mid range/expensive whiskey list 😊
Great list! I may have slightly expanded my collection :P
Thank you very much Steve for your recommendations.I have been collecting my home bar for about 3 years.According to my preferences. At the moment I have about 70 positions.Well, I continue to work on expanding my collection😊.For beginners Very useful information. Thanks again.
You're most welcome - sounds like your collection is expanding nicely!
Very nice selection suggestions!
Thank you! 😁
For Rye, I prefer Whistle Pig PIGGYBACK Rye. 100% rye. 6 years old. Thanks for your suggestions
I only do need two bottles.
A peated whiskey with a lot of smoke in it and a bottle of Dambruie liquor.
I take my rusty nails really serious.
Thanks Steve. Your channel inspired me to make some fantastic cocktails at home. The Mrs. and I have a ball trying them out at Tea time. Cheers! Your book is in my sights to buy!
I'm glad you're enjoying the cocktails at home Matt! I hope you love the book if you grab a copy. 🎉
Curiada ey? Aussie Anders over here 😂 been enjoying your content for a few years now, just want to say thanks for making cocktails soo accessible. I’d go absinthe and chartreuse beyond this selection, lack of these stops me making a surprising amount of drinks.
Or is he American Steve? 😂 you’re welcome and glad you’re enjoying the content!
Another awesome vid! I’ve got quite the home collection now from watching your videos and learning different cocktails. The app is awesome too! Hoping for that update soon 🤞🏼
Update is getting real close!
I saw somewhere where the Negroni had surpassed the Old Fashioned as the most ordered cocktail by some measurement. True or not, a *lot* of Campari is mixed around the world, and it absolutely deserves a slot in a 10 bottle lineup.
I’ll take a Boulevardier over an Old Fashioned or Manhattan any day.
Fantastic channel like watching the content And all the knowledge you share about mixing drinks. Quick question have you tried Buchanan's pineapple Whiskey.? Very interested to hear your thoughts well. Keep up the great work looking forward to the next video.
Thanks Darren! Nah, I’m yet to try Buchanan..
I work on the retail side of the liquor business, and I couldn't have put together a better list. I wish more of our shoppers would watch this. People buy cheap booze and then wonder why their drinks don't taste good.
Lol so you could not have put a list with vodka? Some retail you work at
I love Campari, Aperol, and the lesser known Suze.
dammm u found the best of at the price for all the spirits!
If you had to start your home bar from scratch, what are the first 3 bottles you would buy?
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Cutty Sark
Sweet vermouth
Dry vermouth
Add Angostura bitters, Evan Williams White Label, & Campari next.
Beefeater Gin, Bulleit Rye, Monkey Shoulder Blended Scotch. Terrific video Steve, as always!! For me I would be able to happily start out some amazing cocktails with Beefeater, Bulleit Rye and Monkey Shoulder Blended Scotch. Negronis, Rob Roy's, Manhattans and so much more!! Cheers!! 🙂
If my collection were to disappear tomorrow, I'd probably spring for a bottle of okay-ish vodka so I could proof up whatever, then just get creative with my choice of mixes and syrups.
The three bottles I trot out most at cocktail parties are probably Wray & Nephews Overproof, Meaghars Triple Sec, and Gosling's Black Seal. My crew likes the tiki stuff. 😊
If I could only get one Jamaican rum (especially in Mai Tais), I would get Appleton 8. Best all-rounder imo, and maybe more assertive than (or at least equally assertive as) Appleton sig. But I guess it's a lot more expensive than appleton sig, especially in Australia
That's a great video title!
Haha, thanks! Did you vote in the poll?
@@StevetheBartender_ Yes I did! And I'll do it again!
I would swap the Fee Brothers orange for some kind of chocolate bitters, Fee Brothers makes a pretty good Aztec chocolate bitters but so does Angostura, my favourite being the Hella Mexican Chocolate Bitters, it has a really nice spice to it
Coincidentally I think Hella makes the best orange bitters.
I personally think orange is more versatile. Chocolate is very specific and doesn’t go with everything.
Loved the video, I'm in my early twenties and love the cocktail experience. I'm trying to expand my bottles, but I'm very much a beginner. I feel like some of the cocktails you mentioned are advanced cocktails or is it just me? This is a great video to guide me on what to get. If there were 3 alcohols you would recommend that are MUST have (other than Cointreau) what would they be?
Depends.. what cocktails do you like to drink? Name 3-4…
@@StevetheBartender_ i like more fruity tropical and on the sweeter side cocktails 4 of the top of my head are: solero, Moscow mule, mojito, margarita!
But I am trying to widen my pallet, with maybe some rum, tequila, whiskey based cocktails too.
I will definitely be checking your list! Would also love some recommendations!
I appreciate you writing back!
Really like this type of the video, even that I already have 40+ bottles. Mostly agree with list, except that I'm not a huge fan of whisky and 1 bottle is something is enough, also it's hard to have a bottle o lf american whisky in my country right now, so I buy scotch/irish. Don't really make enough cocktails with brandy/cognac to buy it one more time, neither vodka (I just dont like vodka, there's always greater substitutions for it). Personally really like coffee cocktails that requires coffee liquer.
2:24 vee-you car-ayes LOL
I'd drop the bottle of campari for a bottle of amaretto, but everything else is bang on IMHO.
please do essential glasses
I am curious as to why is there no vodka in there, is it such a niche spirit?
Solid list for the American audience.
When is your gin coming to the state's????
When we find an importer and distributor that is suitable..
@Steve the Bartender I hope you do I live in the states and have been wanting to try you gin for a long time now I can't wait to be able to try the full suite.
There's a huge difference in quality between a cheap martini rosso or cinzano compared to something different like a martini riserva or antica formula.
For my fellow Aussies out there, I'd recommend:
Rye- Gospel Solera
Gin- Four Pillars rare dry or Never Never triple juniper
Scotch- Obvs there's no local versions but Starward two fold drinks like a blended scotch and can be used as a good and affordable alternative
Sweet Vermouth- Regal rogue, 78 degrees, or madenii
Brandy- St Agnes Bartenders cut
Orange Liqueur- Marionette or Autonomy both do great ones (I prefer the Autonomy one though)
White Rum- I really like the Archie Rose 'Cane Spirit', although its pretty funky
* gin - threefold 😉
Sadly Curiada don't deliver outside US.
One thing I think you could have mentioned is that Angostura and Peychaud’s can be found practically in any supermarket
Depends where you are. They’re alcoholic so in Australia they can only be purchased from a licensed liquor store.
@@StevetheBartender_ Ohh whoops I didn't consider what it would be like in other countries.
2nd......
I would include Grand Mariner
As a replacement for cointreau to use in ALL cocktails?
Well, when you put that way…😂 probably not. I guess I just have a Grand Mariner bias 😂
Rittenhouse bottled in bond is great, I use it on my Old Fashioneds when I want a traditional one instead of one with bourbon. Not a fan of Wild Turkey though. It's hard to get outside of the east coast of the US, but St. Augustine Port Finished Bourbon is fantastic. 102 proof and makes a hell of an Old Fashioned
Campari ftw
Heck yeah.
got 7 out of 10
I'm not making rum. Odd question. Jamaican rum?
Sorry I’m don’t understand your question..
Just one discrepancy, really. I personally love the Plantation 5 star, but I get a lot of funk from it, so since your other rum is Jamaican, I would switch it out for a different style light rum, like Havana club 3 years.
I wouldn’t say discrepancy though as this is my list of recommendations.. 😃
@@StevetheBartender_ And they´re all good! :)
Not sure how you don't have a vodka in this list!? ahahahah
Wow! $100 for Rittenhouse. I don't know how the international price compares, but I'd also recommend Old Forester 100 proof Rye if you can't find Rittenhouse.
Australia has a very heavy excise on alcohol, so everything is expensive here
It's our crazy taxes! I checked and it's currently $95 AUD ($58 USD) a bottle. Rittenhouse @ 50% includes $34.26 AUD of excise duty and a further $8.63 of GST for a total of $42.89 of taxes ($27.75 USD).
@@StevetheBartender_ WOW! That's crazy, but I get it. Have you tried Old Forester? Not sure of its availability for you, but it's every bit as good as Rittenhouse IMHO.
@@Josh_Stringer we dont get old forester at all really outside of the 80 proof. even junst the OF 100 bourbon is $120 aud, and the rye you cant even seem to find. most of the time i go for whistle pig 10 which is 130 aud so youre paying almost the same as you would for budget bottles and I personally love it in my rye cocktails.
if we gotta pay $43 in tax for each individual 100 proof bottle you might as well make it something a bit more special lol
Vermouth is kinda missing
5:07
@@StevetheBartender_ sorry I'm stupid
Did you just look in my fridge and make a video off of it? Minus the tequila and the Fee Brothers bitter, i have all those bottles right now in my fridge. (ok, actually i finished an Appleton Estate Signature just the other week but..)
I hope there’s some food in that fridge too 🫣
i got 5 of them and haven't even made a cocktail in 2 years :/
Vodka ?
But once you start a collection it just keeps getting bigger
100%!
I'll never get why Campari is soooo dubious.
It's a great drink
It's not for everyone... I love the stuff though! >_
Holt crap Rittenhouse is like $25 dollars USD by me. That’s crazy
$25 USD is less than the taxes alone on a bottle of Rittenhouse in Australia (about $29.50 USD in taxes).
Counter list
Bourbon: j.w. dant bottled in bond (or old grandad if you can't find that)
Rye: rittenhouse (spot on)
Light rum: Denizen 3 year
Dark rum: smith and cross
Gin: beefeater (spot on... Still haven't gotten to try your gin yet)
Cognac: Maison Rouge V.S.O.P
Tequila: siete leguas (but that's expensive, cimarron Blanco is my go to work horse tequila)
Orange liqueur: Marie Brizard orange Curacao
Campari: Campari... No replacement
Sweet vermouth: cocchi sweet vermouth (i cannot speak highly enough about this)
We still can’t get Denizen in Australia 😔
First!
I wonder why he doesn’t include vodka? 🤔
Vodka is vodka, same stuff different bottle. are vodka cocktails really cocktails
@@bencrean6093 yes
Because you don't need vodka for cocktails.
Because Vodka is just flavorless Gin
I'm here in Texas and Rittenhouse costs 25 bucks 😅 Are you sure I should purchase this??!!😢😂
I’m in Australia and it costs $100+
@@StevetheBartender_ I trust ya steve👌🏾
I actually got a big bar, but i kinda stopped makeing Cocktails.
Nearly identical to all the same bottles. And brands every other home bar video recommends. It's like 1 person did it everyone else. Just copy and pasted for content, truly pathetic.
But as many old people as there are using technology and hipsters who refuse to get real jobs, it doesn't surprise me. For the record anytime, I've ever spent time at anyone's house and drinking was involded none of these bottles were included and I'm 37. Jameson, Captain Morgan Private Stock, Gentleman Jack, Fireball, Jagermeister, Seagrams Gin, Cuervo Gold, Patron Silver, Baileys, and Rumchata!! These are the 10 bottles you actually need at home if you want to please a crowd, or have a good party!! Anything else?Is just being an alcoholic or a lonely binge drinker. You don't need a home bar.You need a recovery group!!! Help is available.
My own brother went from nearly drinking himself Homeless to now being three years Sober Happily married with two kids
You follow any of these videos
If multiple people are recommending the same bottles doesn’t that say something? 😂🤦♂️