Stocking my bar at home

[quarkncover]

Hi OOT,

I just moved into a new apartment yesterday and have a lot of very nice glassware, but nothing to put in them! I have a wet bar and it needs to be stocked! I have no experience with the essentials needed for a well-stocked home bar and need your help OOT. I plan on adding to the bar over time, but for discussion sake, assume a spending limit of $800 for the bar to start. Where do I begin, recommendations?

[MyTurn2Raise]

need to hit the major liquors
Rum, Gin, Vodka, Tequila, Whiskey...etc
need triple sec at a minimum for it's mixing properties

go with quality
Grey Goose or equivalent
Bombay Sapphire
Old Whiskey or Bourbon- aged 10+ years is a good start

If you're going through the effort, you might as well have good liquor

stuff for the ladies-blue curacao, Irish Cream, and stuff like that (liqueurs)

might as well add a wine rack and few decent bottles of both red and white

[Khabbi]

I'd love to re-type things and take the credit, but everything is pretty much spelled out for you at the Webtender. You'll easily be able to burn through $800 following this guide: http://www.webtender.com/handbook/

[MyTurn2Raise]

google is my friend

know your liquor categories

decent idea

[quarkncover]

Thanks guys, OOT always comes through! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[MyTurn2Raise]

good luck... having my own home bar is one of the highlights of my life

[El Diablo]

quark,

Search OOT as well. There have been a few extensive "stock my bar" threads.

[Boris]

Let me get this straight. You're gonna go spend $800 so your friends can come over and drink all your booze? You sound like a pretty nice guy.

[Andrew Karpinski]

Having a bar is a good idea; it's not a good idea to get your friends drunk all the time. It is a good idea to be able to offer someone a drink if they come visit, or to have a bottle if some real life [censored] happens where a bottle is warranted.

Here's what you need :
Gin
Vodka
Whiskey
Rum

These are the non-negotiables. With those, and a selection of soda, you can make a decent drink for just about anyone. From there :

Tequilla. Good, but not great tequilla. Jose Quervos comes to mind.
Vermouth, dry and sweet.
Schnapps, for the ladies.
A nice scotch.
Wine.
Beer.

That's basically all you need. If you want to go the next level, Gold Schlagger, Jaggermeister and Brandi.

[quarkncover]

El D-

Thanks, I've found some good stuff.

Boris-

A couple of close friends have well stocked bars and sometimes its just nice to hang out rather than barhopping. It's not as if my friends will be consuming an $800 worth of alcohol with me in a week.

Andrew-

Thanks.