Welcome to my home bar!
Since at this point only these visitors should read on that are of the opinion that no alcohol is also no solution, I can now write absolutely open...
As I already mentioned on my home page I do not own a TV at my home. Because of that I had to look for alternative kinds of entertainment (and not only for rainy days).
The thing with my cocktail bar started out the way that in the place I've rented a bar was already installed to separate the citchen from the living room. At the beginning I used this only for dinner and sporadically for breakfast (really sporadic: when I have to go to the office I generally don't have time for that and when I don't have to work I usually don't get up before lunch time) but soon afterwards I became aware of the fact that this bar was made for higher goals.
So what should I do?
It was easy: making Caipirinha's. For this drink you only need very few incredients, einen Stössel and an ice crusher. Furthermore this cocktail is easy to make and (almost) everybody likes the taste of it. From this moment on some invited guests got the privilege to enjoy a Caipirinha at my home bar after a long night of partying and dancing in the club Hinteres Kreuz in the city of Ulm.
From making only Capirinhas to the fully equipped home bar it was only a minor step: I bought the additionally required equipment and ingredients, read some books on cocktails and searched the internet in order to achive some recipies and then all I needes was lots of practice of corse! A good accompliment to a cocktail is a fine cigar.
Nutrition facts:
Cocktails generally consist of 10 to 30% of pure alcohol. Furthermore the most drinks contain fruit juices or syrups.
By most sources the extensive consumption of cocktails is not recommended. Here's what I think of it:
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Alcohol is often used as an disinfectant in the (food) industry. This means alcohol kills harmfull germs. |
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Alcohol is also used in pharmacy, especially in products for cold and flu relieve. |
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In labs organic exponats are stored in alcohol in order to make them last. |
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Fruit juices contain lots of vitamins and other healthy stuff. |
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Conclusions:
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Alcohol consumption minimizes the risk to catch an infectious desease. |
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Alcohol consumption eases the effects of various deseases, last but not least of the cold and the flu. |
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Alcohol keeps you young. |
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Cocktails are healthy. |
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Which equipment is needed at a home bar?
"Must Have's" for your own bar are the following items:
Shaker
There are different kinds of shakers available:
the Boston Shaker whose lower part is made of glass and the upper part is made of steel
the shaker consisting of two parts, each made of stainless steel or aluminium
the shaker consisting of three parts each made of stainless steel. The middle section already contains a built in strainer so with this kind of shaker you don't need an additional one
Strainer
The strainer is made of stainless steel. After mixing the cocktail it is put on top of the lower part of the shaker so it holds the ice back when pouring the drink into the glass.
Note:
Only the crudest amateurs put the ice that was used in the shaker into the glass! Always put fresh ice into the glass!!!
Ice Crusher
With that device the ice cubes are getting crushed. There are electrically as well as manually operated crushers available. A high end manually operated crusher has much more style than a noisy electrical one.
Glasses
That's for sure! You should have different styles of glasses for different styles of cocktails:
Tumbler (whisky glass)
Longdrink glass
Y-cocktail glass (Martini Glass)
Cocktail Glass (Hurricane glass)
Knive
Somehow you've got to cut the oranges or pineapples into pieces.
Straws
There are special straws for cocktails available that have a bigger diameter than the standard ones. Furthermore they come in different lengths to match the different glasses.
Furthermore this stuff is helpfull:
Ice Bucket
They come in different sizes and are usually made of stainless steel. They're isolated so you can crush a bigger amount of ice at one time and then store it inside the bucket.
Ice Scoop
You use this one to put the ice from the bucket into the shaker and into the glass. A good ice scoop is made of stainless steel and has a couple of holes in it so that you only put the ice into the glass and not the already melted water that may be inside the bucket
Pestle
Used to smash the fruits, especially the limes for the Caipirinha or the Mojito
Bar Spoon and / or Stirrer
For all drinks that are mixed by stirring not by shaking. The James Bonds of this world can easily live without these.
Please don't use that cheap plastic stirrers!
Bar Rail
It's also called Spill Stop. You arrange the drinks on this mat so it won't get to messy on your bar.
Jigger
This is sort of a small meassuring cup made of stainless stell. You use it to meassure all the ingredients for the cocktail. This is highly recommended for a hobby barkeeper since already a small deviation in the amount of the alcoholic ingredients can spoil a drink.
Napkins
The ambitious barkeeper does not serve his drinks on table mats. For that reason there are special cocktail napkins available that are generally smaller than the usual ones and are printed with various designs matching the different drinks.
In case you really want to impress your guests you should also wear a suitable outfit as the barkeeper.
Which ingredients are needed at a home bar?
Well, that's a list with an open end. Of course it depens strongly on the kind and the number of different cocktails you want to make. So what I tell you in the following lines are only the standards.
Alcoholic beverages:
For a newbie it is sufficient enough to have only one brand of every one of the classic alcoholic beverages in stock. More experienced barkeepers should give their guest not only the choice between several different cocktails but also the choice between several brands of the used alcohols in these drinks.
Gin
Gin is made of grain and flavoured by an assortment of other ingredients (e. g. juniper and apricots) . Most brands are distilled in the United Kingdom. There are lots of different brands to choose from. The best selling brand in the wolrd is Gordon's. My recommendations are Finsbury (a relatively cheap brand but in my opinion better than the more expansive Gordon's or Beafeater) and Bombay (a relatively expensive brand, but lot's of people say it's the best Gin in the world).
Whisk(e)y
First you have to differ between the European Whiskeys (Scotch) and the American Whiskys. Both are made of grain but of different kinds. Since I am a fan of the U.S. I only make cocktails that use American Whisky at my bar. This Whisky is mainly made of corn (the main difference to the Scotch). The big American Whiskys are Bourbon and Tennesse. In principal for every cocktail that has Bourbon as an ingredieant you can also use Tennesse Whisky. The production process of these two beverages is mainly the same. The only difference ist that Tennesse Whisky is charcoal filtered after distilling. This treatment helps for are very smooth taste. My recommendations for Bourbon are Jim Beam and Four Roses. Speaking about Tennesse Whisky there's only one brand: Jack Daniel's.
Furthermore there's also Canadian Whisky availabel that may be used for some drinks.
Rum
Rum is made of cane sugar and is used in almost every caribian cocktail. There's White Rum and Dark Rum.
White Rum comes mainly from Cuba. It is stored in barrels made of stainless steal and that why it keeps its clear color. My recommendation: Havanna Club (not available in the US since it comes from Cuba) and Appleton (Jamaica).
Dark Rum comes mainly from Jamaica. It gets its brown color from the several years long storage in wooden barrels. Well known brands are Bacardi and Old Pascas. I prefer Appleton.
Furthermore for some cocktails you need very strong Rum (78% alcohol). These beverages are available from Captain Morgan oder Lemon Hart.
Tequila
Tequila is available in a clear form and in a brownish form. For most cocktails it is sufficient to have only the clear Tequila on stock. One of the most common brands is Sierra but Sauza is a better one. One of the best Tequilas in the world is Juan Cuervo 1800 Reserva Antigua Anejo. But this one is very rare and expensive and almost too delicious to be mixed with other stuff. For making cocktails the more simple kind of the same manufacturer, Juan Cuervo Classico, is an excellent choice.
Wodka
In the seventies Vodka became famous in the US and some time later also in Europe. Since than Vodca has been a standard on every bar. There are lots of different brands to choose from, my recommendations are Finlandia and Absolut. In America Skyy might be a more famous brand which is also a very good choice.
Cachaca
This is the main ingredient of Caipirinha, like Rum it is made of sugar cane. Cachaca is solely made in Brazil. One of the most common brands is ist Pitu, another good chioce is Canario. In case you want to try a more eclusive kind of Cachaca use Nega Fulo or Mangaroca, my favourite is Berro d'Agua though.
Southern Comfort
This is a Whisky based liqueur made in New Orleans, the Voodoo capital of the United States.
several liqueurs
Most important are Apricot Brandy, Curacao Triple Sec, Curacao Blue and Peach liqueur.
Juices and Syrups:
Fruit Juices
The most important one is lemon juice. You would also need orange juice, pineapple juice and lime juice. Be sure to use only juices that are pure and contain no other ingredients like water, sugar or artificial flavourings (the lone exception is passion fruit juice since it is hard to get an absolutely pure one).
Grenadine
This is by far the most common syrup in every bar. Almost every cocktail contains Grenadine. Not only gives it the drink a nice red color but also a typical taste.
Cream of Coconut
This is made of coco nuts. You need this one for every kind of Colada. Alternatively you can also use coconut syrup.
Canadou
This is a french syrup made of sugar canes.
Rose's Lime Juice
An absolut must in every bar. It is made in the United Kingdom.
Other stuff:
Suger
You need different kinds of sugar at your bar. First of all you need brown cane sugar (e. g. for Caipirinha). Furthermore you need cube sugar (e. g. for the Old Fashioned). For some drinks you also need powdery sugar.
Salt
You can't think of a Margaritha without a salt rimmed glass, can you?
Cream
Every possible Colada but also some other drinks are made with fresh cream.
Fruit
Some drinks have fruits in different forms as an ingredient and almost every drink uses some fruit for decorative reasons. The most common fruits for your cocktails are limes, oranges, pineapples, lemons and cherries.
Sodas
Think of Coke and sparkling table water.
At my bar I have a cocktail menu (sorry, only available in German. But most words are quite similar to the English ones, I'm sure you figure it out) with twenty different drinks to choose from.
These are the recipes of some of my drinks:
Note:
all ingredients are meassured in centi liters (cl). One cl equals 0.338 ounces.
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> pink bird in a glass <
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4cl Gin Shake all ingredients with ice and pour it into a chilled Martini glass with no ice. |
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> Kentucky Style <
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3cl Bourbon odr Tennessee Whisky Shake all ingredients with ice and pour it into a tumbler on crushed ice. |
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> barkeeper's recommendation <
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4cl Vodka Shake all ingredients with ice and pour it into a longdrink glass on crushed ice. |
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> what a feeling <
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6cl light Rum Shake all ingredients with ice and pour it into a cocktail glass on crushed ice. |
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> the classic drink <
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5cl white Tequila Shake Tequila, lemon juice and orange juice with ice. Pour it into a longdrink glass over crushed ice, then put in the granade. |
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> a hearty drink <
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1 lime Cut the lime into pieces, put it in a Longdrink glass and crush the lime with a pestlie. Fill the glass for 3/4 with crushed ice. Put in the remaining ingredients and stir. |
Fine cigars are made in the Carribean, preferrably in Cuba but also from Niceragua and the Dominican. They are a perfect complimentary to a good cocktail espacially to every drink that contains Rum.
My favourite cuban cigars are the following (to my visitors from the U.S.: I'm sorry you won't be able to legally by them in your homecountry):
Cuaba Divinos
Montecristo No. 5
Cohiba Siglo I
Romeo y Julieta Regalias de Londres
My favourite non-cuban cigars are these:
C.A.O. Criollo Pampa
Pipers Plum Corona
