How To Stock The Perfect Cocktail Bar
With Summer just round the corner - we hope - we thought we'd give you advice on how to stock a bar worthy of any party. It’s actually easier than you might think, and with a few essential ingredients and tools, you’ll have everything required to keep things shaken and stirred all through the night.
Cocktail Ingredients You Can’t Do Without
Of course, no cocktail bar would be complete without a good stash of the hard stuff, but which tipples should you start with? Well, the good news is that there are 4 or 5 bottles of booze that you really cannot overlook, and they are the mainstay for hundreds of cocktails. Stock your bar with good supplies of vodka, gin, rum, scotch, bourbon and perhaps some tequila, and you’ll be in business to supply some of the best cocktails around. Whether they’re mad for mojitos or crazy about cosmopolitans, you’ll be able to whip up some cocktail hour favourites in no time.
You’ll also need mixers such as juice, lemonade and cola, and you might also want to add in some grenadine and a bottle of bitters to add interest and colour to your creations.
Fresh fruit always goes down a storm in a cocktail, or delicately balanced on the rim of the glass. Stock up on cherries, pineapple, lemons and oranges, and you’ll be all set.
Tools Of The Trade - Do It Like The Pros
Whether you are a cocktail master, or you are just helping out on the bar for the evening, there are certain tools you simply cannot make a cocktail without.
Here is a list of the cocktail making essentials you should have close to hand at all times:
- Jiggers in various sizes.
In other words, the small metal cups used to measure alcohol - Cocktail shaker
- Strainer
- Bar spoon
- Ice bucket and plenty of ice
- Wooden muddler
There are other cocktail tools on the market such as fancy shakers, and specialist muddlers and strainers, but these are the bare essentials that will have you mixing cocktails like a pro!
It’s All About The Right Glass
You wouldn’t drink a Martini in a whisky glass, or a Cosmo in a tall glass, well not if you know your cocktails. Every cocktail has its own traditional glass, and so it’s essential that you have enough to hand if you really want your cocktails to be taken seriously.
We’ve made a handy list for you because we’re nice like that:
- Highball or Collins
- Old fashioned or whisky glass
- Shot glasses
- Class cocktail glass (Martini glass)
- Champagne flutes
- Brandy balloon
- Wine glasses
Oh, And Don’t Forget The Cocktail Bar!
Imagine if you arrived at your venue with all the ingredients, and no bar. Hilarity would surely ensue! Actually, it would be a complete disaster. That’s why we’ve got you covered with our fantastic cocktail bar for hire. It’s the perfect base from which to serve your cocktails and other beverages, and we’ll even set everything up for you, and collect once you’ve called last orders. All that’s left for you to do is gen up on cocktail recipes, and get shaking!