An initial smattering of good things to have around if you wanna make some cocktails
I’ve seen these categorized also as:
- Base - liquor
- Modifier - juices & liqueurs
- Accent - syrups, garnishes, herbs
- Dilution - ice, tonic, club soda
Key Drinks
- Vodka - the most common cocktail drink
- Gin - apparently varying widely based on brand
- Tequila - apparently only really useful for Margs
- Rum -
- clear - lots of cocktails
- aged, dark, or spiced all do different things
- Whiskey
- Bourbon
- Candian
- Rye
- Irish
Liqueurs
- Amaretto -
- Coffee Liqueur - white russians
- Vermouth
- Dry
- Sweet
- Irish Cream
- Orange - old fashioned
Secondary Liqueurs
- Benedictine D.O.M
- Chambord
- Elderflower
Juices
- Lemon - whiskey sour
- Lime
- Orange
- Cranberry
- Grapefruit
- Pineapple - painkiller
- Tomato? No thanks
Other Mixers
- Bitters - old fashioned
- Simple syrup -
- equal parts sugar and water, boil it until the sugar is dissolved, let cool.
- Sour mix
- Grenadine
- Milk, Coffee
Sodas
- Club soda
- Tonic water
- Ginger ale
- Cola
- Sprite
Garnishes
- Lemon
- Lime
- Orange
- Maraschino Cherries
- Mint
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg