Thinking of building a home bar or already have a home bar and you want to make it more “crafty?” You’ve come to the right place! We’ve put together a simple “How to Stock Your Craft Home Bar” formula that we will walk you through how to pick and choose your spirits, mixers and bitters without breaking the bank! Before we proceed, let’s define “Craft Cocktail” the meaning of this term will help to inspire the flavors you stock your bar with. “Craft Cocktails” are cocktails where every element is handmade or tailored specifically to the drink. You will see drinks served in custom glassware, poured over custom ice cubes, mixed with house-made syrups and finished with a dash of small batch bitters. [barmansjournal.com] Expect to see unexpected barrel-aged liquors prepared with unusual infusions or combined with other unassuming flavors.
So, where do we start? Unlike the home bar that houses well known spirit brands, roses lime juice, grenadine and premade sour mix, your craft bar will consist of small batch spirits and handmade bitters and you will most likely buy or make your own elements as you build your bar. To start out with, do some research if you don’t already know exactly what you want. Here’s the basic list we came up with:
So, where do we start? Unlike the home bar that houses well known spirit brands, roses lime juice, grenadine and premade sour mix, your craft bar will consist of small batch spirits and handmade bitters and you will most likely buy or make your own elements as you build your bar. To start out with, do some research if you don’t already know exactly what you want. Here’s the basic list we came up with:
Hand Bottled Bourbon – Prichard’s Double Barreled Bourbon & Double Chocolate Bourbon Prichard’s is a micro-distillery, ran largely by Phil and his wife, Connie. In addition to producing their double barrel aged bourbon, Prichard’s also produces a Double Chocolate Bourbon (an awkward attempt at appealing to drinkers who want more chocolate note than bourbon note) [http://www.bourbonoftheday.com/] Handmade Vodka – Infuse Vodka Inspired by world travels, Infuse Vodka founder Seth Benhaim, decided to pursue his passion and hand-craft a vodka that paid respect to the Old-World ways of flavoring spirits. |
Small Batch Rye – Templeton Rye
Bitters – Bittermens
Mixers – Make your Own Mixers!
a. Sour Mix - Dissolve 1 part sugar into 1 part water then add 1 cup of fresh lemon juice, 1/5 cup fresh lime juice
b. Lime Juice - Juice fresh limes
c. Simple Syrup - 1 part water, 1 part sugar | Get creative & infuse other elements.