Here, look at all that you need to know about your Home Bar basics. Carve out that precious square footage to make your room one of the most sacred of household additions. Turning out top-notch drinks while you are still in your slippers is a crazy experience beyond good intentions. Go through the tools to agonize, bottles to buy, and techniques to master for maintaining a posh home bar. Navigate your home bar basics here.

Coming to Cocktails Again

It is technically not a cocktail unless and until it has bitters. Centuries-old periodicals credited with the first written word ‘Cocktail’ specifically mention that this drink should comprise of four main ingredients, spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. However, the American palate drifted towards the sweeter things in life for much of the last century.

Bitters were commonly ignored by the bartenders. Now, once again the decade-long boom in producing cocktails is proving that only a few things can add depth and complexity to the drink as easily and effortlessly like a dash of bitters do. Bitters could be termed as a seasoning when your drink seems flat, this is an answer.

The Cocktails Backstory

Alcohol infused with botanicals, spices, and herbs is called bitters. They have been around since the snake oil days of the 19^th century. They were believed to cure almost everything from malaria to heartburn during this period. Officers in the Union Army during the Civil War called ‘Bitters’ the soldier’s safety-guard. The drink was able to protect against the poisonous tendency of the impure river waters and bayous that were spreading the fatal maladies of the Southern swamps.

Wising Up to the Fictitious Medical Benefits

Eventually, the Americans wised up to these fictitious medical benefits. Before long, the bitters were given a pass, only to be rediscovered in the 1990s by forward-looking bartenders. Bitters are as essential to home bars now as gin and whiskey. Hundreds of brands have flooded the market in recent years that makes it difficult to decide as to what is worth your money. Understanding what will sit around taking up valuable shelf space took time.

What Experts Say About Bitters

It is important to do some soul-searching before taking up the journey down the bitters’ bunny hole. Are you a mixer of martinis or a brown-spirits imbiber? Do you enjoy flying the happy-hour Tiki flag? Exploring these ideas will enable you to experiment with products that fit your taste profile. It will help you build the right kind of pantry for your kitchen. Your pantry should be looking a lot different for someone who cooks mostly Italian than the one who appreciates Thai food.

Equal Opportunity Boozers

There are a few basic categories of bitters for equal-opportunity boozers. Aromatic bitters are the most popular ones that deserve your attention. The founding fathers included cocktail tinctures like the Peychaud’s and Angostura. Both these cocktail tinctures are 19^th-century workhorse concoctions. They alternate between notes of cinnamon, licorice, and warm spices while sharing a gentian root base. There would be no Vieux Carre, Sazerac, Old Fashioned, Manhattan, or any number of other classic cocktails without them.

Working Your Way to Fruit Bitters

Work your way to fruit bitters from here. While the most prominent fruit is orange, you can also include grapefruit, cucumber, peach, cherry, and a host of other varieties. Lighter spirits like tequila and gin tend to pair well with fruit bitters. You could also add a stab of texture to citrusy drinks like Margaritas and Gimlets.

The Opposite Side of Flavor Chart

You can find some rich bitters on the opposite side of the flavor chart. The gamut runs from coffee and chocolate to walnut and pecan. These rich bitters are big and bold statements. They play extremely well with barrel-aged spirits like bourbon and rum.

Esoteric Bitters

Last, but not the least, include the esoteric but fast-growing bitters. They make for very memorable cocktails. They are extremely capable of balancing out the sweetness in a drink. They contain flavors like olive, chili pepper, and rosemary that you will not find in the spirit itself.

Experimenting is the Basis of Experience

Pamper your tastes! Experiment! How about taking a simple drink like Gin & Tonic to mix with multiple versions of different bitters? Adding a dash of cardamom bitters can give you an extra spicy cocktail. The cucumber bitter can introduce a cooling element while lavender bitter will tighten up things. The question is simple. Which one do you like at that given point of time?

Taste as Many Varieties Before You Settle

Begin with orange bitters, Peychaud’s, and Angostura. Build and work your way up from there until you find the recipes you like. Rarely used bottles will add to dust and clutter as space is premium in a home bar. Taste as many varieties from as many categories that you can before you settle. There are chances that you have a wide variety of bitters to choose from. Do not get caught up on brand names, lock in on the flavor you like and then add that up to your home bar. Your bitters library should be a place that is hard to stop.

Do you like boozing up at home? These top cocktail delivery kits can come in handy.

Now that it is so easy and comfy these days to drink a quality craft cocktail at home, there are several cocktail delivery kits you can order online. They will directly be delivered to you at home. Some of the top picks here also come with bottles of booze and other ingredients which you will need for preparing a few drinks.

There are some essential tools you’ll still need to have on hand. Some of these you can order without the spirits in case you have a huge home stash or prefer that you buy them separately. Cheers, we say, enjoy the recipes of your choice.

• Sourced Craft Cocktails – The manufacturers started as a craft cocktail experience company for large scale events five years ago. It quickly pivoted to employing laid off bar industry folks due to the virus pandemic. Eventually, they started creating made-to-order non-alcoholic batched cocktail mixers. These were delivered to the door along with a full bottle of alcohol from licensed local retailers. However, this is not a subscription service as such. Kits are individually ordered. Currently, Sourced Craft Cocktails options include Black Cherry Old Fashioned, Brown Derby, and Spicy Margarita. While each kit makes 12 drinks, the total package also includes cups, tools, a tote bag, and instructions.
• Shaker & Spoon – Shaker & Spoon is a perfect service for the likes who have a good stash of liquor or those who like to pick up their bottles at the local store. Each of these boxes feature three recipes that are created by bartenders. These ingredients without booze make four servings of each but no bottles of alcohol. S&S emails you every month before delivering the box along with outlines and bottle recommendations as to which bar tools you would require.
• SaloonBox – A monthly subscription box which comes with ingredients good enough to make two servings of each of two original cocktails. These can be mezcal-based Alpine 75 or Oaxacan Paloma with hibiscus-infused organic gin. The recipes are created by the SaloonBox team of hand-selected bartenders. Customers are notified ahead of each shipment as to what the box will include. You can also skip the shipment if the box does not include your preferences.
• Crafted Taste – The price tag for this kit is a little steep. But each monthly kit contains sufficient ingredients to make 12 to 16 cocktails. After all, it is not a bad deal. Compare Crafted Taste with what you’d otherwise pay for a typical cocktail at any bar. The monthly box comprises of unique locally sourced ingredients. Along with this you’d also receive step-by-step instructions for three distinct cocktails. If you are not inclined to subscribing, you can purchase individual cocktail kits as well.
• Cocktail Courier – This service makes it super easy to create cocktails. It does not matter if you are a beginner, it will still be easy for you to shake up a winner. Cocktail Courier subscription boxes can be ordered with or without the spirits. They are filled with high quality of ingredients that are sufficient for making six to twelve cocktails. The box also includes bottled tonics, home-made syrups and fresh produce herbs alongside easy-to-follow instructions from top bartenders. You could also opt for individual cocktail kits from a sizable list organized spirit-wise.
• American Cocktail Club – You can sign up for the American Cocktail Club from one month to a full year. You can also choose between the ‘Everything Box’ or all the mixers but minus the spirits. Every ACC box contains mixers along with a carbonated element and a juice blend. Additionally, you’d get garnishes or bar tools and recipes. The ‘Everything Box’ includes four 50ml spirit bottles that are just right to make four drinks.

Are You Working from Home?

The current COVID-19 pandemic has brought adversity upon each one of us. People have started looking to alcohol to alleviate stress as it numbs emotions. This is more so when you are confined to your home with less work. It is quite tempting that you grab a glass of your favorite drink to get over the situation.

Many of us are prepared for the worst when it comes to alcohol and have stockpiled for self-isolation over other food and drink items. Some of us however, turn to that one drink during stressful times, and it just might turn out to be cocktail.

Would you like to impress your friends with some easy to make Bourbon cocktails?

Bidding goodbye to summer need not be shrouded in sadness. It is more so when the cooler weather is inviting you to cozy up with bourbon. Bourbon is ideal as a refreshing sipper to a heady stand-in for dessert. Take a look at these bourbon cocktails making the most of the American whiskey.

• Bourbon Rickey – This is a tart heat-shunning highball. Bourbon Rickey is whipped up with gin. This official quaff makes it a point to satiate when spawned from bourbon. It is melded with lime and club soda. On Indian summer evenings, this drink can be a real lifesaver.
• Beatnik – Ferreira Tawny Port, Amaro Averna, and Bourbon together can create a very powerful boozy trifecta. Take this silky tipple and settle next to a flickering fireplace after dinner. Go on, just stir, strain, and savor the taste.
• Apple Toddy – A soothing Bourbon Hot Toddy can abort an autumn’s barrage of creaky coughs. It is a spin upon the timeless grated nutmeg-topped elixir. Marrying Laird’s bonded applejack with baked McIntosh apples, Apple Toddy is high when savored from a mug paying tribute to apples.
• Man O’ War – This Bourbon cocktail is named after one of the finest racehorses in history. Mon o’ War makes it a point to further prove that bourbon and sweet vermouth effectively make fine companions. This tried and tasted duo energetically welcomes a burst of citrus in the form of orange curacao and fresh lemon juice.
• Ginger Rabbit – Basil Hayden’s Bourbon and Crème Yvette libation invigorate with a rush of fresh ginger. Ginger Rabbit is a compelling spicy personality. It is further defined by simple syrup infused with black tea and star anise. Try mixing a couple of these to get hopping.
• Billionaire – This is a specialty relished at Singapore outposts and Employees Only New York. The Billionaire cocktail merges Bourbon with grenadine and fresh lime juice for an easy to make a refreshing drink. A fitting luxe touch is provided by absinthe bitters. This cocktail looks like a million bucks.
• Last-Minute Mulled Wine – The ubiquity of mulled wine on menus effectively signifies a welcoming shift in seasons. Last-Minute Mulled Wine recipe from a San Francisco bartender unites Bourbon with red wine. It heightens with star anise and a mélange of cinnamon. You will end up having a house full of happy guests, just try mixing them up as the weather turns cooler.
• Two-Hit Fig Punch – Sharing the spotlight with Sailor Jerry spiced rum, Hudson Baby Bourbon is a vibrantly hued punch amplified by navel orange juice and fresh figs. Serve it whenever you need to impress a crowd or during one of the years’ last-hurrah barbecues.
• Beggar’s Banquet – Synonymous with fall, rich maple syrup delightfully meshes with Bourbon in Beggar’s Banquet. Add chilled lager in this concoction to make it equally alluring for beer aficionados. To top it all you can build this refreshing cocktail right in the glass itself.
• Bourbon Old Fashioned – The ‘Old Fashioned’ interpretations are abundant. But the Bourbon Old Fashioned is a classic combination of Bourbon, sugar, bitters, and water. Just hold on the fruit but add a zesty spritz of orange oil. You will end up creating a drink that is a perfect fit for all occasions.
• Bourbon Lift – The staple of bygone New York delicatessens is the egg cream. The Bourbon Lift reimagines it in a frothy and fizzy rendition, effectively spiked with Bourbon. Here comes the heavy cream brightened by orgeat, coffee liqueur, and a topper of club soda that lengthens the cocktail with a dose of refreshing bubbles.

Bourbon All the Way

It is extremely uncertain how the name Bourbon originated. Bourbon County in Kentucky is the most prominent contender. The ‘Bourbon Street’ in New Orleans is another one. Both these places took their names from a European royal house of French origin, the ‘House of Bourbon’.

The mixture of grains from which the product is distilled must effectively contain at least 51% corn for a whiskey to be called Bourbon. It is further distilled at 160 proof or less. The resultant distillate is stored in charred new oak barrels at 125 proof or less. It does not contain any additives. Bourbon is a distinctive product of the United States of America.

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