It finally happened. After three years of avoiding it, I finally got COVID. Six days in Florida is all it took for the family to get it.

Thankfully, it has been a very minor case (thanks vaccines!). I mostly have a low grade intermittent headache, slight cough and that’s about it. I haven’t spiked a fever with is fantastic but also poses a problem with my weekly cocktail writeups. In an effort to speed my recovery and not get a false reading on the thermometer I’ve been using religiously to keep track of my temperature, I have decided to pause my alcohol intake until I’m negative. Damn, I never thought I would be part of dry January but here we are. Fun fact: This is the first Friday I haven’t had a drink made and reviewed since October 25, 2019. That was the week Sharkette decided to arrive so I was a little busy then.

So what to do here? I thought I would go over the state of the bar if you will. I’ve seen questions in the comments before about types of ingredients I use and I figured this would be a good opportunity to give you a rundown of what I always have on hand, so for example, if I make a gin based cocktail, it will be a safe assumption I use my “house” gin. So if anyone wants to replicate what I do, this can serve as a baseline for making the drink as close to mine as possible.

The Mainstays

I always try to keep gin, whiskey and vodka on hand at all times. They can go in anything, and can be enjoyed on their own so they tend to be replenished most often.

Vodka

Vodka is my least used spirit of the “anchor” spirits I keep in the bar, but a bottle of Tito’s is what we have on hand at all times

Vodka is definitely the “red headed stepchild” of my bar. It rarely gets used unless I’m mixing Mrs. Sharkbait a dirty martini, or I’m having something easy like a vodka tonic/soda or a vodka seltzer. I just find it kind of bland, which is the point of vodka after all. I should try to find more uses for vodka, but whenever I think of a cocktail with vodka, I almost always think it can be improved by using gin. Speaking of which:

Gin

In my opinion, you can’t compromise too much on the quality of gin you have on hand. Other bad spirits you can cover up with mixers, but bad gin can’t be hidden. With that being said, Gordons London Dry is my go to every day gin.

To me, Gordons is the sweet spot for a gin that tastes good, but is also budget friendly. Is it the best gin I’ve ever had? No. Is it a gin that makes a good cocktail? Yes. The latter point is really what matters. Gordons is versatile enough that it makes a good gin and tonic, as well as a martini.

Beefeater is another solid choice that is my fallback in case I can’t find Gordons. If I’m wanting to up in price a little bit, I’ll usually go for one of the Bombays – Original or Sapphire (Or if I can find it Sapphire East)

Whiskey

Whiskey is without a doubt the most used base spirit. I’ll frequently have some on the rocks or make a quick Manhattan if I’m feeling something a bit more complex. I’ve been keeping rye on hand lately, and its either Rittenhouse Rye, or Bulleit Rye

I interchange these two regularly based on availability and price. Either one are fantastic enough to have on their own and are great building blocks to make cocktails on. When it comes to bourbon, Bulleit is my usual go to.

As with the rye, Bulleit bourbon is a great selection for the price point, and works well with any bourbon based drink that you want to make, or sip it neat.

I do have a bottle of Don Q rum that I’ve been using a lot more of recently. I sadly neglect rum and I aim to fix that this coming year and want to start keeping at least a light and dark on hand. For the dark rums, I recommend Meyers or Goslings.

Tequila is really the one base spirit I generally keep on hand only for Cinco de Mayo, or a random Mexican food night. Thats another spirit I need to give a fair chance in my bar.

Mixers and Liqueurs

As with any good bar, a selection of mixers and liqueurs need to be on hand at all times:

Vermouths

My go tos are Martini & Rossi Sweet and Dry. They’re both baseline, and good enough for what I need. Occasionally I’ll splurge and go with Dolin if I can find them, and if I’ve got a specific drink in mind. Like the vermouth spritz for example. I’ve made that a lot with the Martini and Rossi, but a Dolin based one makes a fantastic and refreshing spritz.

Other Liqueurs

Some of the other infrequently used (but good to have on hand selections):

Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur – I haven’t found a better and more versatile cherry liqueur that can go in any drink and pairs well with most any spirit.

St. Elder Elderflower Liqueur –  I use this and St. Germain interchangeably. They don’t get used very often, but elderflower is a nice spirit to have on hand for cocktails that need a little touch of sweetness, but where simple syrup might be too much

Aperol –  A nice semi bitter liqueur good for spritzes and lighter negronis

Campari – If you like bitter drinks, you need a bottle of Campari. Enough said.

Velvet Falernum –  This one I use seasonally. I use it in the summer mostly for tiki style drinks, but also in the late fall. It works well with both rum and whiskey.

Allspice Dram –  I don’t know why it took me so long to get a bottle of this but I’m always going to have this on hand. I like it in fall drinks mostly. Even adding some to plain apple cider is excellent and worth having a bottle on hand.

Cointreau –  A very useful orange liqueur. Whenever I’m making a drink that calls for orange liqueur, this one is my go to. Especially in Margaritas. I feel like it’s not as sweet as triple sec so I tend to try and keep a bottle of this on hand.

Domaine De Canton –  A well rounded ginger liqueur that I’ve been neglecting recently. I’ve only ever used Canton, so I don’t have another to compare it to. When I run out, I’ll be re-supplying.

Green Chartreuse –  A French herbal liqueur I added somewhat recently, and use in bursts, like an “oh yeah! I have Chartreuse!” kind of way. Then I go on a run of drinks using that until I need a break from it.

Absinthe –  Very, Very strong licorice tasting liqueur. Best used sparingly. Like for washing glasses with, or if you’re gonna make Sazeracs.

Special Occasion and Neat Drinkers

Ok, so this is a bit of a weird, catch all category. This is where I classify hard to re-supply spirits that I want to use in very limited qualities. This includes:

Brighton Gin – Featured a couple weeks ago, not available in the US, though they are trying to break into the market. So if anyone here knows of any distributors wanting to add a cool small batch gin, point them in their direction.

Wiggly Bridge Small Batch Bourbon –  Small whiskey distillery in Maine. I had it at a wedding I went to over the summer and grabbed a bottle when I visited Maine early in the fall. I can replace, but its kind of a pain in the ass to get to.

Amorik Classic – French single malt whiskey I brought back from France almost 5 years ago. I still have some because I can’t find it here.

Whiskey Acres Rye – Another small batch whiskey I brought home from Dekalb Illinois. Some friends got married at their distillery and of course I needed to take a bottle (or two. I got two) bottles home with me.

Machu Pisco – Pisco I bought over the summer to make one drink for, and havent touched it since. Not for disliking the spirit. In fact I very much enjoyed it. I should break that out again soon…

And finally, last but not least, the one bottle I refuse to finish until I source another one:

That bottle right there is tucked away in the back of the liquor cabinet until I can replace it. Which doesn’t seem likely to happen anytime in the near future. But it is a fantastic bourbon, probably the best I’ve had. I was lucky to get it at retail in a store for $85 probably 8 years ago. It’s taken a ton of willpower to not finish it, but I’m still holding out hope I can replenish it.

So that’s a quick overview of my bar. Hopefully I’ve given some inspiration to try a new liqueur or spirit. Or, I’m open to suggestions if any of you like something better than what I keep on hand, let me know and I’ll see if I can go find it.

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)