Any adventurer knows they need to get all the right equipment before setting off on a quest. Being a great host is no different, but you can set aside the bedroll, tinderbox, and 50 feet of hempen rope for this adventure. Here are the tools and tips you'll need to set up a great home bar!
Bar Equipment
Many of the tools you will need for these recipes are things you probably already have in your kitchen, such as a cutting board, a small sharp knife, a saucepan, a citrus peeler, a fork or squeezer to juice a lemon or a lime, a corkscrew, a bottle opener, and an ice cube tray. There are also a few more cocktail-specific tools listed below. If you're missing any of these staples, head out on a quest to get them.
Strainer:
Strainers are used for a variety of tasks in these recipes. When you're making syrups or infused alcohols, you'll often use fine-mesh strainers to remove the solids. You'll also need a cocktail strainer to prevent ice from tumbling into your glass when pouring a mixed drink, but if you don't have that, you can use a tea strainer, the lid of your shaker, or just a gentle, steady pouring hand.
Jigger:
A jigger allows you to measure out ingredients. A standard jigger holds 1.5 ounces of liquid and may have markings on the inside or outside to show smaller amounts. A double-sided jigger may hold 2 ounces on one side and 1 ounce on the other. Always check the precise measurements on your jigger so you know that you're portioning your drinks correctly.
Funnel:
A funnel is helpful for decanting ingredients into bottles and for pouring mixtures through cheesecloth.
Bar Spoon:
A bar spoon is a long-handled spoon used for mixing drinks. Its length ensures that you can reach the bottom of the mixing glass to stir all the ingredients. You can stir your drink with a regular tablespoon if you don't have a bar spoon.
Mixing Glass:
This is essentially a cocktail-specific pitcher. It's great to have in a home bar, but if you're without one, you can use a regular pitcher or the base of a cocktail shaker in its place.
Cheesecloth (Or Filter Paper):
Used to strain solids from fat-washed spirits. See Cat's Cradle and Eldritch Storm.
Muddler:
This is a wooden tool used to crush herbs or fruit in a glass. You can use the handle of a wooden spoon in a pinch.
Cocktail Shaker:
This is a must for your mixology adventure ahead! A shaker is your basic tool for mixing cocktails.
Swing-Top Glass Bottles:
If you think you might want to store leftover cocktails or homemade ingredients like syrups, swing-top glass bottles are very handy. They're airtight, they're reusable, and you can stick them in the dishwasher. A swing-top bottle is also essential for the Harpell's Reserve, along with an oak infusion spiral, unless you have your own oak barrel!
Bar Stock
The main spirits you need for your home bar are gin, bourbon, vodka, dark rum, white rum, brandy, and blanco tequila. Some recipes call for spiced rum, mezcal, or blended scotch. You don't need to buy everything at once; prioritize the spirits or recipes that most appeal to you!
Multiple recipes in this book call for sweet red vermouth, dry white vermouth, orange liqueur, elderflower liqueur, amaretto, or dark amaro, all of which are staples of cocktail making. Aromatic bitters are also essential, with some recipes specifically calling for chocolate or orange bitters.
Many alcoholic ingredients appear in just one or two recipes in this book. These include maraschino liqueur, violet liqueur, coffee liqueur, absinthe, and falernum. Invest in these ingredients as needed rather than keeping them in stock, and make substitutions to a recipe where necessary! (See 2, below.)
Pantry Items
Most of the nonalcoholic ingredients in these cocktails are easy to find and may already be in your kitchen, but you may need to go a little further for specialty ingredients like butterfly pea powder, nori, edible glitter, pink peppercorns, or popping boba.
Purchase fresh garnishes like limes, lemons, herbs, and olives only when you know you're going to use them, as they don't keep well for too long.
Where a recipe calls for fresh fruit, frozen fruit is often an acceptable substitute. When a recipe calls for juice, you can buy it or press your own.
Adapting Recipes
All the recipes in this book have been designed and tested for a specific flavor profile, but that does not mean you can't make changes. As in Dungeons & Dragons, once you have a clear idea of how things work, you can introduce adaptations to suit your own preferences and desires and use this book to inspire you rather than to restrict you.
Most of the recipes in this book serve two. Split them in half to serve one! Double them to serve four! It's easier than calculating attack rolls!
If a recipe calls for a spirit or liquor that you don't have, try switching it with an ingredient of similar alcoholic strength. It is generally easier to switch clear spirits for other clear spirits and brown spirits for other brown spirits, but sometimes switching whiskey for gin or rum for tequila just works.
You can try swapping sweet, fortified wines like sweet vermouth, sherry, and port for each other. You can swap dry vermouth for dry sherry or a dry white wine. One fruit liqueur can be swapped for another, one creamy liqueur can be swapped for another, and one herbal liqueur or bitter amaro can be swapped for another, but don't mix between these categories.
If you have made a cocktail and do not like the taste, there are some simple fixes you can try. If the drink is too bitter or acidic, add sugar syrup. If it is too sweet, add lemon or lime juice. If it is too strong, add soda water or more ice, or milk if it's a cream cocktail.