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Your Home Bar Building BY DAN STERN
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artenders definitely tend to have the best home bars! And why shouldn’t we, we have a front row seat to discovering every interesting spirit category and brand, not to mention barware, bitters, and equipment. But for those who aren’t bartenders, or new to the hospitality community, I always tell people that the first step when building your home bar is to start with what you love. Maybe the first bottle you purchase is the spirit that’s in the cocktail at your favorite spot, created by a friend behind the bar. I also always suggest to new bartenders to buy a few cocktail books or look up your favorite cocktails online. I started with a Dale DeGroff cocktail book that a friend lent me. Dale is like the godfather of modern mixology to me as a fellow New York actor turned bartender. For my home bar, I like to be able to make all my favorite classics like a Vesper Martini, Hemingway Daiquiri, Vieuix Carre, Paloma, and Caipirinhas. The bottles I have accumulated at my bar reflect those cocktails, so you will rarely find my home without Benedictine, all the Vermouths, Lillet Blanc, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, Chartreuse, and some Amaro to round things out. Of course, I also have my favorite vodka, gin (Plymouth), differently aged rums, tequilas (Siete Leguas), mezcals (Illegal or Del Maguey), bourbon, rye and Scotch whiskeys. I would suggest having one of each of those spirits to start, to enjoy all types of cocktails at home. It has taken me years to collect, fueled by curiosity and jobs perks, so take your time and enjoy it. Cocktails are a great way to branch out to spirits you may think you’d never like. For instance, I have found that many classic gin cocktails not only go great when vodka is substituted (found a lot in the late 1980s-2000s) but also work using mezcal! I like to say to some of my customers, this is a cocktail that has the “same vibe, different taste.” There is something about the natural botanicals of the gin and the earthy, smokey tones of mezcal that play delightfully using the same ingredients. A great example of this is the Mezcal Negroni, replacing the gin with mezcal to go with the Sweet Vermouth and Campari.
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BARTENDER® Magazine
SPRING 2021
IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THAT EVEN FURTHER, MAY I SUGGEST THIS VARIATION:
James Banderas 11/4 oz. Mezcal ¾ oz. Reposado Tequila ¾ oz. Montenegro Amaro 1 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters 1 dash Orange Bitters 1 dash Peychaud’s Bitters Stir all ingredients with Ice, pour into a chilled coupe, garnish with a grapefruit twist. I ALSO LIKE DOING A MEZCAL VARIATION ON AN EASTSIDE (GIN, LIME, CUCUMBER, MINT, SUGAR):
Strawberryside 2 oz. mezcal 1 oz. lime juice 3/4 oz. agave syrup 1 sprigs of fresh mint 2 strawberries (sliced in half, 1 to muddle, 1 to garnish) Lightly muddle the mint and strawberries, add juice syrup then mezcal, shake vigorously with ice, double strain with a tea strainer over ice. Add soda or sparkling white wine if desired. Garnish with a strawberry or a grapefruit twist and enjoy!
Personally, the most fun aspect of spirits and cocktails is that it is like a bridge between science and art. They say baking is science and cooking is art. Cocktail making, or mixology, is right smack in the middle. Cocktails are like a balance equation of flavor, sweet to sour, savory to tart, alcohol forward to dilution, that’s the science part. A simpler way to express your personality and style onto your home bar is through your equipment. As all bartenders know, tools are a very important part of making cocktails and there
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