Home Bartending for Beginners

Want to host a party at home and are intimidated by the thought of having to mix drinks for your guests? Home bartending for beginners is easy if you have the right drink recipes, know what glassware to use for drinks, and have a well-stocked bar with supplies and liquors.

Liquors for a Home Bar
A well-stocked bar will have, in addition to wine and beer, the following liquors:

• Scotch whiskey
• Rye whiskey
• Tequila
• Vodka
• Light rum
• Dark rum
• Liqueurs of your choice

In addition, have these on hand for mixing:

• Grenadine
• Triple sec
• Lemon juice
• Club soda
• Tonic water
• Dark soda such as Coke or Pepsi
• Light soda such as 7-Up or Sprite
• Milk or heavy cream
• Juices – cranberry juice and orange juice, plus whatever juice you need for a specialty drink you have planned.
  

Don’t wait until right before a party to stock your bar. Every week – or perhaps every pay day – buy one good bottle of liquor and over time you’ll have a well-stocked bar.


Stocking Your Home Bar With Bartending Essentials
Good home bars will have the following tools and gadgets:

• Heavy duty blender – for daiquiris and margaritas
• Long cocktail spoon
• Sharp paring knife
• Peeler
• Small cutting board
• Corkscrew
• Bottle opener/can opener
• Juice squeezer
• Stainless steel bar shaker with coil-rimmed strainer
• Jigger, with 1/8, ¼, ½, 1-ounce measurement
• Jigger with 1-ounce and 1½-ounce measurements
• Different colored plates for rimming glasses with salt and sugar
• Bartending handbook
• Cocktail napkins
• Cocktail toothpicks or swords for garnish
• Ice bucket and tongs
• Soft white towels, lint free, for sparkling glasses

Glassware for Your Home Bar
The perfect drink must not only be mixed properly, it should be in the appropriate glass. The cabinets above your bar should include the following glassware:

• Beer mugs or pilsner glasses for beer
• Martini glasses
• Highball glasses or On-the-Rocks glasses for mixed drinks such as seven-and-sevens.
• Collins glasses for taller drinks with lots of ingredients or with more mixer than alcohol.
• Old fashioned glasses for making drinks on the rocks or two-ingredient drinks like Kahlua and cream.
• Wine glasses – all purpose wine glasses can be used for white, red and rose.
• Pony glasses for sherry, shooters or shots.
• Champagne flutes
• Margarita or daiquiri glasses
• Coffee mugs – glass is best for Irish coffee and other hot bar drinks.
• Brandy snifters

Books on Bartending
Every home bar should have a small drinks book that contains basic recipes for the most requested drinks. Most bartending books also include what glassware to use and other tips.
Here are some good bartending guides on Amazon.com:

Mr. Boston Platinum Edition

The New York Bartender’s Guide: 1300 Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Drink Recipes for the Professional and the Home

The Everything Bartender's Book

Bartending for Dummies

The Bartender’s Bible

And just for fun…
X-Rated Shots: More than 50 Shots We Dare You to Say Out Loud


How to Mix Drinks
Before undertaking your first effort at bartending at your home party, read through a bartender’s guide and practice on some drinks.
Pussycat Magazine and googoobits  have some excellent tips for mixing drinks and defining terms.

• A "highball" is one liquor plus one mixer. For instance, a Jack and Coke is a highball.
• A "cocktail" is either a drink with one liquor and two or more mixers or two or more liquors mixed with one or more mixer. For instance, martinis and Mai Ta’is are cocktails.
• "Neat" is when a drink is served straight, with no ice, in a sipping glass rather than a shot glass. Brandy, some liquors and many scotches are served neat.
• Use ice tongs to pick up ice cubes and place them in glasses. Never use a glass to scoop ice. If it breaks, you're likely to get cut, and you’ll never be able to tell the difference between broken glass and an ice shard.
• A stronger drink isn’t necessarily a better drink. Making drinks too strong is a sign of a bad bartender. As host and bartender, be sure your guests are not overindulging and that they aren’t driving.
• If you aren’t following instructions, here’s a basic rule: First, always fill the glass to the top with ice. The booze (whether one liquor or more) should only fill approximately 1/3 of the glass, leaving 2/3 of the glass for mixers.
• Never shake or toss a drink that contains a carbonated soda.
• Don’t try to memorize every possible drink order. When you do, you’re sure to get a request for a Ha Ha Tonka or a Sidecar. Keep your bartender’s guide as a cheat sheet and look up drinks you don’t know. If they’re not in the book, ask your guest how to make the drink.