The Ultimate At-Home Cocktail Bar Essentials List

Who are we kidding, every season is cocktail season and there has never been a better time to build your own bar.

Free from the stress of trusting someone to get your drink just right and the annoyance of paying £10 for a glass of ice, a home bar gives you full control and freedom to find your new signature drink. It may seem like one simple cocktail takes a whole host of ingredients and tools, but with a couple of essentials, you can make all your favourite cocktails with no bother.

For your at-home cocktail bar essentials, here’s our easy shopping list...

A lineup of spirits makes the basis for almost every cocktail you could imagine. So if you stock up on the staples, you’re well on your way to a fully functioning home bar. Here are the must-have spirits for any cocktail bar:

• Vodka – From martinis to cosmopolitans, a good vodka is non-negotiable for your bar. Arguably the most versatile spirit, vodka will make an appearance in at least one of your favourite drinks, so it’s worth picking up a nice bottle.
• Gin – Alternatively, some people may prefer gin-based drinks so it’s good to have the option. Also, every bar should be able to make a perfect gin and tonic, right?
• Tequila – A necessity for making refreshing margaritas or tequila sunrises, if you prefer more citrusy, fruit-based drinks, a blanco tequila needs to be in your bar.
• Rum – If you want to really level up your evening drinks, a good bar should feature two different types of rum. For mojitos or daiquiris, you’ll need a light rum. But for more tropical or tiki cocktails, a dark spiced rum will level up the flavours.
• Whiskey – For fans of heavier, neat drinks, a classic whiskey should feature. The type of whiskey is down to your taste, but a bourbon would be our recommendation for versatility.

While they’re not essential, a fair amount of cocktails require liqueurs to allow you to get the true authentic taste. There’s a whole host of fruit-based liqueurs you could get carried away with, but here are the most used.

• Amaretto – Letting you make sweet and rich cocktails, amaretto is a great liqueur to have on hand, perfect for drinking with a simple mixer as well as making full-flavour amaretto sours.
• Coffee Liqueur – An espresso martini sounds good right about now, doesn’t it? A coffee liqueur will make the whole process far easier and open up a whole new world of coffee-infused cocktails.
• Vermouth – Technically not a liqueur, but treated like one, vermouth is the thing that will bring those rich, herbal flavours to your drink. A must for neat cocktails like Negronis and Americanos, pick up a bottle if you’ve got a taste for stronger tipples.

Our at-home cocktail bar shopping list for mixers looks a little like this:

• Tonic – Not only good with gin, tonic is a versatile mixer that works with simple spirits or as a spritz in a cocktail.
• Fruit Juice – From tequila sunrises to classic cosmos, a good lineup of fruit juices including orange and cranberry will always come in handy.
• Sugar Syrup – Not technically a mixer, but a simple sugar and water syrup is ideal for sweetening drinks to taste.

Ingredients change from drink to drink, but when it comes to tools and finishing touches, there are some must-haves that no at-home cocktail bar can be without.

• A cocktail set – We could get into the particulars of the specific type of stirrer or strainer you might need, but a reliable cocktail kit will set you up with all of this. Including a shaker, stirrer, strainer, and jigger for measuring out spirits, these are the necessities for getting bar-quality cocktails at home.
• Ice – You’ll need it for everything, every bar needs a lot of ice. If you’re planning on becoming the ultimate host, an ice maker wouldn’t go a miss, or an ice bucket will do for an evening of entertaining.
• Plenty of glasses - It may seem like a silly little detail, but the right glass can make all the difference in how your drink mixes. Any good home bar should have a range of martini glasses, long highball glasses, and short tumblers to suit each drink.