The problem with these is that they assume the reader is going to go out and spend 500 bucks TODAY to make this bar happen--calling for three kinds of whiskey, two gins, two rums, vodka, tequila, brandy, sherry, port, six kinds of glasses and a dozen tools you'll never use. That's just unreasonable, especially for someone with limited experience with making drinks--the person, we assume, these guides are for. In order to fix this deficit in the internet, I submit my tiered approach to assembling a home bar.
Tier One - The Beginner
This tier serves a dual purpose: To provide a strong foundation for expansion, as well as to explain the basics for someone who only wants the basics. The majority of people will want to be able to have the stuff on-hand to mix a decent cocktail, to impress a date or a father-in-law, but not be interested in making infusions, or reductions, or recreations of drinks long gone to antiquity. Regardless of your long-term goal, I advise watching Alton Brown's Good Eats about cocktails (Part 1, Part 2). There's three cocktails, information about glasses, and three tools you pretty much must have.
Hardware––Shaker, Strainer, Measure
You will be tempted to run out to the mall and buy these things. Do not. The selection will be too limited and the prices too high. BarSupplies.com has a wide selection of tools for very cheap.
Boston Shaker
The intro video gives a little explanation about boston shakers. I suggest the 18 oz and 28 oz. This combination gives you enough volume to mix anything from small cocktails to lemonade & iced coffee drinks. Total for both: ~7 bucks. (Compared to $50 at Crate & Barrel)
Julep Strainer
More practical than a hawthorn strainer. You can even use it to scoop out ice shards or lemon seeds that find their way into finished drinks. Hell, you can even use them how they're intended!
In julep drinks that are densely packed with ice.
Total: ~2 bucks.
I'm a little anal about measurements. Unlike grandma who, to her credit, cooked without a recipe, your grandpa measured twice and cut once. Standard jigger/pony measurement is 1.5 oz / 1oz. I don't like this because it makes it difficult to measure half-ounces without eyeballing. I like the 1 oz / .5 oz measure for exactly this reason. Sometimes you'll buy these and they're not true to size--not so with the Bar Supplies ones (I have a 1 oz / .5 oz and a 2 oz / 1 oz that both measure true).
Total: ~2 bucks.
All the tools you need for 11 bucks + S&H. Bar spoon? Use a table spoon. Muddler? Use a table spoon. Juicer? Use your hands. Zester? Use a knife. Bag for crushing ice? Use a washcloth. Glasses? Use what you have, go to goodwill, or use a jar.
Booze
Start with whiskey. One bottle of whiskey. That's it. No sherry, no two-kinds of tequila. Whiskey. Hell, it doesn't even have to be rye or bourbon or anything. You're starting out, you're going to make mistakes, you'll botch a drink or two. That's good, you want that––fudging a recipe is the best way to improve the next one (ask me how many manhattans I made before I decided on a recipe I liked). That in mind, don't get anything too fancy to start.
Want a recommendation? Use Jack Daniels. Not too expensive, you can buy it anywhere, and it's generally accepted among whiskey drinkers (They say Lemmy of Motorhead drinks a bottle of it every day. You ain't ever gonna be badder than him, so don't trip about JD). We'll talk more about whiskeys and flavor profiles and grain mash and all that some other time. Cost: Shoot for something between 15-20 bucks.
Bitters
"Hey, whoa. This is getting complex now. Can I get that at Vons?"
Naw man, it's cool. Get it at BevMo. You want Angostura Bitters. Bitters taste pretty strong alone, but make lots of drinks taste really good. In the same way that salt and pepper enhances the flavors in food, bitters enhance the flavors in drinks. Having this in your cupboard instantly takes your cocktail possibilities up a notch and impresses people who don't know much about booze (Something about being made with mysterious herbs from the Far East). Cost: ~7 bucks.
Sugar
I debated for a while between simple syrup and sugar cubes. Ultimately, simple syrup is the winner. You can use it for booze, or coffee, or iced tea because it doesn't need heat to dissolve. It's sweeter than regular sugar so you can use less, it's easy to make, and it keeps in the fridge forever. You definitely want to make it yourself because it's cheaper than the gas you'd use driving to the store to get it.
Simple Syrup (1:2 ratio)
Put 1 cup water in a pan over high heat. Add 2 cups sugar. Bring to a boil until the sugar dissolves, drop it to a simmer for 5 minutes, then pour into a heat-safe container. When it cools, stick it in the fridge and forget about it until you need it. Use within 6 months.Fruit
Buy some lemons. With the exception of everything else, this is the only thing you need that can go bad if you don't use it quickly––and quickly is relative, these keep forever in the fridge. Always use real citrus, not the bottled stuff. Ask around, someone you know probably has a lemon tree that is heavy with fruit. Get lemons from them, or from the store for cheap.
There you have it. All told, assuming you don't have sugar at the house, you're looking at a $50 investment. Buy these things and build on them, or just keep them on a shelf until you bring a date back to your place.
But what to make for said date? Try an Old Fashioned.
