This is a side-by-side-by-side review / overview of three different Italian bitter liqueurs.

• Ramazzotti
  
• Sfumato Rabarbaro
  
• Amaro dell' Erborista
  
  General Notes & Methodology:
  Amaro is an Italian word that simply means bitter. The word amari is the plural of amaro. It is a word used to describe a broad class of liqueurs that have a distinctive, bitter note as part of the flavor profile.
  
  Most of these products have recipes that are generations old, steeped in mystery and legend. Most were originally developed for medicinal purposes, or as apertivo, to stimulate appetite before a meal, or digestivo, to be taken after a meal to aid digestion.
  
  Because enjoyment is largely personal taste, rather than rating on a 0-100 scale as one might in a spirit review, I will assign a value between 0 and 4 and give some tasting notes on several characteristics. In each case, a 0 rating on a given characteristic means it is non-existent in that spirit, where a 4 means it a primary characteristic and thus very strong.
  
  All spirits are poured, rested, and sampled neat at room temperature unless otherwise noted.
  
  RAMAZZOTTI
  
• ABV: 30%
  
• Color: Dark caramel brown
  
• Sweet: 3
  
• Bitter: 2
  
• Sour: 0
  
• Salt: 0
  
• Umami: 2
  
• Herbal: 1
  
• Spicy: 2
  
• Medicinal: 0
  
• Notes:
  Ramazzotti, originally created in Milan, is now produced in the Piedmont region of Italy. With over 200 years of history, and several other products under the family name, Ramazzotti is one of the more common amari on American shelves.
  
  A first smell of the glass gives a strong note of flat cola. Underneath is a complex mix of dark notes including, chicory, roasted coffee, and raw chocolate. A hint of orange oil, like a peel has been twisted over the glass and discarded is there as well.
  
  On the tongue, Ramazzotti hits both sweet and spicy at first. Wet, not quite syrup-like mouthfeel, that coats, but isn't sticky. Palate brings burnt caramel, orange peel, vanilla, and root beer along with the dark notes of chicory and an elegant, light touch of extremely dark, bitter chocolate. Finish is fairly short with a hint of root-like dryness and an almost autumn-leaf-like, umami note. Very tricky (for me at least) to describe.
  
  Ramazzotti is quite simply spectacular. At $20 for a 750mL bottle, this is well worth trying. Amazing neat or chilled, it is an incredible addition to a cup of coffee, or better yet, add a shot to your espresso to make a Caffe Corretto.
  
  There are many cocktails that call for Ramazzotti, typically in small amounts. One of my favorites is the Pumpernickel from Amor y Amargo, which combines rye, Punt E Mes, Ramazzotti and a huge dose of Angostura Bitters with a lemon twist. With its rich flavor profile, Ramazzotti goes well with everything from bourbon, rye, rum, and applejack, to root beer, orange soda, and cola. It loves both lemon and orange notes, as well as coffee.
  
  If you are feeling adventurous, try the Maserati, a shot of 1/2oz Mezcal and 1oz Ramazzotti. Found this credited to Jane Danger, of Mother of Pearl, in Brad Thomas Parsons book "Amaro", and I must say... it's intense!
  
  SFUMATO RABARBARO
  
• ABV: 20%
  
• Color: Dark caramel brown
  
• Sweet: 2
  
• Bitter: 3
  
• Sour: 2
  
• Salt: 0
  
• Umami: 2
  
• Herbal: 2
  
• Spicy: 2
  
• Medicinal: 0
  
• Notes:
  Sfumato Rabarbaro, literally "Smoky Rhubarb". This is a relatively new offering in the states from importer, Haus Alpenz. Made by Capellitti, this is a classically styled rabarbaro made with Chinese rhubarb and a variety of alpine herbs and berries.
  
  Not surprisingly, the nose and first taste are dominated by earthy rhubarb and smoke. There is quite a bit of sweetness that is wonderfully offset by a woodsy, Alpine forest floor of bitterness. Big, bold flavor... no delicate nuances here. Mouthfeel is rich and finish lingers a bit. Sweetness and woodiness go first, then the smoke, and finally there is a hint of citrus, like carmelized burnt oranges.
  
  This is a tough mixer... quickly overpowering most other ingredients. It is fantastic as a highball with grapefruit soda, and for the truly crazed... it's also damn tasty with Mountain Dew. Used 1/4oz to 1/2oz at a time it can compliment pretty much any spirit that has had some barrel time. Good with bourbon, better with rye, and truly amazing with a good Reposado or Anejo tequila. It also blends very well with another friend from the amaro word, Cynar.
  
  There was a spectacular creation here on r/cocktails by u/mpthrapp called the Humo Amargo that showcases it with tequila perfectly.
  
  At about $22-24 for a 750mL bottle, this can be a fun addition to your bar.
  
  AMARO DELL' ERBORISTA
  
• ABV: 21%
  
• Color: Cloudy Lake Water
  
• Sweet: 1
  
• Bitter: 3-1/2
  
• Sour: 1
  
• Salt: 0
  
• Umami: 2
  
• Herbal: 3
  
• Spicy: 1
  
• Medicinal: 0
  
• Notes:
  A masterpiece of Old-World craft, Amaro 'dell Erborista (literally, the herbalists bitters) is hand made by the Varnelli family on the slopes of the Sibillini mountains. Unlike most other amari, dell' Erborista is not filtered, has no added color, and is sweetened only with raw honey from local hives. This creates a cloudy liquid that has a bit of sediment in the bottle.
  
  On the nose, dell 'Erborista smells of hay drying in a hot barn, and a dusty bundle of bouquet garni that's been hanging in the pantry. The preparation of the ingredients by roasting over an open fire before they are mascerated to create the spirit adds a hint of raw smokiness as well.
  
  On the palate, the first note is a bitter, herbal, faintly smoky, tannic dryness. Wonderful mouthfeel, almost "chewy", with a surprising warmth for its low ABV. Spending some time with it, flavors of sandalwood, sage, tobacco, and cinnamon break through the dusty gentian bitterness. I can picture beekeepers harvesting raw wildflower honey, and taste the smoke from their smoke-pots used to calm the bees. The finish brings just a hint of that beautiful raw honey and orange peel, but never truly becomes "sweet".
  
  There are very few cocktails that call for dell 'Erborista. It does make a bitter and refreshing highball with club soda or tonic water. It also stars alongside Campari in the Sibyl Idyll from Mark Bittermans Field Guide. I made one here
  
  This is not for everyone's palate. Of all my friends who are chefs and bartenders, only a small percentage enjoy this without a grimace on their face. It is by far, the least sweet, and most bitter amaro I've covered in my posts on Reddit thus far.
  
  This is not an easy bottle to find in many places. I am located near Atlanta and know of exactly one store that carries it, at $65 for a liter bottle, placing it at the upper end of the price spectrum for amari in the US.
  
  Wrap Up:
  Amari, and other bitter liqueurs... Test them, try them, see what your palate likes. There are lots of good resources out there (see a couple below) but nothing replaces actually tasting it.
  
  I strongly recommend the following:
  
  
• Amaro, by Brad Thomas Parsons
  
• The Field Guide to Bitters and Amaro, by Mark Bitterman
  
  Thanks for reading. Again, I welcome any feedback you might have. Next up... ?
  
  ~Cheers!
  
  Previous Amaro Overview Posts...
  
• Herbal Liqueurs - Chartreuse, Genepy, and Cloosterbitter
  
• [Amaro Overview #1 - Cynar, Sibona, and Braulio]
  (https://www.reddit.com/r/cocktails/comments/6npsb1/amaro_overview_1_cynar_sibona_and_braulio/)
  
• Amaro Overview #2 - CioCiaro, Meletti, and Suze
  
• Amaro Overview #3 - Meesterbitter, Underberg, and Jagermeister
  
  EDIT: Formatting....

Generally, you don't want to buy a set (this applies to most consumer goods) as they usually are compiled of subpar or superfluous items, aimed for the uninformed beginner who just want to get started, but instead pick good stuff yourself.

• I'd say buy a shaker from one of the places mentioned here - buy a 'Tin on Tin' Boston shaker. Cobbler shakers need to be kinda expensive before they're good, while Boston shakers are great, even if the machining isn't ultra precise. They are also simpler to work with and clean.
  
  
• Downside is that you are going to need a strainer for a boston shaker as well. The one I see recommended the most is the OXO Hawthorne strainer (Link) - which I own as well, it's great and cheap. Most other hawthorne strainers are fine too, as long as they are big enough to cover the shaker, and won't fall in.
  
  
• If he doesn't have one already, I would also get him a fine strainer. This one you can buy from any kitchenware store / amazon, and it doesn't need to be fancy.
  
  
• He will probably also need a measuring device. If he likes showmanship, get him some jiggers from one of the cocktail sites, or if he's more practical, get an OXO Clear measuring cup (Link). I would reccomend the latter to any home bartender. For a compromise between the two, there's also the slightly fancier steel measuring cup (Link) or the OXO Stainless double jigger (Link).
  
  
• Finally, I'd also recommend some kind of juicer, as most drinks contain some kind of acid, usually citrus. Personally, I like the Chef'n'FreshForce Citrus Juicer (Link), but others are available.
  
  With a Shaker, a Strainer, (a Fine Strainer), (a Juicer), and a Jigger, you can make pretty much any shaken drink. If you want, you can look into a muddler as well. I'd recommend staying away from buying anything expensive. Best deal is buying a french rolling pin and chopping it into two muddlers (Link).
  __
  
  Even though shaken drinks are the majority, most of my favourites are still stirred drinks. If you want you can splurge on a mixing glass from one of the cocktail sites which are pretty but really expensive, or you can check IKEA. Their VARDAGEN or BENUNGE cups are pretty perfect for this (Link). He'll also need a cocktail spoon for stirring. Either buy one from the cocktail sites (Avoid those with the red tip), or find a neat pair of chopsticks. The chopsticks are untraditional, especially in the west, but are functionally as good or better as a spoon for most use cases.
  
  __
  
  Apart from gear to make cocktails, one thing which is always nice to get, is glasses for serving them in. I don't know if this applies to your dad, but some fancy stemmed glasses are always cool to get.
  
  
  
  If you're in Europe, check out Cocktailkingdom.co.uk or Cocktailian.de. Otherwise, Amazon is great (remember to check .co.uk and .de for better deals). I bought my shaker and cocktail spoon from Homestia.com, and am happy with them; good quality, great price, and arrived in a fancy box. The only downside is that I think they ship from China, so it might not arrive prior to christmas.

Not Cocktail of the Week #93: The Earl Grey MarTEAni and the Mandala

This week's NCotW is a Modern Classic created by contemporary legend Audrey Saunders, along with an original twist on the recipe. I'm /u/ems88, filling in for /u/hebug this week.

Saunders is responsible for a fair number of cocktails that have spread far beyond the walls of the bars where they were first shaken or stirred including the Old Cuban, the Gin Gin Mule, and Not Cocktail of the Week #19: Intro to Aperol.

Background

The Earl Grey MarTEAni is a tea-infused variation on the classic Gin Sour (with egg white). It was first developed in 2002 for an event at the Ritz Hotel London. Saunders continued to offer the MarTEAni as part of her cocktail program at Bemelmans in Manhattan's Carlyle Hotel, and when she opened Pegu Club in 2005 she brought the drink with her.

The drink rose in popularity to become one of Pegu Club's most ordered cocktails, but in 2010 it found itself at the center of a controversy related to use of raw egg whites in bars and was temporarily removed from the menu. The substantial fines and citations initially threatened were never imposed, and the Earl Grey MarTEAni returned to the menu in triumph.

The cocktail has since taken on a life of its own, appearing on menus from Vancouver to London to Beijing. In 2013 Difford's Guide included it on their list of the Top 100 Cocktails. I have seen the MarTEAni served (under a variety of names; sometimes credited, sometimes not) at more bars than almost any other drink developed since the Cosmopolitan, thus cementing its status as a Modern Classic Cocktail.

Recipe

Audrey's Earl Grey MarTEAni

New York Magazine, The State of the Cocktail, 2004

• 1 ½ oz Earl Grey tea-infused Tanqueray gin
  
  
• 1 oz simple syrup (1:1 ratio)
  
  
• ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
  
  
• 1 egg white
  
  Measure all the ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice, and shake hard to a 10-second count. Strain into a chilled martini glass, ½ rimmed with sugar, and garnish with a lemon twist.
  
  For the Earl Grey-infused gin:
  
  
• 1 750 ml bottle of Tanqueray gin
  
  
• 4 tablespoons of loose Earl Grey tea
  
  Measure tea into bottle. Cap and shake, and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours. Strain through a fine sieve or coffee filter into a bowl. Rinse out bottle to remove loose tea, and pour infusion back into clean bottle.
  
  Technique
  
  While not addressed in the New York Magazine recipe, for drinks incorporating egg whites there are a few techniques to help achieve an optimal texture. Once the ingredients are assembled in the shaker tin, a 10 second “dry shake” without ice will help with the emulsification of the egg white. In addition, adding the coil of a Hawthorne strainer during the dry shake will provide additional agitation. Remove the coil, add ice and shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Finally, it is especially important with egg white drinks to “double strain” with both a Hawthorne strainer and a fine mesh strainer.
  
  Results
  
  I've played around with a few different gins as the base for this infusion. I did these in small batches, using 1½ teaspoons of tea for 3 oz of gin (which is also a good way to make this cocktail at home if you don't want to commit to infusing a full bottle of gin). As the initial recipe called for Tanqueray (a London Dry Gin), I decided to compare it with Venus Spirits Gin (a New Western Dry Gin from Santa Cruz featuring citrus and lavender) and No. 209 (a Bergamot orange-forward gin from San Francisco).
  
  The Tanqueray version I treated as a baseline, for which it served quite well. The juniper-forward notes play well with the drying tannins of the tea, but beyond that no distinct botanicals stood out. By comparison, the Venus Spirits Gin brought floral notes to the table making the resulting profile reminiscent of a cup of Lady Grey tea. Finally, the Bergamot elements of the No. 209 accentuated the Bergamot of the Earl Grey to create a veritable orange bomb which, while not entirely unpleasant, had a few rough edges and lacked the balance of the other two.
  
  While the original recipe calls for a sugar rim, I prefer my Earl Grey MarTEAni without. As is shown in the picture, I also opted to garnish with a lemon wedge instead of the lemon peel called for in the original recipe. I did this because the overall profile is more likely to be found a touch sweet than a touch sour, so the option to add a squeeze of lemon seemed like a good way to provide the ability for the drinker to modify the cocktail to their palate.
  
  As with other egg white drinks all three versions had a luscious, creamy texture. In each case the tannins of the tea created a drying sensation which brought an unusual element to the cocktail's balance. The dryness added depth to the sour and sweet profile of the Gin Sour base.
  
  This cocktail serves well as an introduction for people skeptical of egg whites as an ingredient. The flavors expressed in the Earl Grey MarTEAni are familiar, but the format in which they are presented is entirely novel, allowing the drink to be at once both provocative and simultaneously comforting.
  
  The Mandala
  
  The frothy, creamy texture of the Earl Grey MarTEAni reminds me of a cappuccino. This inspired me to create a chai-driven twist on the cocktail for the menu at 515 Kitchen & Cocktails in Santa Cruz, CA. The name is a reference to the Sand Mandalas of Tibetan Buddhism: intricate works of symbolic art created over the course of days and destroyed upon their completion as a meditation on impermanence. An ephemeral work of art that is crafted with the intention of being destroyed reminds me of some of the elements of cocktails that I most enjoy.
  
  Recipe
  
  
• 2 oz chai tea-infused gin
  
  
• 1 oz simple syrup (1:1 ratio)
  
  
• ½ oz fresh lemon juice
  
  
• 1 dash cardamom bitters (Scrappy's)
  
  
• 1 egg white
  
  
• Angostura bitters (for garnish)
  
  Follow the process described above for egg white drinks, omitting the Angostura bitters from the shaker and instead using them to decorate the surface of the cocktail.
  
  For the chai tea-infused gin:
  
  
• 1 liter London Dry Gin
  
  
• 4 tablespoons of loose chai tea blend
  
  Decant gin into a non-reactive container and add tea. Allow to infuse for 3 hours (I find the longer infusion time lends itself to a better extraction of the dry spices in the chai tea blend), stirring occasionally, then strain using a coffee filter or a fine mesh sieve and return to the bottle. For a smaller infusion use 1½ teaspoons of chai tea for every 4 oz of gin.
  
  Three Ways to Decorate the Top of an Egg White Cocktail with Bitters
  
  (Click on the links for demonstrative gifs)
  
  First Method: Using an Angostura bitters-filled atomizer, spray a stripe down the middle of the cocktail. Using a straw, in a continuous motion draw a switchback of lines perpendicular to the stripe starting at one end. Upon reaching the other end, stop the switchback in the middle of the stripe and draw the straw along the center of the stripe back to its base. This creates a rosetta pattern.
  
  Second Method: Using a dropper (or a straw in conjunction with a bitters-filled shot glass), create a spiral of dots starting in the center of the cocktail and expanding outwards. Using a straw, trace the path of the spiral. This creates a spiral of leaves.
  
  Third Method: Using the Angostura dasher bottle, dash parallel lines across the top of the cocktail. Using a straw, cut across the lines of bitters in alternating directions in individual strokes. This creates a herringbone-like set of parallel zig zags.
  
  Further Reading
  
  (Partial) List of Bars that Have Featured an Earl Grey MarTEAni on Their Menu
  
  2004 New York Magazine Earl Grey MarTEAni Recipe
  
  2004 Business Week Audrey Saunders Profile
  
  2005 Gary Regan's Account of the Pegu Club's Opening Festivities
  
  2010 New York Times Article on the Egg White Crackdown
  
  2013 Difford's Guide Top 100 Cocktails
  
  Cheers!
  
  Thank you to /u/hebug for the opportunity to contribute to the NCotW series, as well as for consistently providing such high quality content. Tune in next week for another exciting installment.
  
  Also, check out the new book from venerable cocktail behemoths Death & Co. It just came out and is absolutely gorgeous. Finally, keep your eyes peeled for Liquid Intelligence, the cocktail science book from Dave Arnold of Booker & Dax which should be hitting shelves in early November.
  
  Here's to you and thank you for reading.

I totally agree with jonetone. I'm a huge cocktail nerd, and that's my first love when it comes to alcohol, but I totally love wine and beer as well (though I didn't until I started tasting good beers!). The variety in each of those categories is huge, and it sounds like you've barely scratched the surface in any of them. Experiment!

Yuengling is a bland, cheap beer. Most people in most parts of the country drink bland, cheap beer. But beer can be totally full of flavor. Depending on where you live, you might have a big craft brewing scene. I live in Boulder CO where it is huge, for example. If you live in such a place, a great way to try beers and learn to appreciate them is to go to a well-regarded craft brewery's tap room, take a tour, and taste everything they've got. It's tons of fun and usually pretty cheap. If you don't have breweries nearby, find a good liquor store and experiment with a variety of styles. Don't buy just the cheap stuff - like liquor, the cheapest beers aren't that good. Oh, and always pour your beers from the bottle into a beer glass; like wine, you need to be able to smell the beer to taste all of the subtle flavors.

Based on your favorite cocktails, I suspect you also have a ton of room for experimentation there. Seek out a good craft cocktail bar if you live in a major metropolitan area, and pick up a good book on less well known cocktails (like this one).

It all depends on what you're looking for. If I had to go for one general book to start out with it'd probably be The Essential Bartender's Guide - great intro with some history, as well as discussion on what different types of drinks are, etc. Good Jack-of-all-trades book. As you get a little deeper, the standouts for me are Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, Bitters, Imbibe!, and Punch. Vintage is a great resource to get an idea of what's been done (and lost) over the years, and is a great place to learn about what types of flavors work well together, plus there's a great blurb about the history of the drink with each recipe. Bitters is pretty self explanatory, but it has a nice intro to cocktail history, and s ton of great recipes, both new and old. Really interesting to see how slight tweaks in the bitters used (Fourth Regiment vs a Manhattan, for example) makes a huge difference in the ultimate product. Imbibe and Punch are simply brilliant history lessons, with a few recipes thrown in for good measure. Cheers!

Just a note, a Lemon Martini is usually not made with vermouth, and white (dry) vermouth isn't sweet. : )

But as someone who has been bitten by the cocktail bug in the last few years, here's my humble advice. Pick one or two drinks you want to learn to make. Don't go crazy buying a huge number of liqours to start. Buy good quality ingredients for your two, and start making and tweeking them. This time a little too much lime juice, next time a little too little, until you dial in what it is you like. Things like fresh lemon juice, versus the stuff in a plastic yellow lemon bottle really make a difference. You don't have to go top shelf on liqour, but stay out of the low-end stuff. And it really is important to actually measure every single ingredient. This is the best cocktail making purchase I've made!

The glassware doesn't have to be perfect - yes, you can make it in a coffee cup - but it is kinda' nice. Don't spend money on fancy glassware to start. Hit your local thrift store and pick up some cheap, but correct-for-the-drink glasses, and you'll appreciate it. Plus you'll feel classy!

Garnishes are actually not as easy as they sometimes look, so learning to make garnishes is a skill. Sometimes, as /u/stormstatic said, they are part of the actual flavor of the drink, sometimes they just make it pretty. To start, focus on mixing the drink, later add the garnishes. Heck, what's a tiki drink without all the stuff and paper umbrellas sticking out? : ) Goal!

Yeah, that sounds like a bad ass Old Fashioned. There are a dozen legit ways to make this drink and have it still be considered an Old Fashioned. This one happens to be my favorite, but there's nothing wrong with more bitters or another twist or building it in the glass with smaller ice cubes. It's all about how you like it.

As far as the ice goes, I got a couple molds from a Japanese market. They are pretty good, but a friend of mine has a better one from Tovolo. Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Tovolo-Sphere-Ice-Molds-Set/dp/B007ACTN54

I'm glad you like the videos. I'm not sure what's going to be next. I've got a lot in the queue, some really classic cocktails the way likes them with specific brands being mentioned, some invented/interpreted drinks, some drinks that other characters enjoyed. All kinds of things. Was there anything in particular you'd want to see?

Hey, I'm a drinky ex-mormon myself. Welcome to the other side! A couple of my sisters asked me for similar advice when they were first trying out alcohol and they seemed to like sweet wines and low-octane, sweeter drinks best. Maybe try out some fresh fruit blender drinks.

As for equipment, most of what you need may already be in your kitchen. I get the most use out of my hand-held citrus press, my peeler and my OXO angled jigger. Shakers are fun-looking and could be a good gift, but I rarely use mine. Glassware is always a fun gift!

I hope this helps! Good luck!

On aspirational ice

Personally I think the $99 price is ridiculous, especially considering the huge usability issues, and mess it makes. Gotta the love the sweet "deal" on Kickstarter where you get one at full retail price if you come in at the $99 level.

Regarding "most" reviews. I love Amazon reviews. They often provide some great humorous reading, and you can also easily spot the shill reviews who give fake 5 star, or 1 star reviews.

On Amazon, you can buy TWO Tovolo sphere molds for $11, or $5.50 each. The Tovolo sphere molds got 1753 reviews; 1282 were 5 stars, 331 were 4 stars (15 reviews out of 1753 gave it 1 star, so you are free to make your own fact based conclusions there). http://www.amazon.com/Tovolo-Sphere-Ice-Molds-Set/dp/B007ACTN54/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418127875&sr=8-1&keywords=tovolo+sphere+ice+molds

I use the Tovolo big cube molds (around $8). They are painfully easy to use, and I just pop them in ziplock bags to keep them from picking up odd smells and tastes.

Now, granted the $400 original price point may have looked cheap when stacked up against the professional units that range from $500 to $1500, hence the tongue in cheek sales pitch to "billionaires". I just think the product is way overpriced and not much better than the one that sells for a little over five bucks. It also looks like a direct ripoff from the Cirrus press which sells for $699 (maybe that is a selling point). The Cirrus at least provides a way to deal with the overflow (unless running outside to place the device on a sidewalk is an enticing idea and part of the show).

Lastly, can someone please provide a scientific reason why "spherical" ice is better than a large block? I am willing to bet that a there is little difference dilution-wise between the two shapes, and it is more of an aesthetic one.

cheers.

I'll just go ahead and list a few of the things I use on a regular basis.

Koriko shakers are awesome. They look cool and function amazingly. Good investments. End of story.
http://www.cocktailkingdom.com/Koriko-set-of-2-Weighted-Tins-large-and-sma-p/sha_korikoxxxx_0028_set.htm

I prefer using a julep strainer over a hawthorne strainer, it works fine for me when I'm not muddling things into the drink I don't want served.
http://amzn.com/B001VZAMPQ
http://amzn.com/B000H7VF64

Get speed pourers. Even if you don't plan on free-pouring, they're nice to have a more standardized pouring speed so you can pour out of an entirely full bottle without worrying about spilling too much.
http://amzn.com/B002J8RRAM

A cheap bar spoon is an awful experience. A decent bar spoon is fine. An overpriced barspoon is (generally) just overpriced metal. However, the Tanqueray spoons and the Standard Spoon on kickstarter are actually pretty nice quality stuff. But that said, almost everyone I've met likes the regular old bar spoon.
http://amzn.com/B000VQOP5O
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/workofmyhands/standard-spoon-for-craft-cocktails

Have a jigger on hand, even if you free pour. Just for when you have nicer ingredients and want to try out a drink with them and would rather have the proportions right than have to revive the drink.
http://amzn.com/B00080B07Y

I make a lot of bitters myself or super small batch infusions, so having a set of mason jars on hand has been extremely helpful.

I use cheapo squirt bottles ( http://amzn.com/B007OM9W2E ) to store simple syrup or other infused simple syrup.

If you get super into infusions and stuff like that, I've heard a lot of good things about the iSi system; I have a friend with one, he absolutely loves his. I have to admit, it takes a lot of work and patience out of infusion. As well as whipped cream, or carbonating things, or what have you... now I might want to get one.

These two items are somewhat paired (at least for me) -- a water filter and an ice tray. For ice, I'm talking like the Tovolo King Size ice trays. Water filter -- doesn't matter, as long as it filters from what I can tell.
http://amzn.com/B00395FHRO

Something that's nice to have on hand so you can double-strain is a fine-mesh strainer. Can be harder to find on the cheap though, I ended up breaking down and going to a Bed Bath & Beyond for mine since everything on Amazon was fairly expensive the thrift shops near me didn't have one.

Get nice glassware. I remember when I was younger and someone demonstrated the importance of having nice glass when tasting wine. The same thing applies. This isn't exactly bar-tools, but it's critical to your cocktail experience. Drinking out of cheap glasses, or the wrong glasses, will really hurt the presentation and your perception of the cocktail. In essence, t's important to take pride in both how you make the cocktail and how you serve the cocktail.

That's all I got for now.

Not sure if you can get Cachaca there, but the capirinha is a very 'beginner friendly' cocktail that's clearly international.

Seconding maximswim's recommendation on tiki cocktails, they're basically all strong and generally on the sweet side, plus they can have cool garnishes/mugs. If you're willing to do complicated drinks, Smuggler's Cove is a great resource.

My own creation. Inspired by the Jungle Bird and my lack of pineapple juice and rum. The name is inspired by the legend that Benjamin Franklin proposed the turkey as the national bird, though apparently that is not actually true.

2 oz Benjamin Franklin's shrub (from Shrubs by Michael Dietsch)

3/4 oz Campari

3/4 oz lime juice

Shaken with ice, optional strain (I chose not to) into glass.

I had picked up the shrub book at the end of December and had fun making a few with the limited amount of produce available in the winter. I didn't have any normal rum on hand when I discovered this drink, but I did have the Benjamin Franklin's shrub that I had made with Smith & Cross, and I figured it'd help take the place of the rum, pineapple juice, and simple syrup in the Jungle Bird. I'm still playing around with the ratios, but I figured I'd dial up the lime juice to make up for the lack of pineapple juice. There is orange juice in the shrub, but that doesn't add a whole lot of acidity.

This is a different kind of shrub than is commonly used with the shrub resurgence. It is not vinegar based.

Benjamin Franklin's shrub (taken from Michael Dietsch's Shrubs)

1. In a gallon-sized jar, add orange peels (3-4 oranges) and dark rum. Allow peels to infuse in the rum overnight.
   
   
2. Meanwhile, combine orange juice (3/4 cup, ~3 oranges) and sugar (1/2 cup turbinado or demerara), and allow that to set overnight so the sugar begins to dissolve into the juice.
   
   
3. The next day, remove the peels from the rum and add the sweetened juice. Seal the jar and let it sit in a cool, dark place for about 3 to 4 weeks.
   
   Seriously, get this book. It's a lot of fun. And with the weather warming up, there will be so many more possibilities of shrubs to make. It's a perfect excuse to get out on the weekend and explore your local farmers market. You can use bruised and broken fruit that otherwise probably would be thrown away, and you can usually get them for a discount. Happy shrubbing.

I only recommend Cocktail Kingdom or Barfly tools to pros who use them hard and can justify spending the money. I have stainless tools, of lesser quality, that I've used hard for 30 years. They still work as good as they did when new. I suppose a good analogy is automobiles. You can buy yourself a Toyota. It's affordable, reliable and does pretty much everything most of us ask of it. You can also get yourself a new BMW or Benz. Are the German cars nicer? Sure! But you pay for the luxury. The only things "Cocktail Kingdom" that I own are weighted tins that I purchased soon after they were released (many years ago). But I was Manhattan based and Cocktail Kingdom was the only brick and mortar store that actually carried weighted tins. Today, we have more options.

I know at least 6 pros who are very happy with this set @ <$40. You get the weighted tins, which is the biggest change in modern bartending. You also get a lifetime guarantee and Prime shipping. If you want one, you'll need to add a heavy-bottomed mixing glass for stirred cocktails, a Y-peeler and perhaps an OXO jigger and microplane. I suggest you save yourself some cash and put it towards ingredients. Otherwise, Barfly sells a decent kit for $171 that you'll still have to add to. Cocktail Kingdom is even more expensive.

TL/DR: The fancy tools aren't necessary at all. If you want the Cadillac of bar gear, however, go for it.

Photo of the Finished Product

This recipe is from San Francisco's Smuggler's Cove, which is absolutely one of my favorite tiki bars.

The bar's creator released a fantastic book loaded with Smuggler's Cove recipes but also history of tiki, a breakdown of different rum classifications, and even how to decorate for a tiki bar. I highly recommend it.

Recipe:

• 0.75 oz fresh lime juice
  
• 0.25 oz fresh grapefruit juice
  
• 0.25 oz homemade cinnamon syrup
  
• 1 tsp homemade grenadine
  
• 0.5 oz John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum
  
• 1.5 oz blended aged rum (I used El Dorado 12)
  
• 1.5 oz column still aged rum (I used Zacapa 23)
  
• 1 oz black blended overproof rum (I used Lemon Hart 151)
  
• 2 dashes Herbstura (1:1 mixture of Angostura bitters and Herbsaint)
  
  Combine all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake, open pour into Zombie glass or other tall drinkware. Garnish with mint. (The original recipe calls for a flash blend, open pour with gated finish.)
  
  Obviously, this is a very strong drink, so being able to make it at home is nice, even if a little prep-work is required! It packs a punch but it is extremely complex, flavorful, and not cloyingly sweet. If you have the patience, it's a worthwhile, serious tiki drink.

Some comments and opinions, operating under the assumption that you are after a classic, basic margarita that will knock people's socks off, and aiming to steer you to that without bothering to deal with riffs and variations that one could do within the realm of "margarita":

Your Questions Answered / Margaritas 101

1. For the tequila, 100% agave is the only key. If it doesn't say 100% agave, don't even consider it, it's shit in a bottle masquerading as tequila. That said, there are plenty of perfectly serviceable 100% agave tequilas at/under ~$30/bottle, which is about what I'd expect to spend on a bottle for making margaritas. My preference is blanco - reposado and anejos tend to result in heavier-tasting drinks that aren't what most people want/expect when they ask for a margarita. They can be good, but let's get the basics down first. For specifics, Siembra Azul Blanco is my preference, though you can't go wrong with El Mayor Blanco, El Jimador Blanco, etc.
   
   
2. "While others say lime juice in a bottle is fine and can hardly tell the difference." <- people who say this are wrong, and you should discard both this and the rest of their opinions about cocktails and life in general. Lime cordial (Rose's) could have a place in a recipe, but it will be a variation on what a margarita is supposed to be, and it is certainly not a 1:1 sub for lime juice. Never, never, never (ever, ever, just for fuck's sake do not) buy ReaLime or any variation of grocery store plastic-bottled lime juice with the intent to use it in a cocktail of any kind, and certainly not in a margarita where lime juice is one of the stars of the show. It will only end in sadness and regret.
   
   
3. Cointreau. Bottom shelf plastic-bottled triple sec (Montezuma, DeKuyper, Jacquin's, etc.) is absolutely not a substitution. The "why" is basically the same as why you should insist on 100% agave tequila, and real lime juice: a good rule of thumb is that a cocktail is only as good as it's worst ingredient. Most triple sec is syrupy artificial garbage that bears no similarities to Cointreau or good curacao or Grand Marnier, other than that it's technically an orange-flavored liqueur. So, spend the extra $10 and buy a bottle of something that was actually made with oranges.
   
   
4. I'm also partial to the Jim Meehan / Dave Arnold recipe:
   2 oz tequila
   0.75 oz Cointreau
   0.75 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
   0.25 oz simple syrup (make this yourself, it's called 'simple' for a reason)
   Shake with ice, hawthorne strain into a glass. Garnish with salt/lime wedge per your or your guest's preferences.
   
   Regarding "replace triple sec with simple syrup". They aren't even sort of the same or similar tasting. No.
   
   Regarding orange juice: Nope. You could certainly make the case for playing around with some (again, preferably fresh squeezed) orange juice in a variation of a margarita, but it has no place in a classic margarita.
   
   
   

   Barware Recommendations
   

   
   I noticed elsewhere that you mentioned bar tools. My recommendations are:
   
   For your shaker/strainer, I haaaaaate three-piece tins. Hate them. Simply: in my experience they are very leak-prone. So, despite seeming like the simpler, one-stop-shop option, they kind of aren't. Also, they're typically not particularly well balanced or weighted, which makes shaking more awkward than it needs to be.
   
   So, my preference is to buy two piece tins: Koriko tins - awesome, appropriately weighted, seal nicely. It seems silly, but watch this video too, and look at how to break the seal. Trust me.
   
   ...and then a separate Hawthorne strainer. People have their preferences. I have an Oxo Hawthorne. It works.
   
   Glass rimmer: The one you linked would work fine, but it's not necessary if you have a small plate and a lime. This is the secret of glass-rimming as far as I'm concerned: to prep the rim for salt, do not use water. Use your garnish, preferably a citrus fruit. Cut yourself a lime wedge, then cut a single-cut notch in the flesh of the lime. Get your glass, put the lip of the glass in the notch, and run the lime around the rim. Put some coarse kosher salt on a plate, and flip your limey-rimmed glass into it until you've got the coverage you want. I would also specify to not use table salt. The grains are too fine, so with every sip you'll get much more salt/perceived salt taste - it will be overwhelming, basically.
   
   Juicer - the one you linked is probably fine. To a certain extent, an elbow (/handheld cocktail juicer) is an elbow. To wit: I use a Tanqueray-branded one I got for free somewhere along the line. It's totally adequate, and the one you linked will be too.
   
   ...
   
   Holy shit, that got long. Anyway, ask away if you've got any more questions - happy to offer an opinion.

I don't really have any specific rules, per say, other than drink what you like. If you read enough around here, you'll notice that vodka doesn't exactly get put up on a pedestal by many. I personally find I use gin in almost any situation that calls for vodka so I don't really sweat which brand I have in the house (currently Tito's).

As for tequila, it's not so much about avoiding gold tequila (my house tequila is the lunazul reposado which is a gold tequila), it's making sure that you're using a quality 100% de agave tequila. Most brands that produce tequila this way will let you know somewhere on the label, but brands like espolon, lunazul, milagro are all safe bets. Otherwise, they're making the tequila from some percentage neutral grain spirit (typically distilled beet sugar) and adding tequila flavoring.

Read around here and on specific spirit subreddits to get further recommendations. I also recommend picking up a beginners cocktail book to give you an idea of which elements of your bar to stock first and prioritize what to buy later. 12 Bottle Bar focuses on what bottles to buy to make an array of classics. Bar Book is more focused on helping shape your technique and palate.

That looks awesome! I really do feel that clear ice makes for a better cocktail taste as well as obviously the look of it. The way most of us make "craft" cocktails, its a detail that can be overlooked, but well worth the extra effort.

I got the below linked TrueCubes clear ice tray system and it works really well. Same concept (open cooler/keep the top/dispose the bottom) but they use a pair silicone inserts instead of having to cut at the end. It only makes 4 2"x2" cubes at a time but I just keep making them until I fill a large ziplock bag then I am good for a while. I have had it for a couple years and have used it countless times. Holds up really well.

https://www.amazon.com/True-Cubes-Clear-Cube-Tray/dp/B07422QWCP

https://www.truecubes.com/#clearice

I'm a bit behind schedule from my "back in 30." You may notice in my assembled ingredients pic the plastic graduated shot recycled from some long-ago bottle cough syrup. I fell back to that because in assembling that picture I fumbled my nice glass graduated shot and shattered it on the floor, necessitating a thorough sweeping. Now I finally have the impetus to order one of these. Also that glass shot, got from some thrift store, inexplicably had teaspoons graduated at 4 per tablespoon...

As you may recall from the book the parentheticals are direct quotes and he wasn't lying about the orange juice (the bracketed "repeat as needed" is my own and we'll just see how this evening goes). I'll use concentrate in a pinch but fresh squeezed is really where it's at. Tonight I only had some clementines and they added a certain bitterness but I like that. I think the Luxardo syrup is fine, just a different fruity complexity than the pomegranate. Here's the final result. I'm glad I didn't fumble that glass, an exceedingly fragile gift from a neighbor.

The drink remains fantastic to me, if in this case a bit flat at the beginning of the sip, probably just because it's less sweet than usual. That flatness, not unlike a dark chocolate milk, gives way quickly to a shifting complexity as multicolored desert sands making and remaking a dunescape, really everything for which I started mixing cocktails in the first place. This feels like a drink with which I could both start and end a perfect day.

Mixing it I looked up to notice the cover art of Typhoon's Hunger & Thirst on my radio and momentarily thought it appropriate but now I'm not sure that's an orange, or what it is at all in fact. In any case I shook vigorously at the disjointed end of Belly of the Cavern and it felt apropos:

all my life i've spent wasting time, wasting my time
just to forget again but i don't mind
i'll take my medicine and i will be fine

Get yourself one or two of the oxo mini angled measuring cup. They make a metal version too but I like the plastic. It lets you pour smaller measurements like 1/8 cup by looking down from above. It's a great kitchen and bar tool that I use every day.

OXO Good Grips Angled Measuring Cup, Mini, Clear https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FYL4MPY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_vfP6ybVT8C1WE

David Wondrich's Imbibe! is one of my favorites. Not only does it go into a lot of detail about the cocktails but there is also a really nice chunk of history, legend, and anecdotes. Definitely an entertaining read and some great recipes.

Everything said so far is a solid backbone.

One thing I might suggest is to stick with the classics for a while, sip as many as you can. Negroni, Manhattan, Old Fashioned, Improved Whiskey, Last Word, Aviation. Once you master the form you can play within the form. Like Jazz.

Also, I'm surprised no one has mentioned David Wondrich. Go buy Imbibe! and steep yourself in the rich tradition and classics.

EDIT: Whoops! Someone did mention Wondrich's column in Esquire. Might I recommend an Esquire subscription? Beyond Wondrich writing on cocktails and drinking each week, it is the quintessential gentlemen's mag. The greatest writers of every generation have been found in its pages.

Just a cool box and some of these the actual brand doesn't matter they're all the same. Water is tap water (we have good tap water in my area though, I'm UK) and it's best warm. Then I basically flip the moulds upside down so the air hole is at the bottom (forcing impurities out as it freezes) Also finally the cool box has to be deep so as to not have the moulds near the bottom of it and leave the lid off so it freezes from the top down. Sorry for wall of text, it took a while to get the process down so thought I'd save you the hassle. Oh shit yeah freezer on lowest setting, freeze time of approx 30 hours. Don't be tempted to peek lol. When you're done you'll have cloudy ice at the bottom and the balls should be crystal clear. Should. Lol

There are so many good ones, and if I may, I'd like to recommend my two favorites, from Michael Dietsch's "Shrubs" book:

Celery Shrub, the most surprising one for me:

• 1 lb celery leaves still on
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  
  Blend cut-up celery with 1/2 cup water, strain over fine mesh strainer (optionally with cheese cloth), mix celery juice with other ingredients in jar, shake every other day to help sugar dissolve. This is great by itself, with gin, or even in a Bloody Mary.
  
  Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar
  
  
• 1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
  
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  
  Combine fruit and sugar, cover with plastic in bowl in fridge, macerate at least 2 hours or up to a day. Strain out, add vinegar to liquid, whisk. Strain again in jar, refrigerate. Use the solids for something else fun! This is great with tequila and basil, but it's also too good by itself, diluted a bit by ice and good seltzer.

I took this one from "Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas" by Brad Thomas Parsons.

• 2oz Bourbon (I used Basil Hayden's)
  
• 2 tablespoons of Scuppernong or Muscadine Jelly
  
• 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
  
• 1/4 oz Simple Syrup
  
• 2 dashes of Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters
  
• 1 egg white
  
  Dry shake to emulsify egg white, add ice, and shake to chill. Double strain into a cocktail coupe.
  
  I'm not a very big fan of whisky, but trying to expand my repertoire, this drink is sour, sweet, and all around a very balanced cocktail. Absolutely delicious. If you haven't picked up some Fee Brother's Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters, go buy some, they are amazing.

Does he have a good shaker though? If he doesn't have a Koriko Shaker set he's missing out. You can even get like a gold/copper/black one so it stands out. They're almost roo good at creating a seal. https://www.cocktailkingdom.com/barware-sets/essential-cocktail-set-copper

A lot of cocktail enthusiasts never spring for a Chef'n juicer either but they're incredible. You generally don't need the orange-sized one and you can put limes in the lemon-sized one so that one is great: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002XOB0P0/ref=twister_B00H9HWZCI?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Green or Yellow Chartreuse both cost like $50-$60 for a bottle but are absolutely required for a lot of great cocktails. There's no substitutes.

Ooh, very nice. Shiny and curvy. And very fancy. At the moment I am partial to this one by OXO https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0036X4YOG/ it has very clear markings and a nice grip.

Edit: Not to say the OXO is in the league of OP's jigger, that Leopold is one sexy jigger right there, and I may have to acquire one. Or give one as a gift to my favorite bartender. Wonder if Cocktail Kingdom offers engraving...

Dear Refined Chef,
The drinks on your site are disgusting. Please read some David Embury or Gary Regan and then get back to us. We want to like you, and we applaud you for your efforts, but you are trying to get us to drink equal parts of grenadine, peppermint schnapps, and vodka. Your instructions for making a Pimm's Cup neglects to mention the cucumber and lemon wheels, (though they are pictured) and the addition of soda. Your fourth of July drink was just a disaster.

Your other drinks range from the cloying [blackberry martini] (http://www.refinedchef.com/recipes/drinks-and-cocktails/a-blackberry-martini.php) to the surreal wild blueberry daquiri, in which you suggest rimming a glass with egg white and fine table salt before filling it with blended soda water, blueberries, and coconut cream, rum optional.

I will admit, it's not all bad, as I was able to find the classic Mary Pickford, though I found your instructions to be lacking. You list "house-made grenadine" among the ingredients, but you don't bother to specify how one would go about making grenadine. You could at least link to Morgenthaler or something. It is obvious that you copied the ingredient list from a bar menu without even bothering to consider its nuances.

In short, please strive to become more refined before you go cheffin' around here.

Love,
Joe

Imbibe is a good history lesson.

The American Cocktail from Imbibe! magazine is great and just came out. A lot of stuff from the current movement.

A gift subscription to Imbibe itself would also be very welcomed.

DeGroff's The Essential Cocktail is a beautiful book.

Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails is one of the early books of the cocktail revival. Still essential.

Can't believe no one has said The Bar Book by Jeff Morganthaler, aka /u/le_cigar_volante

From the official Amazon description: Written by renowned bartender and cocktail blogger Jeffrey Morgenthaler, The Bar Book is the only technique-driven cocktail handbook out there. This indispensable guide breaks down bartending into essential techniques, and then applies them to building the best drinks. More than 60 recipes illustrate the concepts explored in the text, ranging from juicing, garnishing, carbonating, stirring, and shaking to choosing the correct ice for proper chilling and dilution of a drink. With how-to photography to provide inspiration and guidance, this book breaks new ground for the home cocktail enthusiast.

Here's some high praise from a mutual friend:
"...my favorite drinks book of the year is The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique. Mr. Morgenthaler, a well-regarded Portland, Ore.-based bartender and blogger, notes that a great cocktail requires a combination of three elements: recipe, ingredient and technique. He admits that the first two have been well-plumbed in existing books, then lasers in on the third. Just learning how to make his ingenious but simple "MacGyver Centrifuge" with cheesecloth and a salad spinner to filter fruit juices is nearly worth the cover price." - Wayne Curtis, The Wall Street Journal

As a disclaimer, I'm not affiliated with these guys whatsoever, but if anyone wants a fool proof way to do this every single time extremely easily and with a lot less space constraints, there's a product called True Cubes that is AMAZING for this. It's basically a little cooler with some silicone inserts to help separate it out. I use it all the time and can't imagine life without it.
https://www.amazon.com/True-Cubes-Clear-Cube-Tray/dp/B07422QWCP/

It's easy!

• Get one of these Coleman six-pack coolers
  
• Get one or two of these Tovolo ice cube trays
  
• Set your freezer so it gets nice and cold. -18C/0F should do it.
  
• Cut some holes in the bottom of the ice cube trays. This is easier said than done since those things are really flexible ...I used a box cutter and cut square holes.
  
• Remove the lid of the Coleman cooler (it's detachable)
  
• Fill the Coleman cooler about, oh, 2/3rds to 3/4ths the way up. Just use regular cold tap water.
  
• You don't want your cube tray sitting on the bottom of the cooler. Figure out a way to keep it off the bottom. I like to use a (cleaned, duh) cottage cheese plastic container that's about 1.5 inches tall and about 3 inches across. Anything, though, to keep your cube tray well off the bottom of the cooler.
  
• Ok, float (well, sink) your ice cube tray until it's very lightly sitting on top of the spacer you used
  
• Pop the cooler into the freezer. It'll take about 1.5 days to get frozen solid
  
• After about 1.5 days take the cooler out of the freezer and pop the block of ice out
  
• Use a bread knife to slice and dice. You'll find that you can't cut the ice very deep but if you score it and then tap the blade with a hammer or something nice and heavy then the ice will tend to split as you've scored it.
  
• Once you've extracted your ice cube tray, pop those clear cubes out. You're a [adjective the cool kids use to describe cool people] now.
  
• Hey, don't throw out all the ice that was around your cube tray! All that slag can be used for shaking or for your own drinks when you don't want to use the "good" ice.
  
  That's it. I've made hundreds of ice cubes this way and it's quite reliable.

• Bitters, in this order: Angostura, Peychaud's, Orange (I like Regan's).
  
• A great cocktail book. I like these two a lot. There are many others. Pick one that piques your interest.
  
• A bottle each of sweet and dry vermouth, kept refrigerated and sealed with a vacuum cork. I like Dolin, if you can find it. You can get into other aperitif wines later -- Cocchi, Dubonnet, Punt e Mes, etc. -- but start here.
  
  With these elements in place, plus some groceries like fresh fruit (limes, lemons, orange, etc), sugar (remember simple syrup is 1 part water 1 part sugar), and soda water, you'll be able to make old fashioneds, rickeys, collinses, manhattans, and dozens of other cocktails.

Looks good to me, although I don't see the need for two different sized shakers.

If you want to add something, perhaps a good channel knife and pairing knife could do you some good. Also a juicer! Those are really handy when making cocktails from fresh juice. "Chef'n" is a great brand, and by far my favorite juicer. http://www.amazon.com/Chefn-FreshForce-Citrus-Juicer-Lemon/dp/B002XOB0P0

A little pricey but certainly worth it's weight in gold.

First step, get some books!

The Craft of the Cocktail

This is a great beginning book. It's got the right advice, and all of the recipes are spot on. This book will keep you busy for a very long time, as well as teach you the proper way to make each drink.

If you start to get really serious about drink-making, check out:

Imbibe! by David Wondrich. It is remarkable in its authenticity and attention to detail. As interesting as it is, it is more of a history book than a recipe book, so it may be hard to swallow for those less passionate about where the classics really came from.

Aside from that, things to keep in mind:

• There is NO substitute for fresh citrus juice.
  
• The classics are classics for a reason. Try a recipe out before you decide to tweak it (sweeter, more booze, ect.)
  
• Get a jigger! Measure stuff out! You'll be glad you did.
  
• Have simple syrup on hand. Sugar dissolved in water, equal parts.
  
  And, if nothing else, try this.
  
  
• 2 oz Sazerac Rye Whiskey
  
• 3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
  
• 3/4 oz Simple Syrup
  
• 1 Fresh Egg White (just trust me)
  
  Put it all into a shaking tin, and shake without ice. Add ice, shake, and strain into whatever. A mason jar is preferred. A lot of people get turned off by the egg white thing, but it will change your life.

The 3 piece shaker is more work to clean and has a smaller capacity than a 2 piece shaker. That hawthorne strainer looks useless. the spring on it is not nearly taught enough to filter out small pieces of ice or pulp. I don't use speed pourers at home and don't know why someone would want to.

Cocktail kingdom carries top of the line stuff. To start I'd get a 2 piece shaker from them, their hawthorne strainer, and then any julep and tea strainer will do. The oxo jigger is very nice for home users. I've also heard good things about "top shelf bar supply", and I believe their stuff is more affordable.

cocktail kingdom sells the best muddler, but you don't need that at the beginning.

You'll want a hand-held citrus juicer eventually. Something like this is the way to go, with as much metal as possible.

for garnishes you'll want a y-peeler, and for a y-peeler you want kuhn-rikon. 3 of those are still like 1/3 cheaper than brands that work way worse.

barspoons are nice but you can get by with a chopstick or just a regular old spoon.

Meh. I guess the third one. Best reviews and it has a metal-on-metal shaker, which is my personal preference. If your interest persists you will probably end up upgrading almost everything in the kit.

You could probably get by for a long time with just a shaker, jigger, barspoon, hawthorne strainer, and a fine mesh strainer.

$47 total and all those products have a much better chance of persisting in a cocktail enthusiast's equipment for the long haul. You could later add quality versions of the other stuff (muddler, more jiggers, etc).

I have owned (and still use!) everything in that above list. Though I am considering upgrading the hawthorne strainer to one with a tighter coil in the spring (I have heard good things about Cocktail Kingdom's).

Awesome! Let me know how you like it, or if you got any questions. While you're buying stuff, if you like his blog, pick up Morgenthaler's new book its amazing.

Get 3-4 tools;

A Japanese-style jigger or a 50ml graduated cylinder

Ice. (And learn how it is made properly)

A cocktail shaker.

A strainer comes in handy too.



The cheapest way to practice; mix whatever booze you have on hand that is around 80 proof with some form of sugar, (honey, 1:1 sugar-to-water, 2:1 sugar-to-water, agave, Demerara sugar, etc...) and some form of citrus (fresh lime/ lemon juice). Just play around with the ratios of each (booze, citrus, sugar) till you learn how each affects one another.

For beginning bartending, I recommend familiarizing yourself with how alcohol is synthesized, the different distillation processes, and the types of booze from around the world.

From there, look on YouTube.

u/CocktailChem has a nice playlist for beginners called Basic Cocktails

Here is a couple of other playlists for you

The Educated Barfly YT

Steve the Bartender 365 days playlist

How To Drink

United States Bartenders Guild (USBG) seminars


Additionally, look for some books;

Cocktail codex(here)

Savoy Cocktail book (here)

Liquid Intelligence (here)

Smuggler’s cove (here)

Tiki (here)

The Aviary Cocktail Book (here)

In addition to Shrubs: An Old Fashioned Drink for Modern Times, (recommended below by /u/badhoneylips), I recommend Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails: Restorative Vintage Cocktails, Mocktails, and Elixirs.

The "Ginger Lime Shrub" from Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails is excellent. Like many (most?) shrub, it calls for apple cider vinegar.

For a twist, you can also make the "Quick Balsamic-Fig Shrub" which uses balsamic vinegar to great effect.

The Kentucky Derby is coming up this weekend, so I thought I'd put together a batch version of the Mint Julep that makes it easy to serve large groups at once.

This recipe uses blender muddling to get a better mint flavor than standard muddling. And it also makes it easy to make many drinks at once. You won't be adding ice to the blender so you can fit many multiples of the recipe below into the blender at once. Just don't make them too far in advance — the mint begins to change flavor after about 15 minutes.

• 4 oz bourbon
  
• 2.5g mint leaves (about 12)
  
• 0.5 oz 1:1 simple syrup
  
• Garnish: mint sprig per cup
  
  Serves 2.
  
  Blender-muddle mint and bourbon: put mint and bourbon into blender. Liquid must completely cover blades to blend effectively so prepare at least two servings (as written above) or more at once. Blend on slow for a few seconds then fast for a few seconds. This method will extract more of the target mint flavor and less secondary bitter flavors from the same amount of mint than muddling and prevents the mint from browning.
  
  Fine-strain and add simple syrup. Divide the liquid between two julep cups. Add some crushed ice, stir, then continue adding crushed ice until it's heaping. Clap mint sprig and add it and a straw to cup.
  
  This blender-muddling technique was developed by Dave Arnold and is described in greater detail in his excellent book Liquid Intelligence. Here's a video of him demonstrating both nitro-muddling and blender muddling.

For gin, there was a post recently about gin here. I personally, I think that Beefeater is a good starting out gin.

For books, I recommend The Bar Book and [Death & Co] (https://www.amazon.com/Death-Co-Modern-Classic-Cocktails/dp/1607745259/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498140137&sr=8-1&keywords=death+and+co) they both are great books.

A good way to learn more is to find a cocktail bar near you, go during slow time, which is usually an hour or two after they open and talk with the bartenders.

I have a copy of this book, and it's pretty thorough:

https://www.amazon.com/Bittermans-Field-Guide-Bitters-Amari/dp/1449470696/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491065472&sr=8-1&keywords=bitterman%27s+field+guide+to+bitters+%26+amari

He goes into a lot of detail about he whole process. I recently did a modified recipe out of that book using tonka beans and cacao, and it turned out awesome. Being a bar, you might not be able to use tonka beans though, as the final product is for sale.

Garbage in, garbage out. If you use something like everclear, you're probably going to end up with bitters that have that harsh everclear edge to them. Bitterman himself usually uses alcohol that is about 50%. He uses a blend of higher proof and lower proof alcohols to make the mix. When I made my above mentioned batch, I used Wray and Nephew overproof and El Dorado 3 year. I made mine with rum drinks in mind, so I used rum as a base. You could use bourbon, or whatever else tickles your fancy as your base. Rittenhouse comes out of the bottle at 100 proof.

Any way, read the book. It's full of good info. It's not difficult to make your own tasty bitters. There are several places online to buy your herbs. Mountain Rose herbs had everything I needed except for the tonka beans, which I got off Amazon.

Have fun!

I am the buddy! I finally found /u/buzcauldron's posts in the wild :)

I used Brad Parsons's Orange Bitters recipe from his book Bitters: https://www.amazon.com/Bitters-Spirited-Cure-All-Cocktails-Formulas/dp/1580083595

If you search around, you can find a few bootleg blog posts floating around, but I highly recommend you get the book. Great resource.

People who asked in this thread:
/u/austinmiles
/u/sequoia_summers

oh man, i need to take a picture of my old fashioned's... I've got the BIG ice cubes and that would work awesome for this. I also fill my glass up with bourbon, it's a REALLY strong pour, I'm hoping this picture is towards the end of his drink

edit:

here are my drinks 1 and 2

these are the ice cube molds http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00395FHRO/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

First, I go to the local vinegar and oil store and buy a bunch of amber 8oz screw top glass bottles like these. Then, I'll get my 750ml bottle of Carpano or Amontillado and pour it into 3 8oz bottles. I'll then use something like this to seal all 3. You just spray into the bottle for a second or two, the argon is heavier than O2 so it blows all of the O2 out. You then just seal tightly, label (I use a label printer) and refrigerate. Since they're smaller bottles they become a lot easier to store in the fridge. I don't use the argon every time I open the bottle because I'm only oxidizing a third of the whole and I can usually go through that in the 6-9mo it lasts. If it goes bad, I dump a few oz and crack open a fresh new 8oz bottle, the waste is minimal.


I wish I could claim this as my own invention but I got it from Craft Cocktails at Home which is full of great info like this.

It is! Mine are the tovolo king trays, but it probably looks a bit bigger than it is because the glass is pretty small. When I went to look it up I noticed these bigger cubes for the first time. I have the sphere version of that and it works well, so I imagine these mega-cubes are nice too.

I use the OXO Steel Double Jigger. It has easy to read markings for smaller measurements and is thick enough in the center that I can hold a tin in my left hand, the jigger between my left index and middle fingers, a bottle in my right, and tilt the jigger to pour the ingredients without having to set the tin down. This comes in super handy when someone orders a drink not on the menu and I have to leave my well to go to the back bar, where none of my spirits have speed pours.

I kindof agree with your points on peach/lavender/chocolate bitters, but I don't know if I feel that they can never have their place in a drink. They probably should be called tinctures in stead (see bottom for distinction), as they are basically single flavored.

However, I do feel you're leading up to making a point of how "the proper bitters" are used as rescue operations for a cocktail, by removing unwanted finish/adding nose - and then you shy away from that point entirely, saying it's okay to do so. I think if you're working on a new cocktail you should wait for as long as possible in your workshop process before adding the bitters, as otherwise you may be using this to amend an off acidity profile/remove unwanted taste. When you get a base recipe down though, using bitters to add some complexity or enhance certain aspects of the flavors that certainly does have it's place. In this context, I feel the "single flavor bitters"/tinctures have their place. In a stirred cocktail f.ex., adding some chocolate bitters to the drink may add an element to it while not sweetening it any more, which could be something you'd want if your drink isn't already using a sweetening agent/syrup that you could remake and incorporate the chocolate into.

DISTINCTION BETWEEN BITTERS AND TINCTURES:
Tinctures: a single ingredient boiled down to extract flavour, and then put on alcohol to preserve it.
Bitters: a collection of tinctures carefully blended to create a complex flavor profile. I'd say you need probably three tinctures together to get a "proper" bitter, mixing two doesn't quite feel like it has too much purpose/complexity to it.

If you really want to get nerdy about the subject, I can recommend this book. I have a copy and have read through it, but I'm still too put off by the complexity/time aspect of the whole process to get started on something like that. Also, getting a bigger apartment and a better grasp on taste compositions is something I'd prefer to have before really going into this stuff...

So I'm guessing by the hot tub, and the isolated cabin in the woods, that you want some intermingling and socializing to happen. I would say pick up an assortment of booze, but make a punch!!

This is exactly what a punch is for ! Taking a group of people and focusing them around a focal point in the room (the punch bowl) to open up conversation.

http://www.amazon.com/Punch-Delights-Dangers-Flowing-Bowl/dp/0399536167

Since its in April, I would definitely recommend getting this book, texting everybody to see what kind of booze they like, and whipping up one of the recipes in this book.

Cheers!

If you want to get deep into the world of Punch, I highly recommend David Wondrich's Punch! book. It gives the history of the "flowing bowl" along with a ton of historical punch recipes.

Here are Wondrich's Proportions for a proper Punch:

• 1 part Sour
  
  
• 1 part Sweet
  
  
• 4 parts Strong
  
  
• 6 parts Weak
  
  Have fun!

My girlfriend just got me Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas for Christmas, and it's got tons of fascinating information on bitters.

One interesting idea I ran across was to rub a dash of bitters between your palms to release the aromatics and allow you to smell all the complexity that you would otherwise miss if you just tried to taste the bitters straight. I tried it last night and was amazed at the differences between all the bitters in my pantry.

I don't know what a "tip-jigger" is, but I use this guy and it's fantastic. Has measurements in tablespoons and ounces and it looks pretty slick too.

BOOBS

i've been using the tovolo trays for both big and small cubes. they're fine. the spheres look nicer for sure.

i generally don't care for the old fashioned, or that class of drink...i usually need a little dash of citrus to balance it out. but i do love the corn n oil and the japanese cocktail...

I have these and I love them, they work like a charm.

I have this book, and while there are great recipes in it, I find that I hardly ever use it.

The pages are laid out in a weird, confusing manner; the book is really big and won't stay open while I'm working, and honestly I didn't think it was very well-edited; there are a lot of "space-filler" drinks in there.

To me, the ultimate bible is Gary (Gaz now) Regan's The Joy of Mixology.

I agree with grerab, you definitely want to start small and build it up. Nothing feels worse than buying an expensive liqueur that is a "required" bottle for a bar only to find out that you don't enjoy any drinks that use it. That said, it's pretty safe to have a nice high quality bottle each of whiskey (bourbon or rye), gin, and rum.

I'm a "buy once, cry once" kind of person when it comes to tools. You can find some lovely vintage cocktail coupes at antique stores for a reasonable price that will add a lot of character to your bar. I also like the quality of the basic tools available from Cocktail Kingdom, if a touch overpriced.

Again, to echo grerab, I would also suggest a long-handled bar spoon, Boston shaker set, hawthorn strainer, and one of these jiggers. If you find you like a lot of drinks with citrus and want to forego the citrus juicer, I would suggest at least picking up a cheap tea strainer to catch all of the bits from your fingers.

I'm not affiliated with this author in any ways, but I always suggest Dave Stolte's website and book to anyone getting started.

Those are from a Tovolo King Cube ice tray. It's pretty awesome for drinks on the rocks. <$9 on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/kitchen-dining/dp/B00395FHRO

Everyone has their own idea of what process best makes a batch of bitters most successful. My recipes are going to be different from other peoples'. I've been messing with combinations of fresh key lime peel, dried lime peel, dried ginger, gentian root, cardamon, cassia chips, and a very small amount of hibiscus. Figure out what makes a DnS to you stand out, and capitalize on how you can accentuate that in a (non)traditional way.

And when all else fails, read Bitters for solid info.

Might be a bit obvious for this sub but Dave Wondrich's book Imbibe! is a fascinating look into the history of American bars, cocktails, and the Professor Jerry Thomas. Highly recommended reading!

Someone on this sub recommended this book and I recently ordered it. Pretty excited to learn some good shrubs myself!

Great list. I would only add that if you have 10 people that can be a lot of downtime if you are waiting on cocktails.

In the joy of mixology Gary Regan has a few suggestions for bottled cocktails that you can make beforehand and have available so people aren't waiting for their cocktails to be made. I had the bottled Manhattan and it was quite nice. I would also consider making some sort of punch, having beer and or other drinks so that people who don't like bitters or prohibition style cocktails (they exist!) aren't forced to partake. It also means that they don't have to wait to get themselves a drink.

I also find myself referencing The PDT Cocktail Book and Bitters often when trying to come up with custom, original cocktails or modified versions.

I've also found trial and error to be a great friend in crafting a new cocktail. Sometimes a specific flavor from a bitters, specific spirit or fruit juice combination can knock a recipe up (or down)

Yes, as well as Bitters: A Spirited History by Brad Thomas Parsons and especially Field Guide to Bitters and Amari by Mark Bitterman. All three excellent reads with a little different focus. If you're wanting to DIY, Field Guide is the way to go. As far as gardening tips go, I can't say I'm as well-versed in that category.

Field Guide to Bitters and Amari

Bitters: A Spirited History

Liquid Intelligence also has some neat infusion and bitters-making sections, but it's mostly centered around rapid infusions w the iSi Whipper.

If you really want to try something different, and don't mind buying a few obscure ingredients, this book on old cocktails would be a great one to try to do cover to cover. I really like it, even though I pick and choose which recipes I can do or will buy the ingredients for.

Make your own! Seriously, get this book and start experimenting. There's a great orange bitters recipe in there along with a bunch of other great stuff.

I should mention the process is a month or two, so you may still need to find a temporary replacement meanwhile...

Yeah I have one of those. I never use it anymore now that I have two of these.

The ones in the picture are awful and you're torturing yourself. They definitely look cool, but they're just too small. If you want a full measure, you have to be super careful with it or you'll spill.

They’re pretty easy to make with something like this.

The tough part is getting clear ice.

Edit: formatting

Jeffrey Morganthaler's fantastic new book on cocktail techniques has a great little section on this (page 158). When dry shaking, he says to align your tin/glass (tin/tin) centrally, rather than at a slight angle as you usually would when sealing a boston shaker. He says this gives a better seal, as the tins wont contract as they would with ice.

Here's what I started with: https://www.amazon.com/Bitters-Spirited-Cure-All-Cocktails-Formulas/dp/1580083595

There are 15-20 different recipes in here and it's a great reference with good instructions for the whole process.

Get this juicer, which is probably the most effective for small-batch juicing available. It's quick, easy to clean, and has very little loss.

As others have said, citrus juice does deteriorate quickly, usually within 30 minutes to an hour. However, whole citrus (lemons and limes and sometimes oranges; I don't usually deal with whole grapefruit) does keep for a long time in the fridge. Get a bag, toss it in the fridge, toss out any that mold or rot ASAP, and use as needed. For context, I just finished off a 5# bag of limes I got two months ago at Costco and had to throw out maybe one.

These sphere ones keep showing up on Amazon's Lightning Deals for $7 or so. I bought a pair and think they're pretty neat, of course my ice is never as clear as I want it...but that's not the mold's fault.

How does Liquid Intelligence compare to The Cocktail Lab? In TCL, all that equipment but then using lots of essences and almond milk (for orgeat) made the whole thing suspect to me.

Edit: Just realized I got The Cocktail Lab mixed up with Craft Cocktails at Home. That's the one I feel takes a lot of shortcuts. Looking at The Cocktail Lab, yeah, it's super geeky.

I like the Tovolo 2" cube trays for my Old Fashioneds. Less surface area and higher volume chills as well with far less dilution. It's also easier to stir with these.

To expand on this a bit, here's an excerpt from Jeffrey Morgenthaler's excellent new book with a few more examples of matching the sweetener and bitters to the spirit to make an old fashioned.

4.99 with free shipping It's a jigger, make repeatably good cocktails for the rest of your life.

Hey! Finished on my birthday. When should I expect my shipment? :P

What's your favorite of the lot so far? Also, the description of your process lines up with every recipe I've read so far for bitters -- except the infusion typically is 3 weeks with the water infusion sitting for 1 week after the boil. Several of the recipes in the book I have (https://www.amazon.com/Bitters-Spirited-Cure-All-Cocktails-Formulas/dp/1580083595) do seem to add syrups, molasses, or even honey to the mix, so take that as you will. Looks like someone already suggested adding a little bit of simple to the bitters as well.

If you're looking to build out your home bar a bit, pick up a bottle of absinthe. If you can get your hands on Benedictine too, and your dry vermouth is fresh, make Chrysanthemums.

Negronis are a classic choice - you really can't screw them up. With what you have, squeeze a bit of fresh lime and make Pegu Clubs

All that said, punches are great - you can make them in advance and enjoy socializing with your friends instead of furiously manufacturing cocktails. Here's a recipe to get started, but if you pick up David Wondrich's book on punch, there's plenty more ideas there.

There's a great book on Shrubs that's worth picking up.

https://www.amazon.com/Shrubs-Fashioned-Drink-Modern-Times/dp/1581572441

For friends, I use a mixing glass and strain.

For myself, I go for convenience and build in my measuring cup.

• I put a large ice cube in a 5.1 oz whiskey glass and put that in the freezer.
  
• Then I add 2 oz of spirit to a 2 oz Oxo measuring cup. (e.g. Buffalo Trace bourbon)
  
• I add the sweetener and bitters to the cup. (e.g. 2 bar spoons simple syrup, 3 dashes Angostura bitters)
  
• I add a small ice cube to the cup and carefully slosh it back and forth with the bar spoon until the ice melts.
  
• I retrieve the glass and fresh large ice cube from the freezer and pour in the cocktail from the mixing cup.

Unless you are looking to look fancy don't waste your money. Just go to amazon/walmart and find a shaker tin, all-in-one "jigger", and a pint glass from your local cabinet. That is really all you need to get started.

If you want to add on some stuff just to make life easier you can get a bar spoon, muddler, strainer, fine strainer (get rid of those ugly ice bits), and a citrus juicer.

Save your money for alcohol to make more drinks!

I’d recommend liquid Intelligence

1. The Bar Book by Jeffrey Morgenthaler is probably a great place to start off.
   
   
2. Learn classics then just experiment with substitutions and different infusions, or invert ratios (especially with something like a Manhattan/Martinez)
   One of my current favourite cocktails is arguably a "Reverse Manhattan with absinthe instead of bitters".
   
   
3. My Favourite Absinthe

It's also an important part of making bitters with dry spices. That's where I've gotten my knowledge of it from. There's a great book called Bitters that goes into detail about handling spices when doing infusions.

I think most bartenders consider this to be the bitters Bible, $6.99 on kindle. Happy bittering =D

https://www.amazon.com/Bitters-Spirited-Cure-All-Cocktails-Formulas/dp/1580083595

I like these larger ones better

Go pick up the book 12 Bottle Bar by the Solmonson's, work your way through that, then pick up The Bar Book by Jeffrey Morgenthaler, and work your way through that. Then if you want to get all crazy on recipes get the PDT app on your iPhone or pick up the PDT or Death and Co books if you don't have an iPhone. Then if you want to get crazy with techniques... Pick up Liquid Intelligence

Brand suggestions?

Bourbon - Old Granddad or Buffalo Trace
Scotch - Famous Grouse Blended and Laphroaig 10
Irish Whiskey - Bushmills
Brandy - Paul Masson VSOP
Cognac - Jacques Cardin VSOP Cognac
Vodka - Tito's
Gin - Aviation/New Amsterdam and Tanqueray
Tequila - All the Espolon stuff for Blanco, Reposado, Anejo
Mezcal - Del Maguey Vida
Rum - Flor De Cana 4 year+Plantation 5 year+Myers (people may scoff at Myers, but it's a signature style in a way, good for the price too)
Vermouth - Dolin Dry Vermouth and Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Keep them in the fridge after opening!)
Bitters - Angostura, Regan's Orange bitters
Others - Campari, St. Germain, Benedictine, Pernod Pastis, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
Non-alcoholic - Lemons, Limes, Oranges, Fever Tree Ginger Beer, Fever Tree Tonic Water, Fever Tree Seltzer, Eggs, Cream, Orange Blossom Water

Watch small screen network's videos, read jeffrey morgenthaler's blog, and keep an open mind.

Don't know if I missed anything.

I love this guy

https://www.amazon.ca/Bar-Book-Elements-Cocktail-Technique/dp/145211384X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=the+bar+book&qid=1571369884&sprefix=the+bar+&sr=8-1

The Bar Book is a great book.

Jeffrey Morgenthaler's book is a great starting point.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bar-Book-Jeffrey-Morgenthaler/dp/145211384X

I usually like my old fashions served up, but those who like them on the rocks I got these: http://www.amazon.com/Tovolo-Sphere-Ice-Molds-Set/dp/B007ACTN54/ref=pd_bxgy_k_img_y

I recommend Bitters and The Drunken Botanist as well!

I've made some bitters from Brad Parson's Bitters Book, definitely a good starting point.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NNO2X0/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484408642&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=boston+shaker&dpPl=1&dpID=31d8BgihRpL&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000DAQ93/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484408783&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=hawthorne+strainer&dpPl=1&dpID=51H0dKd5jBL&ref=plSrch

Used this for 3 years, works great, never leaks. Cobbler shakers are kind of clunky and leak on me. With the Hawthorne strainer you will be ready to make 95% of all drinks.

This is the Rum Old Fashioned from Jeffrey Morgenthaler's Bar Book. In the book, Jeffrey uses homemade orange bitters (the recipe for which is also in the book). I haven't gotten around to making those yet, so I used Angostura Orange instead.

Jeffrey also specifies 12-year-old rum for the recipe, but I suppose you could use any good sipping rum for this cocktail.

I really don't think a julep strainer is necessary, especially if you are using a metal tin for a mixing glass.

I also think with that jigger you are going to run into trouble not having 1/4 oz line on it. It's got less flair but I know many people on here (myself included) use this

Edit: you are also definitely going to want to get a citrus press, I have this guy if you're already ordering from cocktail knigdom

I've been experimenting with frozen cocktails for some backyard weddings I'm bartending this summer here in pdx. If anyone has experience with slush machines hit me up with your 2 cents.

• 1oz reposado
  
• 1oz orgeat
  
• .75oz lemon juice
  
• 1 bottle Underberg
  
• blend with 1 cup crushed ice, garnish with that bottle yo
  
  credit: Brad Thomas Parsons excellent book Amaro

I use Tovolo Sphere Ice Molds to make the ice, works quite well.

Amazon link here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007ACTN54/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_uArHzbHS410VW

I highly recommend getting a cocktail book like this:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Joy-Mixology-Consummate-Bartenders/dp/0609608843/

It covers the bulk of the basics that you'll be able to make with what you listed plus fresh citrus and sugar.

I don't know much about local argentine tastes, but the simple cocktails I make most often at home are

-Caipirihna

-Sazerac

-Old Fashioned

-Martini / Martinez

-Gimlet

-Americano

-Negroni

-Daiquiri


All of these are quick/easy/accessible and are 3-4 ingredients.

Outside your list, but I would recommend a couple books if they don't already occupy your shelves:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Bar-Book-Elements-Technique/dp/145211384X

and

http://www.amazon.com/The-PDT-Cocktail-Book-Bartenders/dp/1402779232

A good book is (the appropriately titled) Bitters that gives a history of bitters as well as recipes. Amazon link There are also a lot of recipes online.

Here's the OXO strainer. Sucks that it's so expensive there. It's $7 US here, and I do prefer it to a standard Hawthorne, however the standard will certainly get the job done.

I also prefer a French shaker myself. That's certainly a matter of preference. I feel like I'm seeing more shakers other than the standard Boston popping up at high end bars these days, so I'm not alone.

I don't really like the cobbler shakers. When they get cold the cap freezes on, turning them into an unreliable version of a French shaker anyway (still have to worry it might just fly off when you're shaking) so why not just go French?

I use these silicone ice molds (big) (medium/smallish). If you want to do a little extra work, here are instructions to make clear ice.

I liked this book called "bitters" Bitters book

I use this OXO measuring jigger. I wanted one that had a 2oz capacity, and having both oz and tbsp gradations is also nice.

Cocktail Codex for understanding builds



Death and Co for technique, classics, and variations



Liquid Intelligence for understanding the “why” to the “how”



Smuggler’s Cove because tiki is sort of its own thing in a lot of ways



Imbibe! for historical context




Some honorable mentions include Jim Meehan’s Bartender’s Manual, Regarding Cocktails, and The Dead Rabbit: Mixology and Mayhem.

I use the recipes in this book, and I quarter the amounts. Some of the ingredients are already in small amounts (like 1/4 tsp) so I just eyeball those.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1580083595/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_h6.5ybAM2MS49

As for the alcohol, I'm sure you can find some kind of high percentage neutral spirits in Canada. I would try calling some liquor stores or speciality liquor stores and ask for neutral spirits or grain alcohol. But if that fails just stick with the strongest vodka you can find.

If you can't get your hands on Death and Co and need something to pass the time, I would highly recommend Liquid Intelligence by Dave Arnold

Yep. I'm thinking it could be [this]
(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007ACTN54/ref=s9_acsd_top_hd_bw_b2h7yVf_c_x_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=7PDQZCGBARSVC41R9X91&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=59a5c302-a991-54ab-ad7b-a31aeb298552&pf_rd_i=2469549011) model.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Joy-Mixology-Consummate-Bartenders/dp/0609608843

This book breaks down drinks into a few well defined archetypes. Highly suggest it.

Gary Regan's Joy of Mixology has a detailed list of liqueurs by density, in case anybody wants to level up their layering abilities.

The coffee-pecan, cherry hazelnut and grapefruit bitters came out of the bitters book. I'll definitely be posting pictures of the final results. We're planning on having a drink night in May to try all of these.

If I understood correctly, bitters are made by using a high proof clear spirit (like vodka) to extract the essences of herbs/veggies/fruits/etc. The old name for essences with only one flavor was tincture, and the mixture of two or more tinctures or one made with two or more flavors is a bitters. This is the book I read about the history and making of bitters.

As many have mentioned before me on this sub, pick up Liquid Intelligence by Dave Arnold. If this sort of thing interests you, he has a whole section explaining this exactly, alongside an experiment for doubters. He also delves deep into the chem/physics of anything and everything cocktail related.


https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Intelligence-Science-Perfect-Cocktail/dp/0393089037/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536783466&sr=8-1&keywords=liquid+intelligence

Don't forget about Boozehound and Imbibe!

This book has the recipe in it. The problem with root beer bitters is that they can not be sold commercially due to the use of sassafras (a mild carcinogen) in them. The book is a pretty good read and has a number of homemade bitter recipes.