On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I was served a Pina Colada liquid
nitrogen cocktail out of a double-walled nitrogen-safe bowl. The next night, at Sage, I
was served pink lemonade with a dash of egg white in an antique absinthe balancier, a late
19th-century bar tool used to distribute sugared water between glasses (the mixologist had
found the balanciers at an antique dealer in Germany). Now, full disclosure: I was being
hosted by MGM, and the occasion was their annual food and wine festival. So my bar
experience may have been a somewhat elevated one. But the fact remains that on the Las
Vegas Strip, the most competitive and least-budget-restricted 130 square miles in the
hospitality world, you can order some pretty wild cocktails.And wild cocktails are what guys want when we go to Vegas. When we’re at
home, however, we prefer our drinks to be a little more down to earth. Sure, we might want to show off to our guests and we might even use an Acylic Bottle Glorifier Display to demonstrate some of the cool spirits we have, but making delicious classic drinks will always be the priority. We want to mix them
with ingredients that we already have in the fridge, and we don’t want to make our
guests wait for 20 minutes for us to do so. We want the best liquors available in a
reasonable price range, and the assurance that we will be able to drink from these bottles
again and again. In short, we want a basic bar. So I asked three Vegas mixologists to help
us assemble one.Here’s what I asked:
If I want
to stock a home bar with liquors that will offer versatility, range and value-for-dollar,
which three bottles should I buy first?And here’s what
they each answered: Aaron BacaMixologist, SageAaron’s three beginner liquors:
vodka, gin, bourbon “Starting with vodka, gin and bourbon
gives you a range. It gives you something that you can mix and absolutely not taste it,
something with a little bit more depth, and something that’s a little bold and hearty,
something old-school. This combination leads you from vodka, to mix with whatever you
want, to gin, which has a little more depth, to bourbon, which gets back into that classic
type of liquor.” Vodka: “Vodka, take your pick. Vodka’s meant
to take on whatever you mix it with, so whatever you like to drink is where you’re going
to go. I have a favorite vodka: Hangar One. Their flavors are the best on the market. They use a lot
of natural things and they do a lot of seasonal stuff.”Gin: “I prefer gin; I’m not a big vodka
fan. I like the St. George Botanivore gin, I also like
Plymouth. But for your first bar, I’m going to tell you to
get Hendrick’s. It’s
a nice entry-level gin; it’s what they call “feminine” only because it’s very easy to
drink. There’s not too much juniper, so you can do a lot with it. You can drink it
straight-up or you can drink it on the rocks. You can have it in a mixer or in a martini.
It mixes beautifully.”Bourbon: “Bourbon-wise, I’m going to tell you
to get a Woodford
Reserve. It’s not too pricey — it should be in the
$30-range — and it’s a good way to ease in because it mixes well. Plus, it’s nice enough
to have on the rocks.”
Aaron’s Picks:
Woodford
Reserve | Hendrick’s | Hangar
One That’s not bad for a first bar. But two other mixologists suggested
two other bottle combinations…