Home Bartending 101

Always have your bar on standby for those ad hoc pre-parties at your house ....

Lately I’ve been drinking quite a fair bit and after being inspired by Thirsty Blogger, I’ve decide to write a piece on bartering as a must have guy skill in your day to day arsenal. Part of being a great guy and party host is to know your spirits and the drinks you serve up plays an important role in getting the party going. For most parties, the key stuff you must haves are water, ice cubes, soft drinks Coke and 7 Up), beer and table wine as staples. For a dash of flair and sophistication to your party, and also a memorable experience for your guests, you’ll need to know some basic bar-tendering skills.

For a start, most mixes revolves around 2 popular staples: Vodka and Whisky. here are 2 simple mixes you can do easily for most guests:

Screwdriver: 1 part vodka, 1 part orange juice. Serve on ice rocks in a highball glass

Whisky Coke: 1 part whisky, 1 part Coke. Serve on ice rocks in a lowball glass

Yeah I know, those are the basics and you want to know the stuff that knock the socks off your guests right? Ok here are some signature drinks you can use in your party to leave a great positive impression for the night (or not depends how much brain damage you have inflicted).

The right size for the job

Cosmopolitan: A favorite among the ladies and featured in Sex and the City TV series; 1 part triple sec, 1 part vodka, 2 parts lime juice and 2 part cranberry juice. Shaken with ice and serve on a martini glass with a slice of lime and cherry garnish.

Long Island Iced Tea: The iced tea with a can of whoop ass; 1 part gin, 1 part vodka, 1 part rum, 1 part tequila, 1 part triple sec, 1/2 part lime cordial, mixed and top it off with Coke in a highball glass.

Shaken, not stirred please....

Now you have recipes to mess around with, as a mixologist wannabe, you will need a set of glasses for various types of drinks. Always get glassware cheap off places like Ikea and its ok to go for generics as breakages happen quite often when your guests are tipsy. You’ll also need a shaker, very useful for straining the ice from the drinks when its not suppose to be on the rocks. And you’ll need ice cubes.. alot of ice!

Finally, the most important, and also fun aspect of bar-tendering is to know your drinks. Be adventurous and try experiment with the mixes parts and see what tastes good and adjust it to your preference if its not. There is no hard and fast rules so just let your imagination run on this. For more recipes, you can always google it and as always, don’t drink and drive…. drink at your place and avoid the police road blocks. Enjoy.