Everything You Need in a Home Bar for Less than $100

Want to impress the ladies/party guests with your home bar with drinks and cocktails that go a step beyond college booze-and-soda parties and beer pong?

Are you over the legal drinking age?

Got $100?

The Hardware

Some bartenders might look at this list and gasp, but if we’re going to do this cheaply, we’ve got to cut it down to the bare, bare essentials. But you’d be surprised at just how much you can do if you start out with the right purchases to begin with.

• Stanton Trading Jigger/Pony Combo $6. Your basic measuring tool–and measuring does matter so you don’t go too strong or too weak. A dollar more will buy you a fancier one, but both do the same thankless measuring job.
• ChefLand Boston Shaker $12. Ditch the fancy straining techniques and use what are essentially two metal cups to shake and strain. Watch Good Eats’ “Raising the Bar” to see how this is done. It’s easier than you think.
• Glasses: Just get basic cocktail glasses and martini glasses. Four of each is a good goal. Sets of these can be pricey, so be a little more proactive here. I found my martini glasses at Goodwill for less than $10. You can find the same online. We’ll estimate costs at $25.
• Cocktail strainer. You should be doing your straining with the Boston shaker–watch “Raising the Bar” to see it in action. I’ve never really had to use an extra strainer, but it doesn’t hurt to have a Julep strainer just in case. Or, really, a decent cocktail strainer is not a major expense. You can get both for less than $10, probably, and many fancy mixologists would probably recommend you have them on hand. $4.
• Optional: Clear plastic squirt bottles. Buy your own limes, squeeze ‘em fresh, keep ‘em in a handy squirt bottle so you’re not constantly making a mess. Also good for simple syrup. $5.

Note: watch “Raising the Bar” (link at the bottom of this post) to see how I use a Boston shaker. Most YouTube videos will tell you to strain with a cocktail strainer, which is fine, but not always necessary.

Total for hardware: $47.

Alcohol

We’re looking for a low investment-to-amount-of-usable-cocktails ratio here. Versatility. And we’re also looking for cocktails that are a step above “college frat party screwdrivers.”

I’m also not going to recommend a lot of alcohol at the initial startup because:

1. People like different things.
2. Alcohol is an easy “add as you need” item.
3. You can slowly build up your stock over time. Let’s say the initial party at your place costs you $100 to build the home bar; next month the party will only cost like $25 because you’ll still have everything from last time. Eventually it should cost you just basic fresh items like limes, mint leaves, etc.–i.e., a few bucks to throw a party. Think of this as your startup kit.

According to Gizmodo, the five most versatile items you can get are:

Vodka. Gin. Bourbon. Bitters. Sweet Vermouth.

To bare-bones it, get either vodka or gin, bourbon is optional, and choose your vermouth based on whether you wanna make martinis or Manhattans.

• Vodka or Gin: Gizmodo says get them both. But consider this: just about anything you’ll want to make with gin, you can make with vodka. Martinis, gimlets, vodka-and-tonic, etc. And since cheap vodka is generally better than cheap gin, and vodka is more versatile to begin with…just get vodka. I say get the cheap, but not bottom-dollar vodka. Maybe vodka experts can taste the difference between okay and great, but I can’t. Or splurge on it, because Vodka is by far the most versatile booze you can buy. $9-20.
• Rum. After vodka, rum is the most versatile drink: daiquiris, mojitos, mai tai, and the ubiquitous cuba libre. I typically spend $15 on a decent new bottle of rum.
• Optional: Bourbon or whiskey. Bourbon gives you Old-Fashioneds and Mint Juleps, two of the most popular cocktails. Whiskey can be used with your sweet vermouth in a Manhattan. Highly effective, but costly, which is why it’s optional. $20.

Total for alcohol: $24-35, bare bones, $44-55 optional.

Total bare bones thus far: $71-82.

Modifiers

This is where you add the touch of suave that even a bare bones bar will need to have. Luckily, you can add this touch for dirt cheap because modifiers cost next to nothing and last longer than you’d think–except tonic water, which goes flat in one night.

• Dry vermouth. It’s like $4-6 and lets you make martinis. It’s not that versatile but it’s cheap enough to justify its existence. If you’re opting to make Manhattans instead of martinis, go for sweet vermouth. Or empty the change bin in your car and buy both.
• Bitters. One of the most popular modifiers; having it handy will make you look well-prepared. Shouldn’t cost you more than $5.
• Tonic water. Dirt cheap, like $1-2, so worth having a fresh bottle on hand.
• Optional: Sodas. Coke/diet coke, sprite. $1-2. Ain’t always fancy, but can be necessary. One or two 2-liter bottles will suffice for a single party, but they go flat if you don’t use them so for long-term use, get a pack of cans so you can keep grabbing fresh carbonation and not have any waste.
• Optional: Triple sec. Surprisingly in a lot of cocktails, like a cosmo or kamikaze.
• Buy as needed: Limes, lemons, sugar, mint leaves, juices like orange or cranberry. Check the recipe for the cocktail(s) you know you want to make and see what you need to buy yet. Most of it isn’t that pricey anyway. Fresh mint leaves for a mint julep are ridiculously cheap. Sugar is ridiculously cheap. Limes are ridiculously cheap. I’m not a fan of orange juice for screwdrivers (seems like a college drink) but we’ll mix it with our secret ingredient a little later.

Total for whole bare bones bar: ≈$85-100, depending on the options and how cheap you could find the glassware.

If you opt for all of the above, you have the basics to construct:

• Martinis
• Gin/vodka-tonics
• Daiquiris
• Mojitos
• Cuba libre / rum and coke
• Screwdriver
• Vodka/gin gimlet
• Tom Collins / vodka collins
• Kamikaze (requires triple sec)
• Cosmo (requires triple sec and cranberry juice)
• Old Fashioned (If you opted for whiskey)
• Manhattan (If you opted for whiskey)
• Mint juleps (If you opted for Bourbon)

If you’ve left yourself some wiggle room open for choosing your options and perhaps springing for a liqueur or two you might need to make your favorite cocktail (for example, you’re only some Curacao liqueur away from a Mai Tai, some Coffee Liqueur from a Black Russian, cream of coconut/pineapple juice from a Pina Colada.)

The Extra Touch

Champagne.

I get a cheap $5 at the liquor store. I know it’s probably just sparkling wine, but I don’t care; it has all of the requisite bubbles I require. With plastic champagne flutes (bought online or in store) you’ll look at a total of $10-15. (No one cares that you don’t have glass champagne stemware, by the way. You can serve champagne in regular glasses and most people will still be appreciative.)

And if you want to drink earlier in the day without feeling like a lush, there’s nothing like offering people mimosas to get some drinking company. It’s also great “hair of the dog” to serve to any lingering guests.

There you have it–a home bar that will last you multiple parties for next to nothing. Feel free to add a few things here or there if you want to make a specific cocktail, but for the most part, you should be covered.

Extra Resources

• “Raising the Bar” Episode of Good Eats. I got a lot of this advice from here and it’s worked as well as he says. He also gives the recipes for a vodka martini, daiquiri, and mint julep in that episode.
• “Raising the Bar Again” Episode of Good Eats
• Gizmodo’s “The Five Most Mathematically Essential Bottles of Booze”
• Simple syrup recipe. Essential for rum drinks: mojitos, daiquiris, etc. Simple syrup is one of those “small touches” that few party hosts ever think to include. And it’s really easy. It’s just like it says: simple. I was reluctant to even post this here because you just boil sugar in water, but if you wanna get the most out of your rum it’s something you should do. The basic formula: boil one part sugar in one part water, stir until fully dissolved. Let the simple syrup cool to room temperature and pour into one or more of your plastic bottles. Because it’s syrup, it will last a long time, so cover the bottle for re-use.