WHAT IS IN ROTATION
As I begin to downsize and declutter, these are the bottles I will either be buying as needed or already have on hand. Most of which do not break the bank by any means and can typically be found across the U.S. with relative ease.
RYE
Cocktail Bottle: Rittenhouse Rye Bottled-in-Bond
This was an easy one as I really only have rye in my cocktails. I haven’t really found a rye that is worth sipping. Especially at the price points that rye tends to jump to. Rittenhouse is barely legal rye (51% rye) that is bottled at 50% abv and a minimum of four-years-old. It has a really nice upfront woodsy-spice character and the extra corn in the mashbill gives it a great fat and chewy mouthfeel that gives cocktails like a Sazerac some needed body.
BOURBON
Cocktail Bottle: Elijah Craig Small Batch or Old Forester Signature
E.C. used to be my favorite bourbon until it dropped the age statement. It is still a solid bourbon, but the younger components in it now have taken away a lot of depth the whiskey used to have. It does make for an outstanding Old-Fashioned though.
O.F.S. is a workhorse that does not get the credit it deserves. Bottled at 50% abv and intense flavors of burnt caramel, barrel char, and orange peel gives this bourbon some unmatched depth and complexity for $25.
Daily Pour: Kentucky Bourbon Distiller’s Group or Handpicks
KBD is my jam when it comes to bourbon. They offer multiple expressions sourced from Heaven Hill usually bottled around 50% abv and notes of dark cherries, baking spice, and roasted peanuts make it an easy sipper year-round.
Handpicks are those bottles that captures the spirit of what bourbon should be. They generally give you the best expression of what a distillery is going for and always provides a wonderful experience.
Special Edition: Elijah Craig Barrel Proof or Willett Family Estate
What, you expecting Pappy or BTAC?
RUM/RHUM
Cocktail Bottle: Probitas or Rhum JM 100 proof
Probitas is a collaboration between Foursquare in Barbados and Hampden Estate from Jamaica. They blend lightly aged and unaged column and pot still rums for a medium-bodied white rum with a heft of funk. It is my personal go-to for daiquiris, mojitos, and rum and ginger beer.
Rhum JM 100 Proof is a white rhum Agricole from the island of Martinique. Using fresh cane juice instead of molasses, it is light-bodied with intense grassy character. I like it for all of the cocktails mentioned above and Tí Punch.
Daily Pours: The Real McCoy 12yr or Chairman’s Reserve Forgotten Cask
Real McCoy is a great line from Foursquare using a blend of pot and column still rums. It is heavy and intense with those classic rum flavors. The balanced structure is a crowd-pleaser for rum and whiskey drinkers alike.
Chairman’s Reserve Forgotten Cask is a mid-level offering from St. Lucia Distillers Group. Another heavy rum loaded with notes of coffee, molasses, and underlying hogo makes it a must-have for any collection or bar. Even though this is listed as a “daily pour” it does make for a killer egg nog or flip.
Special Edition: Foursquare ECS, Worthy Park, Velier
All super unique expressions that change from release to release. If you are a spirits geek, these are the bottles the good Lord put on Earth for you.
TEQUILA
Cocktail Bottle: ElVelo
I don’t make tequila cocktails all that often unless someone is specifically asking for one. So, I typically keep a higher-end tequila on hand for those occasions. ElVelo from La Cofradia (the same distillery making Gran Mayan) is a 100% pure agave, cooked in brick ovens, and is unaged for the blanco and aged 5 months for the resposado. I always use a reposado for tequila cocktails as it cuts through the citrus just enough and the light aging showcases the depth of agave syrup.
Daily Pour: Tequila Ocho Plata or El Tesoro Blanco
Not a huge tequila person, especially for sipping, unless I am cooking. I don’t know why, but I love a good plata/blanco with a wedge of lime in the kitchen. It just feels right. So, if I am going to have it on hand, I want a good one. The El Tesoro Blanco and Ocho Plata has this really nice agave/vanilla crème character with a black pepper backbone. Throw in a lime wedge and beautiful things happen.
BRANDY
Cocktail Bottle: Copper & Kings Brandy
It is nothing flashy, but great flavor and suites any kind of cocktail that calls for brandy or bourbon.
Daily Pour: Copper & Kings Floodwall
An apple brandy partly aged in ex-sherry casks and bottled at 50% abv. It is full-bodied and a lot of big baked apple and musty sherry flavor.
Special Edition: Chateau Arton Armagnac
I am forever Team Armagnac over Cognac. Cognac, more me, tends to be “smooth” for the sake of being “smooth” which for me, comes off as muddled and flabby. This Armagnac is like autumn in a bottle. A blend of Armagnacs ranging from 4-11 years-old and loaded with notes of dark chocolate, dusty leaves, ginger, and a drizzle of honey. You’ll typically find this gracing my bar Thanksgiving through Christmas in place of the above mentioned brandies.
SCOTCH WHISKY
Special Edition: Handpicked Gordon & McPhail or Signatory releases
I do not drink scotch anywhere near as often as I used to. So, I opted to go all-in on this. I love love, love handpicked expressions from independent bottler, Gordon & McPhail. The most impressive and memorable scotches I have had, have been from their warehouses.
GIN
Cocktail Bottle: Right Gin
I used to be just a standard Hendrick’s G&T when it came to drinking gin. Then I discovered the wonderful Negroni and it wasn’t until the last couple of years that I began to enjoy gin martinis and other gin cocktails in general. I discovered that the best type to gin to have on hand are ones that are bright and citrus-forward. They will compliment any style of gin cocktail you are trying to make. Right Gin from Sweden fits the bill just right. The juniper is toned down and forward with key lime, lemon, and bitter orange. Recently it has been reformulated and now bumped up to 47% abv.
IRISH WHISKEY
Daily Pour: Bushmills Black Bush
Not a big Irish whiskey fan. It doesn’t really do much for me. So, if I am going to have a bottle at home, it is typically Black Bush, and typically for two weeks in March. It is affordable and has enough raisin, hazelnut, and milk chocolate sherry character to make it interesting.
COCKTAIL ESSENTIALS
These are items I find I use with the most frequency for cocktails and have earned a permanent spot in my home bar.
Aperitivo: Campari
The workhorse aperitivo, Campari is very bitter with the slightest hint of citrus fruit sweetness. You’re not making a Negroni, Old Pal, Boulevardier, or Jungle Bird without this guy.
Amaro: Bigallet China-China
There is a lot to choose from with amaro and they are pretty much all good. I like to keep Bigallet China-China on hand. Medium-bodied, 40 %abv, and wonderful bitter dark fruit and cherry flavors. Nice for after a big meal, even better in a Black Manhattan.
Fruit Liqueur: Luxardo Maraschino and Clement Creole Shrubb
Luxardo offers a nice pungent, toasted nut and cherry note to drinks. I typically only use it for Hemingway Daiquiris and Last Word. Also available in 375ml
Clement Creole Shrubb is an orange liqueur from Martinique and is a cheaper alternative to Grand Marnier and Cointreau. It is not as cloying or sticky as the other two and I like what it does for margaritas and mai tais.
Vermouth: Dolin Dry and Lustau Rojo
Dry: Dolin Dry is a great enhancer for a martini. The flavors are subtle and do more to add finesse to the spirit than act as a costar. It comes in a 375ml bottle which is nice because of its short shelf life, I buy as needed, and it is pretty inexpensive.
Sweet: I have tried a lot of styles of “sweet” vermouths and so far, the best all-around out there is Lustau Rojo from Bodega Lustau in Spain. Because of its base of 10-year-old Oloroso and PX Sherry; it has enough structure and depth to bring the most out of a Manhattan, but light enough to not overpower gin in a Negroni. Keep it refrigerated to extend the shelf life and it should last a couple of months.
Cocktail Bitters
Angostura: Your salt and pepper for cocktails. There are a lot of aromatic bitters on the market now, but for how tried and true Angostura is, there is no need to stray from them.
Peychaud’s: Deep magenta in color and packed full of medicinal anise flavor, these are essential to the Sazerac cocktail.
El Guapo Chicory-Pecan: These add outstanding depth to Old-Fashioned’s, fruit brand cocktails, flips, and egg nog. A little spendy, but they are made with real ingredients, no artificial flavors, and 10% of proceeds go to the Semper-Fi Fund. You can sub these out for Fee Brother’s Black Walnut bitters if the price is too steep, but I find them to be a bit over-powering.
COCKTAIL NON-ESSENTIALS
Absinthe: Kubler Verte Suisse.
Not going to lie, there are plenty of other absinthes out there that are a better value. Especially for a 375ml bottling. But I am a huge Sazerac snob and I absolutely love what this absinthe does for the cocktail.
Herbal Liqueur: Green Chartreuse or Ex-Gratia Genepi
G.C. like absinthe, I really don’t tend to use that often except for when I am craving a Last Word, which is few and far in-between. Thankfully it comes in a 375ml bottle and a little bit goes a long way.
Ex-Gratia is an herbal alpine liqueur from Golden Moon Distillery. I use it sparingly in some winter cocktails and it adds a little razzle-dazzle to a gin martini. Plus, the label is damn cool and makes a great focal point for the bar.
BUYER BEWARE
VODKA
Great vodka has no character. Bad vodka has plenty of character. Because of this, I have no use for it.
COFFEE LIQUEUR
I am yet to have a great coffee liqueur. I find that my time and money is better spent using a great cold-brew coffee concentrate instead. A little goes a long way and what is leftover makes for fantastic iced-coffee.
CREAM LIQUEUR
Most are made with shelf-stable powdered creamers and the real cream liqueurs go bad before I ever finish them. Not to mention that I personally, can never get through more than half a serving. Your time and money are better spent learning to make a proper flip.
