7 Bottle Bar

In my opinion, it’s always a good time to drink a good cocktail. But given the current times, that statement is truer than ever. Whether you’re starting from scratch or just sick of drinking the same thing for the last six weeks, a versatile bar isn’t difficult to create and doesn’t need to be another daunting task during daunting times. In fact, all you need is 7 bottles and some kitchen items. Cocktails by definition are simply spirit, sweetener, and bitter. Moving around what you use is how a small stocked bar can go a long way.

THE BOTTLES
- Gin
- Whiskey or Bourbon
- Rum
- Dry Vermouth
- Sweet Vermouth
- Campari
- Triple Sec or Cointreau

THE MIXERS

• Angostura bitters
• Simple Syrup *add herbs, fruit, or spices for variations
• Lemons & Limes
• Club Soda & Tonic
• Eggs
• Ginger Beer

THE EXTRA CREDIT
- Luxardo maraschino liqueur
- another amaro like Cynar, Montenegro, or Averna
- herbal liqueur like Chartreuse

*Pro Tip: it makes a difference to buy your ice and keep in a Tupperware container, rather than using whatever your ice machine made last week and sat soaking up aromas. Trust me. Or better yet- taste test!

Americano
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce Campari
1 ½ ounce soda water
garnish with lemon or orange peel
Swap out soda water for gin, but in equal proportion to the other ingredients and you have:

Negroni
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce gin
Swap out gin for bourbon and you have:

Boulevardier
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce bourbon
Swap out bourbon for sparkling wine and you have:

Negroni Sbagliato
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sparkling wine