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Measured Advice: Stocking
- by Paul Harrington
Years ago, artist H. I. Williams wrote the Three Bottle Bar. In the book's foreword, the editor calls Williams "neither a collector nor a dabbler in media. He respects all media, but they are only an incidental interest. Primarily, H. i. Williams is an arranger of ingredients." His bar book has an approach to mixing alcoholic drinks that any bartender will find simple. A home bartender will almost certainly end up with more than three bottles in his or her bar, but to start, you shouldn't need much more, and the three-bottle rule holds true for grasping the basics of alcoholic drinks: bases, mixers, and accents. With a little knowledge and a few bottles, you can follow most of the great recipes for cocktails and alcoholic drinks.
An experienced bartender knows that when it comes to combining the elements for cocktails - primary and secondary spirits, accents, and mixers - each should add something to the drink without dominating it. Although gin cocktails are unmistakably gin cocktails, a Martini tastes nothing like a Rickey or Fizz, and you certainly wouldn't want it to. Before heading to your local liquor store to stock up on alcoholic supplies for mixing cocktails, scroll through your favorite bar recipes. Which cocktails seem to interest you most? Does your choice of recipes suggest a trend? What three bottles or elements are reoccurring? Chances are you're seeing rum, gin, or vodka, a particular whiskey, and a vermouth. Start from there, and as your knowledge grows, so should your stock of alcoholic elements - and so will the list of cocktails and other alcoholic drinks that you masterfully concoct.
Spirits
The primary alcoholic element, or base spirit, sets the theme of both drinks and events. The subsequent ingredients in cocktail recipes should be harmonious with it. Mixers and accents can battle for the recipes' attention, but they should always be in agreement with and sublimated by the base alcoholic spirit. Primary spirits fall into two categories: light and dark.
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