Friday, March 20, 2009

Stocking Home Bars for Top 10 Cocktails

Defining an accurate slate of the top ten mixed drinks or the top ten most popular cocktails is not an easy thing to do. It keeps changing and depends who you ask. The list varies based on the age group, sex, parts of the country, occasion, etc.

The following float to the top of most top 10 cocktail lists:

- Bloody Mary Cosmopolitan Screwdriver - tomato, cranberry and orange juice respectively with vodka as the main ingredients.
- Daiquiri - rum based drink with regular and strawberry topping the favorites.
- Long Island Iced Tea - gin, rum, tequila and vodka (the four white liquors) plus.
- Manhattan Martini - vodka / gin with dry vermouth for martinis. Manhattan is the whiskey version with sweet vermouth.
- Margarita - tequila with orange liqueur and lots of lime. Many like the rim salted.
- Mint Julep Mojito - mint flavored with bourbon or rum respectively.
- Pina Colada - rum with coconut liqueur and pineapple juice. Can use coconut rum or schnapps as well.- Tom Collins Sidecar - primarily club soda or orange liqueur mixed with gin
.- Whiskey & Cola or Sour - usually bourbon or dark rum.
- White / Black Russian - coffee liqueur and vodka. Add milk or cream for white.Really ten groupings along similarities. This all comes down to the following basic supplies which you should be able to get at your local liquor and grocery stores.

Many of these items will normally be in your kitchen anyway:

- Flavoring - bitters, hot sauce, mint leaves, salt, sugar, vermouth (sweet & dry) and worchestershire.- Garnish - maraschino cherries, lemons, limes, olives, cocktail onions and oranges.- Juice - cranberry, lemon, lime, orange, pineapple and tomato.- Liquor - gin, rum, tequila, vodka and whiskey (bourbon and irish).- Liqueur - coconut, coffee and orange.- Soda - club, cola and sweet n sour mix.

About the Author
Artisan home bars by Barina Craft are created with solid steam bent mahogany and other hardwoods. Handcrafted in the USA and available at http://www.barinacraft.com/. Suggested recipes for these cocktails may be found there as well.