Hey Sippers!
We are finally into the ‘ber months and I could not be happier about it! The mornings are starting off crisp, there’s been a nice breeze blowing, and it’s finally football season. As we get into the swing of autumn and head towards the holidays, I want to give you a cheap, simple way to make the most of your basic spirits for both you and your guests’ best experience.
A common misconception with making cocktails at home is that you have to have a bunch of different fancy, often expensive, ingredients to make great drinks. This is absolutely not true! You can make a ton of different simple and delicious drinks by just swapping out your mixers. This is all about the basics. Most home bar carts have basic spirits-vodka, gin, tequila, whiskey, rum. All you need to have a good variety for yourself and your guests is a couple of different mixer options in the forms of juices and syrups.
Now, making syrups at home is super easy. A basic simple syrup is just equal parts sugar and water, boiled in a small pot of saucepan until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is clear. With that recipe in mind, you can make whatever flavor syrup you want. My personal favorites for fall are cinnamon and rosemary. Just make the basic simple syrup and throw in a few cinnamon sticks or sprigs of rosemary while it’s boiling, and then let them steep in the syrup while it cools. Viola! You now have options.
One of my favorite ways to design a cocktail menu layout for a party when I don’t want to take a bunch of product or tools is to basically build a matrix where everything crosses with everything else. For example, let’s say I wanted to have 3 spirits options for a party. Let’s go with vodka, gin, and whiskey. That’s one side of the matrix. For the next side, I would choose my syrups. For continuity’s sake, let’s say I have regular simple, cinnamon, and rosemary. The final component is juice. My most common choices here are lemon, lime, and grapefruit. With just these 9 ingredients, I can now make 27 different drinks, just by crossing every option with every other option. For this setup, you can also keep club soda on hand for a non-alcoholic option that is still interesting and delicious for any of your guests who don’t imbibe.
This setup is super flexible, so you can fill in your matrix with whatever flavor profiles you want. If you don’t like rosemary, swap it out for mint. Don’t like grapefruit? Cool-swap it out for pineapple. There are literally hundreds of different choices, and this is the easiest way to give yourself and your guests plenty of options without spending a lot of extra money on products. These ingredients are also able to be used in other things as well. If you have leftover juice, you can just drink it, or have options for mimosas. Regular simple syrup and other sweet flavors like cinnamon or vanilla can be used in coffee. Herbal and floral options can be added to club soda or tonic water for a refreshing mid-day mocktail. Not only is this setup beginner and budget friendly, but it also allows for little to no wasted product.
As always, if you have questions, comments, or suggestions, you can reach me at [email protected]. You can also find Haley’s Home Bar on Facebook and Instagram. Also, for anyone looking for cocktail services for any upcoming events, that is also something that I can do for you. Just send me an email with your event details and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Have a wonderful week and stay safe and healthy. Cheers!
Haley’s Home Bar is a space designed for helping you learn how to create delicious craft cocktails from the comfort of your own home. As you all know by now, a huge part of my platform is teaching thoughtful, respectful, and responsible enjoyment, and HHB is just another place for me to do that. I believe that craft experiences don’t have to be a fancy night out but can instead be something you can enjoy whenever you want. I also believe that thoughtful enjoyment is key to achieving that luxurious feeling that a perfectly crafted experience can bring. Tips, tricks, tool recommendations, pairing suggestions, recipes and more are all “on the bar cart” for you to explore and enjoy at your leisure, and I will continue to provide you with my weekly features and suggestions here as well.
