The Bottles We Are Using
Gin ~ Bourbon ~ Italian and French vermouth ~ Campari ~ Angostura bitters ~ Dark rum ~ Light rum ~ Orange liqueur ~ Tequila ~ Absinthe ~ Brandy ~ Scotch ~ Maraschino ~ Bénédictine ~
IF you want to up your home cocktail game - and make the most of your subscription to the Spirits - you don’t need a whole cellar’s worth of bottles. You just need a good first team with a strong spine. A few boozy stalwarts that will commune happily in various different formations to form Negronis, Martinis, Manhattans, etc - but will also make welcoming consorts to any lemons or passion fruits or bottles of bubbly or interesting sodas that pass through your kitchen.
The bottles listed below are chosen to open up the classical cocktail canon; the first six (gin, bourbon, Italian and French vermouth, Campari, Angostura bitters) formed the core cabinet in the first section of my book the Spirits - and I’m adding a few more over time to keep things nicely up to date (light rum, dark rum, brandy, orange liqueur, tequila, absinthe, Scotch, maraschino, Bénédictine…).
All the rest can be done with basic supermarket stuff like lemons, limes, eggs, mint and sugar: dissolve two parts golden caster sugar in one part water for an all-purpose sugar syrup. (A handy index of these ingredients is here). I will try to post a shopping list of what to get in for next time at the bottom of each post - do scroll all the way down and you want be short of pineapple juice or whatever next time.
In the meantime, these are the cabinet basics - with a few recommended brands. These aren’t exhaustive and I’m incorruptible. It’s just a few I’ve had and liked.
🍸GIN
The most in-demand cocktail spirit is happily the most economical too: £15-£30. No need to spend more than that. Most supermarket own-brands are decent. Some (e.g. Aldi’s!) outclass better-known names in blind tastings. It’s not a bad idea to have a basic gin for fruitier mixtures and a classier one for Martinis. Just avoid flavoured gin-based liqueurs which have added sugar and so behave more like liqueurs that spirits.
Gins I like include: Beefeater is the best value for money gin on the shelves, I think. Just a great London dry. For a little more outlay, I’d highly recommend: Plymouth, Sipsmith, Sacred, Hepple (outstanding), Hendricks, Four Pillars, Tanqueray (especially Tanqueray 10), No. 3 and Umbrella.
🥃 BOURBON
The All-American Dad of the cocktail, essential in Old Fashioneds, Manhattans, Whiskey Sours, Brown Derbies and more. (Scotch, Irish and Japanese whiskies are usually best sipped). Decent bourbon is an outlay but worth it. Feel free to use American rye whiskey if you like - usually more peppery and hardcore than bourbon.
Bourbons (and ryes) I like include: Maker’s Mark, Buffalo Trace, Tin Cup, Rittenhouse Rye, Sazerac Rye, Woodford Reserve, Elijah Craig, Four Roses.
🥐 FRENCH VERMOUTH
By “French” vermouth I mean dry vermouth (sometimes known as extra dry vermouth). This is the less sweet, herbaceous, straw-coloured type of vermouth, essential if you are a Martini drinker. No need to break the bank - the best ones cluster around the £12 mark - but do keep in the fridge and ideally vacuumise, so it stays fresh. A French vermouth doesn’t have to be literally French, but I find the best ones are generally French.
French vermouths I like include: Dolin Dry is the best. Noilly Pray is nice too (but sweeter) and Martini Extra Dry is perfectly OK (quite steely and herbal). Cocchi Extra Dry Vermouth from Torino is outstanding if you feel like spending a bit more (c£20)
🛵 ITALIAN VERMOUTH
This is the sweeter, spicer, redder vermouth, caramel-coloured in the Torino style, sometimes known as sweet vermouth or red/rouge/rojo/rosso vermouth. Italians, as a general rule, do it better. But there are excellent “Italian” vermouths from made by the Spanish and French.
Italian vermouths I like include: Martini Rosso is absolutely fine. Dolin Rouge is maybe the best all-round affordable example despite being French. Cucielo Rosso Vermouth di Torino, Antica Formula and Caelestiale are classy steps up. Punt e Mes is good too but seeing as it contains amaro too not a straight swap.
📍 CAMPARI
Campari - a proprietary red bitter Italian aperitivo from Milan - is a permanent member in my cabinet thanks to its starring role in the Negroni, the Americano, the Jungle Bird and the true Spritz. There are paler substitutes (like Aperol) and interesting alternatives (like Fernet-Branca) and these can make interesting alternatives. But really you want Campari or at the very least Campari-esque.
Camparis I like include: Campari. Duh. But there are increasing numbers of interesting alternatives. Select is excellent. Slightly bitterer than Campari, it’s what’s traditionally used in the OG Venetian Spritz. Luxardo’s Bitter Rosso is very fine too, as is Socially Spirited’s Pic-Amar.
🐦AROMATIC BITTERS
So much power in such a small bottle! Bitters is simply the single most useful ingredient you can own. A true “cocktail” is spirit + sugar + water + bitters. And it’s only going to set you back a tenner.
Bitters I like include: Angostura Bitters is basically the only choice. But I’d also recommend Bitter Truth Travellers’ Set if you’re interested in exploring further - a useful gift set of five styles of bitters, including orange bitters and New Orleans-style bitters.
🌴 LIGHT RUM
Aka white rum. A party essential. No need to spend more than £25 but it’s well worth looking beyond the usual supermarket suspects (i.e. Bacardi) for something a bit more floral and flavoursome.
Light rums I like include: Havana Club 3-anos from Cuba is good but El Dorado 3 Years and Flor de Caña Extra Seco are heavenly. Doolys if you feel like splashing out. Bacardi Carta Blanca if it’s all you can find.
🏴☠️ DARK RUM
Rum is a world unto itself, so much range and variety, from light, honeyish Puerto Rican golden rums to dark, brooding Jamaian rums with everything in between. Always worth getting more bottles in. Try subbing for bourbon in Old Fashioneds or Manhattans; create a tropical symphony with extra liqueurs, syrups and fruits as you like; or master a traditional Rum Punch (soooo much better than mulled wine). Approach spiced rums with caution, however.
Dark rums I like include: Mount Gay 1703 Eclipse is a great all-rounder. So is Appleton’s 8-Year Old Reserve Rum, a fine example of the darker Jamaican style (everything from Appleton’s is pretty good, in fact). Smith & Cross and Hampden Estate are the really amazing Jamaican rums. Foursqurare makes the best stuff on Barbados. I’ve hugely enjoyed rums from El Dorado, Chairman’s Reserve, Diplomatico and Havana Club… as well as Rhum Babancourt and Trois Rivieres in the grassier agricole style.
🍊 ORANGE LIQUEUR
A cocktailing workhorse. Don’t worry about the finer differences between triple sec, curaçao, Cointreau etc: we’re talking a sweet, warm, bright orange liqueur that will do the heavy lifting in Margaritas, Sidecars, Mai Tais and a million more. Blue curaçao if you dare; though be warned, Grand Marnier won’t quite work as it’s orange liqueur mxed with brandy.
Orange liqueurs I like: It’s pricy (£30 ish) but Pierre Ferrand Dry Orange Curaçao is worth the outlay in my opinion! You rarely need much more than 10ml at a time so it lasts. Cointreau is the industry standard but if I’m honest I find it a bit too strong in many cocktails. Socially Spirited’s Orancia from Spain is lovely.
🌵 TEQUILA
You can buy cheap tequila - but you will suffer for it. Then again, if it says 100% agave on the label, you won’t go far wrong. The blanco (white) unaged style is usually what’s called for in cocktails but if I had to buy one bottle, I’d go for reposado, which is ‘rested’ in barrels to give it a pale-straw colour and a hint of age. Anejo, fully aged, can be delicious but is best for sipping. (Note: it’s always worth trying mezcal in tequila contexts but the smokiness makes it a slightly more formidable beast; I wrote a little guide to it here if this is a taste you feel like acquiring.)
Tequilas I like: I’m no tequila expert, but I’m a fan of Olmeca, Ocho 8, Arette, Aqua Riva and Dobel. Patrón is fine but way overpriced! If you’ve money to spend go for Don Fulano. Del Maguey do the best mezcals for the novice.
🍇 BRANDY
Brandy means liquor that’s distilled from fruit. Any fruit: calvados is an apple brandy; slivovitz is a plum brandy, etc. However, what we’re mostly talking about re: cocktails is brandy that’s been distilled from grapes. The fancy stuff comes from Cognac in France; as with Champagne, a few well-publicised brands dominate. VS = posh, VSOP = very posh, XO = stupid posh. But Armagnac is also nice and there are generic French brandies (like Three Barrels or St-Rémy) which are… serviceable. Germany, Spain, South Africa and a whole bunch of other wine regions also produce brandies.
Brandies I like: Decent cognac is expensive but worth splashing out on if you can afford it. Rémy Martin and Hine are my favourites to mix with if I’m feeling flush; Rémy Martin 1738 Accord Royal is particularly heavenly (£45+ I’m afraid). And if you see Courvoisier, Martell, Hennessey, etc on special offer, go ahead. Still, for everyday cocktail purposes, you will usually find more value with supermarket own-brands. Tesco’s VSOP has won awards (£27); and Aldi does a famously decent VS cognac called Chevalier for £15! Asbach German brandy has a minor cult following too. Here, the appellation system comes in quite handy as quality control. If it’s VSOP cognac it’s just never going to be awful.
NEW ADDITIONS!
From late 2022, I decided to be a bit less strict about which bottles I use in the weekly cocktails - so, while I’ll still try to compile the recipes around the 12 bottles above, I’ll add more ingredients from time to time. The main additions have been:
🏔️ SCOTCH
Scotch whisky has a reputation for being hard to mix with - better for sipping. There’s some truth in that; it’s certainly not as easygoing as bourbon in mixed drinks. But Scotch was widely used in the golden age of cocktails - and that misty, sea-spray, bonfire taste is part of its charm. That said, for the most part, you should be saving your 10-year-old Lagavulins and Macallans for sipping. In cocktails, you want a well-rounded blend - which is almost exclusively how Scotch was sold in the early 20th century anyway. Expensive whiskies - notably the smoky Islay single malts - are better used in drops and dashes. As with absinthe or Angostura bitters, a little can go a long way.
Scotches I like: I reckon Famous Grouse covers most of the bases - it’s what they use at Death & Co, you know - and I’m partial to Teacher’s too, unfashionable though it is. Compass Box make some excellent pricier cocktail blends if you feel like splashing out. Ardbeg and Laphroaig are great for dashes… decant a little into an atomiser or an old bitters bottle and just use a drop at a time for cocktail smoke.
🍒 MARASCHINO
A liqueur made from the stones and fruit of marasca cherries, originally hailing from Zadar (fka Zara) in Croatia, now principally made in Italy. See my Cabinet post for a fuller history. One of the key cocktail liqueurs, it is mostly used as a sweetener - rather like orange liqueur.
Maraschinos I like: You honestly can’t go wrong with Luxardo. You can go wrong with imitators which can be a little marzipanny.
For more in-depth discussions of other exciting bottles such as Aperol, Bénédictine, Cynar, Drambuie and Elderflower Liqueur… head to the Cabinet. Right here:
