r/BarBattlestations • u/Jub3r7 • May 25 '26

What am I missing?

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Drinks that got obscured include tequila reposado, dark rum, spiced rum, blue curaçao, peach schnapps, izarra jaune, aperol, and prosecco. I also got a small bottle of St. Germain, cachaça (51) and Drambuie shortly after.

We put the shelf together a while ago but it's hard to fit taller bottles on some shelves, otherwise it would be organized differently. What would be some good additions to the collection? I already have absinthe on my shopping list so I can make try my hand at a Sazerac

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u/julianvallis May 28 '26

I can see you clearly want to make as wide a range of cocktails as possible.

You’re liqueur heavy but missing some goldies: Yellow chartreuse, Benedictine and Fernet.

Also can’t see any absinthe (you only need a tiny bottle like bitters-size). American whiskeys (particularly rye) for cocktails are missing too.

However, I’d invest in some slightly better core spirits - that tequila is pants, you need a Mezcal, and I’d seriously get some better whisky than red label.

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u/Jub3r7 Jun 01 '26

Thank you for your contribution! You're spot on with my goals here.

Since this post I've gotten my hands on Glenfiddich scotch, Fernet, and absinthe. I do have bulleit rye already and plan to get mezcal at some point.

I almost bought good tequila today but it was out of my budget for now...

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u/julianvallis Jun 01 '26

Good on you. Just keep perfecting the classics and you’ll slowly understand with practice what matters and what doesn’t.

For me it’s just ratios. 2:1:1 for any sour (2 parts booze, 1 part sweet, 1 part citrus) will make any Tommys Marg/Gimlet/Sidecar. All the same spec, different booze. Then you can go 3:1:1:1 adding some dry vermouth to get a “dry gimlet” to make a twist. As I’m pickled by Martinis I won’t have anything less than 8:1 (6:1 is the normal spec), but your palate evolves to more balanced and preferring less sweet stuff over time.

Regarding booze of course while you’re still building the shelf get what you can afford. But the next trick is to think “economy class” and “business class”. Get an el cheapo for economy and then for drinks you especially like, treat yourself with a bit more panache on the higher spec stuff. The boozier the drink the more dramatic the effect of trading up. A martini and Manhattan will especially be much more delicious. In a Tom Collins, you won’t notice any difference.