So I just took a trip to Seattle for a few days, and of course took the time to visit the highest rated and reputable bars I could find, as well as take a couple trips to the liquor store.
I was a little surprised, both in a good way and a bad way, by the selection and prices of the latter. It's probably because I put the American liquor store on a giant pedestal in my mind due to my frustration with B.C. liquor prices and selection, and therefore created this dream of endless hallways filled with rye and amari and bitters and everything I could ever need and everything is always in stock and everything only costs a nickel.
This wasn't the case, obviously, and while I did spend a considerable amount of money on things I would never be able to get in Vancouver, I was a little surprised some differences I didn't expect.
I'll relay this for those of you who, like me, have had a U.S. liquor store pedestal, and I will also relay -the- place to go if you end up in Seattle.
(Keep in mind this is just Seattle, so I'm only comparing B.C. to Washington and not to the U.S. as a whole).
First I went to the nearest small state-run liquor store I could find. The selection of whiskey and liqueurs was surprisingly weak, and the selection of gin and rum were very good. The rum that was there I didn't even recognize for the most part, and yet there were a lot of rums that are readily available in Vancouver that were nowhere to be seen. Also surprising was the amount of Canadian whiskey. They had a HUGE amount of stock, not a lot of brands though, and actually had more wall-space devoted to Canadian than American whiskey. In both stores I went, there was a hilariously large selection of those tiny, airline-sized sampler bottles of spirits and liqueurs. And bitters! Oh my gosh bitters. They had a whole pile of Peychaud's just sitting there for $4 each, so naturally I bought 2 bottles. In Vancouver, Angostura is in every Safeway, never in a liquor store, and the only other bitters I've heard you can find here is orange at a independent store.
Where to shop in Seattle
So, the above was disappointing, but then I did a little research and found out where cocktail-addicts shop in Seattle. The first answer that I found was "The best liquor store in Washington state is... in Las Vegas. Or California." So my whole comparison discussion here I imagine would look very different if I took a different trip.
It does turn out that there's a huge warehouse which doubles as a state-liquor store in Sodo (which I assume means "south-of-downtown") about a 10-15 minute drive out of downtown Seattle. This is apparently where bars and restaurants will order their booze in huge quantities, leaving the leftovers at this warehouse. This means they have a crazy selection and occasionally some items are on sale.
I basically crapped my pants when I walked in. I'd never seen so many kinds of gin or absinthe in one place, I'd never heard of a bunch of brands and strange-looking liqueurs, I'd never seen that many kinds of bitters for sale, etc. It was pretty amazing.
Price, though, is the real discussion here. Here's the very interesting part: some things are cheaper in Canada. And no, I'm not talking about Canadian products. Canadian whiskey was priced basically the same as here, and some other items, such as Taboo absinthe, which is made in the Okanagan in B.C., went for HALF the price we pay here - where it was made!
Most 'regular' gins (ie the ones you can find easily) were a couple dollars cheaper, that's it. Again, the rum selection was very different, so it was hard to compare, but I did notice a couple, such as Kraken rum, that were $15 cheaper. Mount Gay rum and Appleton Estate rum were nowhere to be seen, or they only had the cheaper kinds, which is too bad because they're my favourite (so far), and 2 of the highest rated.
Bourbon was much cheaper (Buffalo Trace went for $26 when in Vancouver it's $42) and they did have a much larger selection, but rye was very limited. Even at the big store I was only able to find about 5 different kinds of rye whiskey, and none of them looked very good. However, a bottle of Old Overholdt is way more interesting than the majority of Canadian whiskeys, and it was only $20.
Scotch actually seemed somewhat the same in terms of selection and a little cheaper.
Tequila was completely incomparable. Even the biggest stores in Vancouver have maybe 5 brands available, and they're all really expensive. Tequila selection in the U.S. is vast and on average about half price. I'm not much of a Tequila drinker, so this didn't break my heart as much as it would some, but if you are an enthusiast, you need to take a trip to the states.
Liqueurs were fairly comparable, though the selection was way larger at this second store. The typical ones were the same price, but we found some very cool ones (like a violet liqueur that is 'natural' and isn't in the creme style, meaning there is less sugar, no artificial colouring, and not as perfume-y) for under $30.
The gin, oh my gosh the gin. The selection was about 4x what I normally see, and everything was affordable. I bought a bottle of Martin Miller for $31, which you can only find at an independent store here for at LEAST $50. They had brands I'd never heard of, and some I'd only tried recently but never seen available, like G'vine.
They had Bitter Truth bitters (lemon, chocolate, celery, Creole), and Peychaud's. The Bitter Truth went for $15-17 each, but in Canada you'd have to order it online from Germany and pay shipping, which would probably end up at double that price.
And here's the exciting part for us here in B.C.: amari are cheaper here! Even this giant warehouse full of rare products had a selection that wasn't that much better than somewhere like Viti downtown, and all of them were more expensive than our government liquor store or the same as the independent. I grabbed Averna, which I haven't seen around, and there was St. Maria as well, which I've seen in bars but not in stores, but the usual Aperol, Campari, Fernet, and less usual Ramazzotti were all more expensive. In fact, Campari is $11 cheaper in Vancouver.
The last thing I will relay, to end on a note that's negative towards B.C. in hopes that one day our prices will start to balance out, but a positive note for me... is the Carpano Antica. This is the oldest and most delicious kind of Italian vermouth. I found it in only one place in Vancouver (Viti) and they asked for over $90 for it.
I bought it from this Seattle liquor store, where they had numerous bottles... for... $26. Holy crap is right.
Verdict
Not -everything- is bad in Vancouver. Some of our prices are the same if not comparable, some things are cheaper, and we apparently have a very different selection of rum, which is neat.
The downside is that more than half of the items are a couple bucks cheaper to half the price, they have endlessly more tequila than we do, more gin, cheap ryes, more than just Angostura bitters, and more absinthes.
So don't be too disheartened, there's still a lot we get here, and not all of it costs your soul in comparison. Even just one trip across the border for some bitters and maybe a rye will help you out, but our situation here is not as awful as I thought. We still pay way too much, but our selection is not pathetic.
Yay!
Showing posts with label spirits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spirits. Show all posts
Monday, 14 November 2011
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
The 6th thing you need to start mixing drinks at home
BOOZE
Ok, so you picked up some cheap glassware, a shaker, some citrus fruits, some sort of measuring tool, and you made your simple syrup (you learned all this from Part 1). All you need is some alcohol to mix.
Here are the most basic and cheapest things to pick up so you can start making some drinks...
A Base Spirit
The cocktail "base" is the alcohol you're using most in a drink. Everything else you're adding to accentuate certain flavours in this spirit. Probably the most commonly used spirit in cocktails, especially traditional ones, is gin, so that's definitely the first thing you should pick up. I have a beginner's guide to gin Part 1 and Part 2 coming soon, but for now I'll simply tell you to go buy Tanqueray or Beefeaters. They're both cheap ($23-26 for a 750mL bottle) and versatile. Tanqueray is more interesting and more herbal, Beefeater is much simpler and a little citrusy.
The next most common and classic base spirit is probably whiskey. A lot of drinking novices cringe a little when you say whiskey, but there are not only some really tasty and easy-to-drink ones for cheap, there are also a lot of easy cocktails you'll probably like even if you don't like whiskey itself. My lady is a great example - we used to go out for drinks and she'd make faces when I'd order whiskey cocktails and even made faces after trying some of them. Then she tried a Red Hook... then a Bensonhurst... then a Manhattan and a Brooklyn and so on and so forth and now she loves whiskey.
If you're new to whiskey, I suggest getting bourbon. It's sweeter with a little spice, mixes really well, and is very sippable if you're not used to rye or scotch. Get a bottle of Jim Beam or Wild Turkey - they're the cheapest at $23-26 per 750mL bottle, but they're definitely fine in cocktails and easy to use. They're not great sippers, though, so I'd just use them for mixing.
Don't buy Canadian Whiskey. It sucks and it's boring (sure that's a generalization - but a pretty accurate one).
I would go with one of the above to start, but if you're past that or have a bunch of money to spend and want more, move on to rum or brandy. For rum, pick up Mount Gay Eclipse gold or silver rum. They're only $27 for 750mL bottle, they're delicious, they mix really well, and they're tasty enough to drink straight. I'm much, much less knowledgeable about brandy, and I honestly buy cheap, small bottles because I rarely make drinks with it and I never drink it straight. Couvoisier VS is a very decent one, but will cost you $56 for 750mL bottle (I'm finding any good brandies or Cognacs are very expensive). I just usually get St. Remy VSOP, which is only $12 for a small bottle, and I only really use it for mixing a couple drinks. There is a very dramatic taste difference between a cheap brandy like this and a decent Cognac, as I'm sure you would imagine, but if you're just mixing some new drinks, it's not necessary YET. (Soon I'm going to do a guide on brandy to build my own knowledge and guide collection)
A Vermouth
A long list of cocktails contain vermouth - a fortified wine with added herb botanicals - including a lot of the classics. You'll definitely need bottles around, one white (or dry or French - all the same thing), and one red (or sweet or Italian - all the same thing). I personally really dislike Martini & Rossi, but it is the cheapest way to go, and they're the only brand in Canada that offers small bottles for only $8 - which is great because vermouth will always go bad before you finish using it. If you want to go a little nicer, Noilly Prat dry vermouth is only $14, and Cinzano Rosso sweet vermouth is only $13. If you only want to buy one... look at some cocktail recipes you want and just choose. Sweet vermouth is used more often with whiskey, and dry more often with gin.
Keep your vermouth in the fridge!! You can only keep it for a month before it starts to smell and taste funky, so be prepared for that.
Bitters
The actual definition of a "cocktail" is a base spirit, water, bitters, and sugar. A lot of traditional cocktails will call for bitters, and there are a lot being produced nowadays that really change the complexity of a cocktail.
Unfortunately in Canada, the only bitters that's easy to find it Angostura, and our government liquor stores don't sell any at all. Fortunately, you can just pick it up in Safeway for $7-8, and one of those bottles lasts me about 6 months.
If you want to experiment in the future with other kinds, The Bitter Truth will ship to you, and they make a whole range of really interesting bitters, from chocolate to grapefruit to celery to traditional-style Creole bitters. Out of a store, the Gourmet Warehouse on Hastings near Commercial has some cool syrups and a huge range of bitters, and I also hear that there is a liquor store somewhere near 16th Street in North Vancouver that sells a lot of hard to find stuff... but the store itself is hard to find. I still can't find a listing for it, nor have I learned the name, but I've had more than one bartender tell me that this magical place exists. When I find out, I'll let you know.
So hit up the Gourmet Warehouse if you want to try some new or interesting things, but to start, you only really need Angostura and an orange bitters.
Modifiers
Now, this is really up to you. A modifier is that special other ingredient that makes a drink different. Like I said, a cocktail is just bitters, sugar, and a spirit with water, but the evolution of drinking has brought in many other things. I can't tell you what to get unless you know what you want to make!
If you're past the point of basics, though, I can recommend a few things that really spiced up my bar early on:
Amari - Italian bitter liqueurs which are meant to be drunk straight, but there are lots of drinks you can make with them. Lots of bars are experimenting with amari nowadays, and they're all really delicious. Only a few are easy to find though, and Campari is a great way to start. It runs $26 for a 750mL bottle, and you only use small amounts so it will last a long time. It has a distinctive bright red colour, an interesting range of bitter herbal flavours, and is an important ingredient in some great, classic cocktails like the Lucien Gaudin, The Negroni, and The Americano. (The latter post there has some extra information on Campari as well).
Cointreau (which is the high-end triple sec, or orange liqueur) has a lot of uses, and you can pick up a small bottle for $18.
Green Chartreuse is a very, very cool thing to have around. It's an herbal liqueur from the 18th century made with over 130 different plants and herbs. One of my favourite drinks is The Last Word, which calls for Chartreuse, but there are actually quite a few other things you can make with it. It is expensive at $36 for a small bottle, so is a treat, but is so potent that you won't use a lot of it. And it's naturally green! In fact, the colour Chartreuse was named after it.
Last thing I definitely recommend getting at some point if you want to expand your horizons is Maraschino Liqueur. No, it's not a red, cherry-flavoured, sugar syrup. It's a very interestingly flavoured liqueur dating back to 16th century Croatia, and is used in a lot of very old cocktails, including the father of the Martini - the Martinez. You can't get this in the regular BC Liquor Store, but a lot of independent places have it, like Brewery Creek on Main Street, or the independent liquor store in the Park Royal South Village in West Vancouver.
I hope all this helps in getting you going and giving you some options as to where you'll start. I've had so much fun experimenting and mixing drinks and getting connected to periods of history I really enjoy, particularly Prohibition, which is when so much good art and music and style was happening. Be open-minded, use good ingredients when you can, always have ice handy, follow recipes closely, and be adventurous!
I also have to take a moment to plug the Pourhouse. It's my favourite bar in Vancouver, with probably the best bartenders in Vancouver, and they really insist upon giving you a good experience, good information, and classic cocktails. It's in gastown. If you're not really into this yet, one trip there will get you excited.
Ok, so you picked up some cheap glassware, a shaker, some citrus fruits, some sort of measuring tool, and you made your simple syrup (you learned all this from Part 1). All you need is some alcohol to mix.
Here are the most basic and cheapest things to pick up so you can start making some drinks...
A Base Spirit
The cocktail "base" is the alcohol you're using most in a drink. Everything else you're adding to accentuate certain flavours in this spirit. Probably the most commonly used spirit in cocktails, especially traditional ones, is gin, so that's definitely the first thing you should pick up. I have a beginner's guide to gin Part 1 and Part 2 coming soon, but for now I'll simply tell you to go buy Tanqueray or Beefeaters. They're both cheap ($23-26 for a 750mL bottle) and versatile. Tanqueray is more interesting and more herbal, Beefeater is much simpler and a little citrusy.
The next most common and classic base spirit is probably whiskey. A lot of drinking novices cringe a little when you say whiskey, but there are not only some really tasty and easy-to-drink ones for cheap, there are also a lot of easy cocktails you'll probably like even if you don't like whiskey itself. My lady is a great example - we used to go out for drinks and she'd make faces when I'd order whiskey cocktails and even made faces after trying some of them. Then she tried a Red Hook... then a Bensonhurst... then a Manhattan and a Brooklyn and so on and so forth and now she loves whiskey.
If you're new to whiskey, I suggest getting bourbon. It's sweeter with a little spice, mixes really well, and is very sippable if you're not used to rye or scotch. Get a bottle of Jim Beam or Wild Turkey - they're the cheapest at $23-26 per 750mL bottle, but they're definitely fine in cocktails and easy to use. They're not great sippers, though, so I'd just use them for mixing.
Don't buy Canadian Whiskey. It sucks and it's boring (sure that's a generalization - but a pretty accurate one).
I would go with one of the above to start, but if you're past that or have a bunch of money to spend and want more, move on to rum or brandy. For rum, pick up Mount Gay Eclipse gold or silver rum. They're only $27 for 750mL bottle, they're delicious, they mix really well, and they're tasty enough to drink straight. I'm much, much less knowledgeable about brandy, and I honestly buy cheap, small bottles because I rarely make drinks with it and I never drink it straight. Couvoisier VS is a very decent one, but will cost you $56 for 750mL bottle (I'm finding any good brandies or Cognacs are very expensive). I just usually get St. Remy VSOP, which is only $12 for a small bottle, and I only really use it for mixing a couple drinks. There is a very dramatic taste difference between a cheap brandy like this and a decent Cognac, as I'm sure you would imagine, but if you're just mixing some new drinks, it's not necessary YET. (Soon I'm going to do a guide on brandy to build my own knowledge and guide collection)
A Vermouth
A long list of cocktails contain vermouth - a fortified wine with added herb botanicals - including a lot of the classics. You'll definitely need bottles around, one white (or dry or French - all the same thing), and one red (or sweet or Italian - all the same thing). I personally really dislike Martini & Rossi, but it is the cheapest way to go, and they're the only brand in Canada that offers small bottles for only $8 - which is great because vermouth will always go bad before you finish using it. If you want to go a little nicer, Noilly Prat dry vermouth is only $14, and Cinzano Rosso sweet vermouth is only $13. If you only want to buy one... look at some cocktail recipes you want and just choose. Sweet vermouth is used more often with whiskey, and dry more often with gin.
Keep your vermouth in the fridge!! You can only keep it for a month before it starts to smell and taste funky, so be prepared for that.
Bitters
The actual definition of a "cocktail" is a base spirit, water, bitters, and sugar. A lot of traditional cocktails will call for bitters, and there are a lot being produced nowadays that really change the complexity of a cocktail.
Unfortunately in Canada, the only bitters that's easy to find it Angostura, and our government liquor stores don't sell any at all. Fortunately, you can just pick it up in Safeway for $7-8, and one of those bottles lasts me about 6 months.
If you want to experiment in the future with other kinds, The Bitter Truth will ship to you, and they make a whole range of really interesting bitters, from chocolate to grapefruit to celery to traditional-style Creole bitters. Out of a store, the Gourmet Warehouse on Hastings near Commercial has some cool syrups and a huge range of bitters, and I also hear that there is a liquor store somewhere near 16th Street in North Vancouver that sells a lot of hard to find stuff... but the store itself is hard to find. I still can't find a listing for it, nor have I learned the name, but I've had more than one bartender tell me that this magical place exists. When I find out, I'll let you know.
So hit up the Gourmet Warehouse if you want to try some new or interesting things, but to start, you only really need Angostura and an orange bitters.
Modifiers
Now, this is really up to you. A modifier is that special other ingredient that makes a drink different. Like I said, a cocktail is just bitters, sugar, and a spirit with water, but the evolution of drinking has brought in many other things. I can't tell you what to get unless you know what you want to make!
If you're past the point of basics, though, I can recommend a few things that really spiced up my bar early on:
Amari - Italian bitter liqueurs which are meant to be drunk straight, but there are lots of drinks you can make with them. Lots of bars are experimenting with amari nowadays, and they're all really delicious. Only a few are easy to find though, and Campari is a great way to start. It runs $26 for a 750mL bottle, and you only use small amounts so it will last a long time. It has a distinctive bright red colour, an interesting range of bitter herbal flavours, and is an important ingredient in some great, classic cocktails like the Lucien Gaudin, The Negroni, and The Americano. (The latter post there has some extra information on Campari as well).
Cointreau (which is the high-end triple sec, or orange liqueur) has a lot of uses, and you can pick up a small bottle for $18.
Green Chartreuse is a very, very cool thing to have around. It's an herbal liqueur from the 18th century made with over 130 different plants and herbs. One of my favourite drinks is The Last Word, which calls for Chartreuse, but there are actually quite a few other things you can make with it. It is expensive at $36 for a small bottle, so is a treat, but is so potent that you won't use a lot of it. And it's naturally green! In fact, the colour Chartreuse was named after it.
Last thing I definitely recommend getting at some point if you want to expand your horizons is Maraschino Liqueur. No, it's not a red, cherry-flavoured, sugar syrup. It's a very interestingly flavoured liqueur dating back to 16th century Croatia, and is used in a lot of very old cocktails, including the father of the Martini - the Martinez. You can't get this in the regular BC Liquor Store, but a lot of independent places have it, like Brewery Creek on Main Street, or the independent liquor store in the Park Royal South Village in West Vancouver.
I hope all this helps in getting you going and giving you some options as to where you'll start. I've had so much fun experimenting and mixing drinks and getting connected to periods of history I really enjoy, particularly Prohibition, which is when so much good art and music and style was happening. Be open-minded, use good ingredients when you can, always have ice handy, follow recipes closely, and be adventurous!
I also have to take a moment to plug the Pourhouse. It's my favourite bar in Vancouver, with probably the best bartenders in Vancouver, and they really insist upon giving you a good experience, good information, and classic cocktails. It's in gastown. If you're not really into this yet, one trip there will get you excited.
6 things you need to start mixing drinks at home
So you're getting more and more interested in mixing drinks, experiencing cocktail history via brains, ears, and tastebuds, or maybe you're reading a cocktail blog like this one and your mouth is watering to the point of no return.
What do you need to get started? Here's a simple overview of what you need to start making drinks at home.
1) A cocktail shaker
I hesitate in saying "shaker" because I'm afraid that you'll feel inclined to shake everything. I say, possibly too often, DON'T shake unless you have to. You only have to shake if you're mixing juice, cream, or eggs.
You'll be either shaking or stirring your drinks, but you can do both in a shaker. In fact, that's how I make all of my drinks because I have yet to find a very nice mixing containing to stir in!
Don't get a plastic shaker because your drinks won't get as cold, which is a big part of why you're shaking or stirring at all. Don't go for a Boston shaker, which is basically a pint glass and a metal tin, because it takes a little more skill and will cost you a little more money. Just get a regular metal cocktail shaker, which you can find in most places, like Ikea or the Bay or probably even Winners.
What should you be stirring your cocktails with? Ideally, a barspoon, which has a very small bowl and a very long handle. This will allow you to stir drinks in a tall mixing glass (or shaker), and also provides estimated measurements. But, you don't really need one yet. Just use a regular spoon or even a butterknife. Not classy, I know, but this is all just to get started.
2) Glassware
You need to drink your cocktails out of something, and I won't let you do it out of your shaker. Part of the fun of having a cocktail is how you look drinking it ;)
You can pick up basic cocktail glasses or Martini glasses at Ikea for 2$ each and upwards. The Bay actually has some nice ones if you feel like spending more, but go cheap to start. In the future you can start looking for some vintage glassware, which will really bring the experience together. Just the other night I made my lady a Southside cocktail - a Prohibition era drink from Chicago with supposed ties to Mob establishments - in a vintage 1940's cocktail glass I got at an antique fair. It really makes it that much more fun. But again, to start, just get something cheap and easy so you can get going.
Wine glasses will do for some drinks, but hold so much liquid that it just doesn't really work when you're pouring in tiny amounts of liquid (most cocktails are 3oz or more, when a wineglass can hold anywhere between 10 and 20oz, so it just doesn't look or feel right).
3) Measuring tools
You need something to measure your ingredients with, and the best thing to get is what's called a jigger. This is a measuring tool that bartenders use for making drinks, and will either be a shot glass with written measurements, or what looks like 2 tiny cups glued together at their bases. One side is one measurement, 1/2oz or 3/4oz, for example, and the other side will be a different measurement, 1oz or 1.5oz for example.
You can find jiggers where you find your glassware, Ikea, the Bay, etc, or you can get cool looking ones for cheap online. Or, you can get just a very small measuring cup from the Bay or where have you, just make sure you can measure as small as 1/2oz.
Or, if you want to be super ghetoo (this is how I made all my drinks at first), you can use measuring spoons. One tablespoon is 1/2oz. This is not classy at all, but as long as you're measuring right, your drinks will be fine!
4) Juice
A lot of classic cocktails call for juice, particularly lemon or lime juice. Do NOT use juice from concentrate or pre-made mixers. They really affect the flavour of your drink, plus they're usually full of gross chemicals. Lemons and limes are very, very cheap. Safeway has limes for 40-50 cents each, and that's nothing. You'll usually use half a lime for one drink.
Getting the juice is a little trickier. A lot of recipes will ask for "the juice of one lime," but of course all limes are different sizes and this doesn't really help you make consistent drinks. I suggest picking up a juicer. I got mine from the Bay for about $10, and it's been incredibly useful. You can juice your fruit, then pour out of the juicer to measure.
5) Simple syrup
A lot of cocktails call for "simple syrup." All this is, is one part sugar dissolved into one part water. Just simmer or boil the water in a pot on your stove and the sugar will dissolve. Throw this in any kind of empty bottle - soda, wine, booze, or you can pick up bottles with pour-spouts at the dollar store or something similar.
Using simple syrup instead of granulated sugar makes a world of difference in your cocktails because you know that you're getting the full amount (where some sugar won't dissolve in your drink, leaving less sweetness than needed), and of course, getting granules of sugar in your mouth while sipping is not fun.
Again, literally all you do is simmer say 1 cup of sugar in 1 cup of water on the stove and pour into some sort of container. Keep it in the fridge in the meantime.
6) BOOZE
I'm actually going to separate this into a different post, because it's more in depth. Obviously, you need booze to make cocktails. It can be a little daunting to know where to start, but I'll go through the basic few bottles you should pick up, where to get them, and how much they'll cost. Even with a bottle of gin, a bottle of vermouth or fortified wine, a bottle of bitters, and some sugar and juice, you can make a range of cocktails.
So, not including booze, you've spent let's say $40 on a cocktail shaker, a jigger, 2 cheap glasses, and a jigger. Add in $5 or so for some limes and lemons and sugar.
Your only other expense is the alcohol, and you're ready to start enjoying cocktails!
What do you need to get started? Here's a simple overview of what you need to start making drinks at home.
1) A cocktail shaker
I hesitate in saying "shaker" because I'm afraid that you'll feel inclined to shake everything. I say, possibly too often, DON'T shake unless you have to. You only have to shake if you're mixing juice, cream, or eggs.
You'll be either shaking or stirring your drinks, but you can do both in a shaker. In fact, that's how I make all of my drinks because I have yet to find a very nice mixing containing to stir in!
Don't get a plastic shaker because your drinks won't get as cold, which is a big part of why you're shaking or stirring at all. Don't go for a Boston shaker, which is basically a pint glass and a metal tin, because it takes a little more skill and will cost you a little more money. Just get a regular metal cocktail shaker, which you can find in most places, like Ikea or the Bay or probably even Winners.
What should you be stirring your cocktails with? Ideally, a barspoon, which has a very small bowl and a very long handle. This will allow you to stir drinks in a tall mixing glass (or shaker), and also provides estimated measurements. But, you don't really need one yet. Just use a regular spoon or even a butterknife. Not classy, I know, but this is all just to get started.
2) Glassware
You need to drink your cocktails out of something, and I won't let you do it out of your shaker. Part of the fun of having a cocktail is how you look drinking it ;)
You can pick up basic cocktail glasses or Martini glasses at Ikea for 2$ each and upwards. The Bay actually has some nice ones if you feel like spending more, but go cheap to start. In the future you can start looking for some vintage glassware, which will really bring the experience together. Just the other night I made my lady a Southside cocktail - a Prohibition era drink from Chicago with supposed ties to Mob establishments - in a vintage 1940's cocktail glass I got at an antique fair. It really makes it that much more fun. But again, to start, just get something cheap and easy so you can get going.
Wine glasses will do for some drinks, but hold so much liquid that it just doesn't really work when you're pouring in tiny amounts of liquid (most cocktails are 3oz or more, when a wineglass can hold anywhere between 10 and 20oz, so it just doesn't look or feel right).
3) Measuring tools
You need something to measure your ingredients with, and the best thing to get is what's called a jigger. This is a measuring tool that bartenders use for making drinks, and will either be a shot glass with written measurements, or what looks like 2 tiny cups glued together at their bases. One side is one measurement, 1/2oz or 3/4oz, for example, and the other side will be a different measurement, 1oz or 1.5oz for example.
You can find jiggers where you find your glassware, Ikea, the Bay, etc, or you can get cool looking ones for cheap online. Or, you can get just a very small measuring cup from the Bay or where have you, just make sure you can measure as small as 1/2oz.
Or, if you want to be super ghetoo (this is how I made all my drinks at first), you can use measuring spoons. One tablespoon is 1/2oz. This is not classy at all, but as long as you're measuring right, your drinks will be fine!
4) Juice
A lot of classic cocktails call for juice, particularly lemon or lime juice. Do NOT use juice from concentrate or pre-made mixers. They really affect the flavour of your drink, plus they're usually full of gross chemicals. Lemons and limes are very, very cheap. Safeway has limes for 40-50 cents each, and that's nothing. You'll usually use half a lime for one drink.
Getting the juice is a little trickier. A lot of recipes will ask for "the juice of one lime," but of course all limes are different sizes and this doesn't really help you make consistent drinks. I suggest picking up a juicer. I got mine from the Bay for about $10, and it's been incredibly useful. You can juice your fruit, then pour out of the juicer to measure.
5) Simple syrup
A lot of cocktails call for "simple syrup." All this is, is one part sugar dissolved into one part water. Just simmer or boil the water in a pot on your stove and the sugar will dissolve. Throw this in any kind of empty bottle - soda, wine, booze, or you can pick up bottles with pour-spouts at the dollar store or something similar.
Using simple syrup instead of granulated sugar makes a world of difference in your cocktails because you know that you're getting the full amount (where some sugar won't dissolve in your drink, leaving less sweetness than needed), and of course, getting granules of sugar in your mouth while sipping is not fun.
Again, literally all you do is simmer say 1 cup of sugar in 1 cup of water on the stove and pour into some sort of container. Keep it in the fridge in the meantime.
6) BOOZE
I'm actually going to separate this into a different post, because it's more in depth. Obviously, you need booze to make cocktails. It can be a little daunting to know where to start, but I'll go through the basic few bottles you should pick up, where to get them, and how much they'll cost. Even with a bottle of gin, a bottle of vermouth or fortified wine, a bottle of bitters, and some sugar and juice, you can make a range of cocktails.
So, not including booze, you've spent let's say $40 on a cocktail shaker, a jigger, 2 cheap glasses, and a jigger. Add in $5 or so for some limes and lemons and sugar.
Your only other expense is the alcohol, and you're ready to start enjoying cocktails!
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