How To Stock Booze On A Budget
(Prosperity -Paul Bennett) In one of the “Thin Man” movies, Nick Charles—played brilliantly by William Powell—distractedly plays with his kid in a park, surrounded by high-rise apartments and the sounds of the city. Suddenly, he cocks his head, the way a dog does when it hears its name being called, and the camera cuts to his apartment, 
where the maid is stirring a martini in a pitcher. Charles quickly grabs the kid, heads home, and is next seen avidly draining the cocktail, one of many he’ll no doubt have that day.
Cocktails are part of an urban ethic, one that combines style and breeding with a hint of danger. If movies are a reflection of their era, then cocktails evoke a time when men wore hats, big bands and jazz were popular music, and gangsters wore suits, not sweat pants. The rebirth of swing music in the 90s went hand in hand with a rebirth of cocktails, which became a cultural fixture. The martini has never looked back—or looked more different than it did in the old days.
The shelves in any given bar are full of dozens of brands of liquor, and bartenders—many of whom now call themselves “mixologists” or “bar chefs”—have an arsenal of options for their customers. One no longer simply steps up to a bar and orders a martini; instead, one orders a Bombay martini, dry, with a twist. Or another verison with another brand. Maybe with the newest, trendiest, or greenest (and needless to say, expensive) vodka.
Bars are where most people get their cocktails, and for good reason. Bartenders know what they’re doing, while being seen with a fancy drink, maybe one that nobody else is drinking, is part of the experience for customers. Beer and wine just don’t have the same allure.
There's nothing that says you can't try this at home, even if you don't have Nick Charles' maid. “It’s pretty easy to set up a bar,” says Del Pedro, a longtime bartender in Greenwich Village. “Just go with the basics: vodka, gin, bourbon, scotch, rum, and tequila. A few other items, like vermouth, bitters, and olives, pretty much give you the tools make basic cocktails.” A shaker, needless to say, and some nice glasses also come in handy.
But what to do if one wants to go a little above and beyond—to try for a dash of Nick Charles in an age of Desperate Housewives? The trick is to invest, carefully and discriminantly, in some higher quality booze. Vodkas are far more alike than they are different. I once saw an East Village bartender do a taste test for some patrons with vodkas that ran the gamut in price. Nobody could tell them apart. But gin is a different animal; it’s more complex, being distilled from the juniper berry and other botanicals, and it gets better as it gets more expensive. A good gin, such as Bombay Sapphire or Boodles, is worth the extra cash.
Extra money can be spent on tequila and rum, but to be honest, those on a budget can probably do best for their home drinking experience by shelling out for a small-batch bourbon or a single-malt Scotch whisky. A good single-malt—two of my favorites are Macallam and Balvenie, both of which offer versions of varying ages—are complex and refined spirits. Good ones have “nose,” and you can smell them from a foot or more away as you gently swirl them in the glass. The taste and aftertaste are like the lead and solo in a jazz tune, two essential parts of a lovely whole. One savors a single-malt either neat or with one or two ice cubes. Not a cocktail per se, but still a sophisticated drink that—to put it in financial terms—gives a good return on the dollar.
You can stock a bar without breaking the bank. Plus, it's still cheaper than drinking out. Depending on where you live and what your libation of preference is, stocking a bar should cost around $225, including a nice gin and bourbon.