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Condiments/garnish

The Budget Bar. Since they function as common ingredients as well as garnishes, fresh lemons, limes, and oranges are nonnegotiable. That said, there are garnishes that, though not technically ingredients, "make" many a drink in the grander sense, and so belong on the Everybar. These include maraschino cherries, green olives, and cocktail onions. You should also stock some condiments that aren’t eye-candy but tongue-tinglers, like Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco. The need for salt (iodized and kosher), black pepper, and granulated sugar (see simple syrup, above) goes without saying.

The In-Between Bar. Speaking of seasonings, here you might spring for cinnamon (ground and/or stick), nutmeg, allspice, cloves, celery seed, and prepared horseradish. The latter two sometimes make cameos in Bloody Marys and the like, and the others often appear in hot concoctions such as punches and spiked coffees (which you can also jazz up with dollops of whipped cream).

The Blowout Bar. Unless money is truly no object, you’ll want to buy most perishable ingredients only as needed. These include fruits you may want to use in punches or frozen drinks or as the occasional garnish, from strawberries and bananas to kumquats and lychees; vegetables like celery and cucumber may also serve as garnish in some vodka-based cocktails. Herbs are more and more frequently making their way into cocktails; mint remains the most common (think juleps and mojitos), but basil, parsley, and even tarragon crop up now and then. And for a real treat, you can hit the dairy case and wow ’em with hot buttered rum, vanilla-ice-cream-enriched mudslides, or homemade eggnog.

Equipment

The Budget Bar. No mixologist worth his margarita salt would do without the 1.5-ounce measure known as a jigger; a bar spoon for mixing, muddling, layering, and more; can and bottle openers, from church keys to corkscrews; a Boston shaker plus strainer; a professional-quality blender; and an ice bucket and tongs. Measuring cups and spoons are also a must for the novice bartender — and napkins are a must for both novices and pros, on either side of the bar.

The In-Between Bar. If you plan to go to the trouble of making even the most basic garnishes, you’ll need a cutting board and a good paring knife. By the same token, it’s no froufrou shame to provide toothpicks, swizzle sticks, and straws. Even real men spear olives.

The Blowout Bar. If cocktail parties chez you are becoming a nightly affair, you may first want to consider switching friends; barring that idea, you may at least want to invest in a few tools to make your bartending life breezier. Speed pourers do your measuring for you, while citrus reamers make quick work of juicing; a mortar and pestle let you hustle when you muddle, while glass rimmers prevent pre-margarita messes. If you happen to be serving Champagne at your nightly cocktail parties, you’ll definitely want to consider switching friends; barring that increasingly good idea, a Champagne stopper will at least cut down on waste. And if, far from finding shame in concocting froufrou brews, you find there’s nothing else you’d rather do, beware that your friends might consider switching you; in the meantime, be sure to stock up on paper umbrellas and those little plastic mermaids and monkeys, and store them, along with your garnishes, in proper bar caddies and fruit trays.

Glassware

The Budget Bar. Granted, technically speaking, glassware’s a luxury as long as you’ve got a steady supply of plastic cups. But if you’re the kind of person who’d install a home bar in the first place, you’re probably not the kind to do things half-assed. And there’s nothing more half-assed than a cosmopolitan in a Dixie cup — especially when you can make do nicely with only a few of the myriad glass types. I suggest starting with a set of each of the following: all-purpose wine glasses; your choice of beer mugs or Pilsners; the squat cylinders known as old-fashioneds; and, of course, cocktail (a/k/a martini) glasses. If margaritas and hot beverages will be a part of your regular repertoire, add hurricane glasses and either Irish-coffee or pousse-café glasses to the list; otherwise, put them down for the next round.

The In-Between Bar. Here you’ll want to relieve those old-fashioneds and wine glasses from their multiple duties by putting a few sets with more specific functions in rotation. Above all, Collins or highball glasses for mixed drinks will come in handy, as will Champagne flutes, brandy snifters, tiny cordials, and, what the hell, shot glasses.

The Blowout Bar. But you won’t silence the snobs until you’ve got the right glass for every occasion. Now’s the time to retrieve the sets you nixed in the earlier sprees: now, let there be mugs and Pilsners; Collinses and highballs; Irish coffees and pousse-cafés. Get proper red-wine and white-wine glasses, and, while you’re at it, a set each of small sherry and whiskey-sour glasses. Voilà! You, my friend, are in business.

A final word on bars themselves: you can spend a few hundred bucks on a liquor cabinet or thousands on an actual portable bar counter plus back display, but all you really need is some room in your fridge, some storage space, a work surface, and a sink. Happy tending!

Ruth Tobias can be reached at ruthtobias@earthlink.net