E-Mail This Article to a Friend No place like home You don’t have to belong to the leisure class to maintain a decent bar right where you live BY RUTH TOBIAS
	Specifically speaking MOST HOME-ACCESSORY stores stock at least a modicum of bartending equipment and barware. At Kitchen Etc. (196 Alewife Brook Parkway, Cambridge, 617-661-9139), bargain hunters can save enough on certain kitchen-to-bar crossover supplies (including blenders, glassware, and party goods) to blow a bigger bundle on the rest at, say, Williams-Sonoma (ooh, monogrammed leather coasters) or Crate & Barrel (how about a hand-painted margarita salter?). Online discount liquor and bar-supply stores also proliferate; www.webtender.com and www.bevmo.com are both reputable examples. — RT

Imagine a world in which everyone swans around in velvet smoking jackets and silk pajamas, where the wit is dry and the delivery arch, and breakfast in bed begins at 11. A glamorous, hyper-civilized world of foyers and armoires and high-thread-count linens — and, above all, wet bars.

Now imagine yourself in that world, behind your own wet bar, gin-soaked and fabulous as you whip up cocktail after perfect cocktail for a throng of admirers.

That world, or at least a version thereof, can be yours. For while you do have to be willing to invest both time and money, you don’t have to belong to the leisure class to maintain a decent home bar. After consulting a number of sources, among them The Bartender’s Bible by Gary Regan (HarperCollins, 1991), Mr. Boston Official Bartender’s & Party Guide (Warner Books, 2000), and a recent graduate of the Boston Bartenders School of America, we’ve created this 12-Step (lo, the irony) Guide to Building Your Own Bar. May it serve you well.

Liquids

The Budget Bar. You can have contraband absinthe, Croatian prosek, and a case of 400-year-old mead, but you still won’t have a bar until you have the following: well-quality vodka, gin, light rum, white tequila, blended and Irish whiskeys, bourbon, and blended Scotch; brandy and sherry (for mixing, not sipping); sweet and dry vermouth; Bailey’s and Kahlúa; and orange-flavored triple sec or Cointreau — as well as a house red wine, a house white wine, and whichever types of beer you and your pals prefer. Nonalcoholic essentials include club soda, tonic water, and ginger ale; cola and lemon-lime soda; and a range of juices — above all orange, grapefruit, cranberry, pineapple, and tomato. More arguably, Rose’s Lime Juice, bitters (a potent botanical flavoring agent) such as Angostura or Peychaud’s, and the pomegranate syrup known as grenadine all make the short list. As for simple syrup, the operative word is "simple" — just dissolve granulated sugar in hot water (Mr. Boston recommends a ratio of 16:13 ounces). And if milk or light cream and coffee aren’t strictly necessities, keeping a few cartons and a freshly brewed pot on hand is no great inconvenience, either, and they’ll come in handy more often than you might think.

The In-Between Bar. Now you’re ready to fill in the gaps. Stop up the biggest ones with dark rum, gold tequila, single-malt Scotch, cognac, a flavored vodka or two (I’d suggest citrus and vanilla), and applejack, as well as brandy and sherry (this time, get the good stuff). At this point, your cordial selection remains scant — beef it up with almond amaretto, hazelnut Frangelico, melon Midori, raspberry Chambord, and vanilla Galliano; peach and peppermint schnapps; and at least one anise liqueur (a category that includes pernod and sambuca, which are not, however, exactly interchangeable), plus crème de cacao (preferably both white and dark, but definitely white) and crème de menthe (preferably both white and green, but definitely green). A good tawny port will serve you well too, as will a larger selection of wine and beer. Finally, you can round out your virgin-liquid inventory with coconut cream and ginger beer.

The Blowout Bar. At this stage, you won’t be closing holes so much as opening horizons. Especially useful options include Grand Marnier, which ups the ante on triple sec; curaçao (white and/or blue); Scotch-based, honey-tinged Drambuie; the bright-red bitter aperitivo called Campari; chartreuse, an herbal distillate produced in French monasteries; plummy sloe gin; peach-and-bourbon Southern Comfort; Pimm’s No. 1, a gin-and-juice blend from England used in the summery quencher known as a Pimm’s Cup; crème de cassis; and a top-shelf tequila or two. Fling yourself even further into flavor with yet more infused vodkas; eaux de vie (brandies distilled from fruits other than grapes) such as cherry Kirschwasser and pear-based Poire William; fruit-flavored brandies (brandy-based liqueurs simply flavored with, not distilled from, other fruits) such as apricot and blackberry; and crème de banane. For happy hour, throw in blanc or rouge Lillet — a lovely French wine-based apéritif — plus both a ruby port and a high-end grappa for good postprandial measure. Of course, the list from here on out is endless — B&B? Peruvian pisco? Turkish raki? VOV, an Italian egg-based liqueur? — so it’s up to you to distinguish the top-of-the-line from what’s over it.