What are the ingredients for the perfect home bar? Is there a magic list I can post that will tell you what you need? No. Having the perfect home bar depends on whose home it is, but I can give you some basics that will fit into most peoples needs. Once you get the basics it's easy to start customizing to your tastes.

The Basics:

• Vodka,
• Light and/or Dark Rum
• Tequila
• Whiskey
• Gin 

Any good quality liquor will do, it doesn't have to be super premium, but do yourself and your friends a favor and avoid the rotgut. I won't be getting into hangover cures for a while and you'll need them if you serve the cheap stuff.

Good mixers to have on hand are:

• Coke
• 7-Up/Sprite
• limeade
• orange juice
• seltzer water
• tonic water
• tomato juice

Things you probably already have in your kitchen:

• Salt and pepper
• lemons
• limes
• sugar
• worcestershire sauce
• ice

Basic Bar Equipment:

• A jigger for measuring
• shaker
• cutting board
• sharp knife
• A good blender. I'll do a more detailed article on blenders soon.

A tip jar can be a fun addition, and if you figure out how to get your friends to use it, please shoot me an email drinkexaminer@gmail.com

Now that you have all the stuff you need, what do you make? Webtender.com has a fun section on their site called "In my bar". You just enter the ingredients you have on hand and it will give you a list of drinks you can make.

Enjoy!