Wanna start making your own boozy concoctions but don’t know where to begin? Wanna impress your friends (or yourself) but have a budget to stick to? This brief Cocktails 101 guide will get you started on your drink-mixing journey.

You might think that if you’re gonna make drinks at home, you’ve gotta have a crap ton of liquors, liqueurs, random ingredients, and fancy tools. And while accumulating all that stuff is fun (& maybe a little addicting), it’s really not necessary.

Let’s start with the basics of how to make cocktails at home. And I’m talking BASICS. There will be time later on down the road to invest in your bar cart some more.

Cocktails 101

STOCKING THE CART

Cocktails usually have 3 components: liquor, non-alcoholic mixer, and a fresh element (fruit juice, herbs, etc.). Buy these building blocks and you’ll be set to start shakin’ up something delicious whenever the urge strikes.

LIQUORS

Pick three liquors you know you enjoy. You’d be surprised how many drinks you can make with just 3 on hand.

I recommend:

• vodka *a MUST in my opinion*
• whiskey or rum
• tequila or gin

And don’t feel the need to splurge on top-shelf stuff. Start on the cheap side– you’ll be more likely to experiment with new flavors and recipes when you know you’re not pouring out $2/ounce. Plus if you store the bargain booze into thrift store decanters, none will be the wiser.

MIXERS

These can be kept on hand & stored in your fridge or pantry.

• ginger beer
• tonic water or club soda
• flavored sparkling water (sweetened or non)
• fruit juice (cranberry juice, grapefruit juice, etc.)

EXTRAS

These items are great to have on hand. Some are once-in-while purchases while others are good to grab every other week while you’re at the grocery store.

• simple syrup (don’t ever buy it! it’s way too easy to make)
• lemons
• limes
• fresh herbs (mint, basil, thyme, etc.)
• fruit jam (you probably already have a random jar in your fridge)

TOOLS

You don’t need much.

• cocktail shaker
• low-ball glasses (aka short glasses)

Yep. That’s really it. You can definitely buy a separate jigger (measuring tool), a bar spoon, and a separate strainer, but I’ve found I really only need a shaker. This cocktail shaker set is really affordable though and is seriously gorgeous. You could use a mason jar with a lid as a shaker, or even a protein shaker bottle, but you’ll need a little strainer to catch all the ice, herbs, and fruit pulp before you pour your elixir into your glass.

While not necessary, large ice molds will not only make your homemade cocktail Instagram-worthy, it’ll also make your drink colder and keep it from watering down too quickly.

If you’ve already got some of this, awesome! If not, it won’t cost you an arm & a leg to get it.

CREATING THE COCKTAILS AT HOME

You’ve got the building blocks; it’s time to create! As I mentioned before, cocktails usually consist of three components.

liquor + a mixer + something fresh = cocktail

The great thing about making cocktails at home is that they’re totally customizable. If you’re going to use a low-ball glass, the general rule of thumb is 1.5-2 oz of alcohol and the rest is the mixer. But really, there’s no perfect alcohol-to-mixer ratio. If you like your drinks strong, add more liquor. If you prefer the lighter side, add more of your mixer. If you like sweeter drinks, add simple syrup. If you don’t, skip it or add just a smidge.

Techniques

To shake or to stir? Does it even matter? Both methods effectively get your drink cold and your ingredients mixed. The general rule of thumb is that cocktails with citrus juice get shaken, while other cocktails that are more spirit-forward get stirred.

To Shake a Cocktail

1. Fill your shaker with some ice.
2. Pour in your liquor of choice and any other ingredients- juice, simple syrup, jam, etc.). Don’t add anything fizzy just yet.
3. Shake, shake, shake.
4. Pour over ice in your low-ball glass.
5. If you’ve got a carbonated mixer, pour it in the glass last.
6. Stir, sip, & enjoy!

*If you’re going to use a fresh herb, put it in an empty cocktail shaker and pour in the alcohol. Muddle it with a muddler or the back of a spoon to bruise the leaves and release the oils. Then add the ice and carry on with the rest of the steps.*

To Stir a Cocktail

You can still use your cocktail shaker for this, just don’t… shake it.

1. Add ice into your shaker, then pour all the ingredients in.
2. Use a long bar spoon, or any other spoon, to quickly stir everything. When stirring, the idea is to keep the back of the spoon against the side of the shaker, keeping the stem of the spoon between your thumb and forefinger. But really, there are no bar spoon police out there so just stir it how you want.
3. Strain the shaker into your glass of choice.

Garnishing Your Creation

Garnishes are technically optional, but I do feel they add a great deal to the whole experience of drinking a cocktail. Besides being visually appealing, some actually do add aromatic value. Smelling the mint, citrus, or chili powder that’s gracing the top of your beverage can really enhance the taste of it. After all, some say that 80% of the flavors we taste come from smell.

FLAVOR COMBOS

Ready to experiment and make your own cocktails at home? Try out some of these flavor combinations:

• vodka + lemon juice + basil + sparkling lemon water
• rum + ginger beer + lime
• whiskey + lemon juice + simple syrup + mint
• vodka + blackberry jam + tonic water+ basil
• tequila + fresh-squeezed orange juice + lemon juice+ simple syrup + sage

If you’re feeling more adventurous, check out these 6 different simple syrup recipes.

This concludes your Cocktails 101 course. Have you ever finished a class so quickly?! Now you know how to make cocktails at home. I hope you’re feeling inspired! If you’re not feeling quite brave enough just yet to create your own recipe, these 17 easy recipes are the perfect place to start. Each one uses 4 ingredients or less. You can’t get easier than that. Well, I guess you could just take shots of tequila, but where’s the fun in that?

Happy mixing!