Stocking and styling a sophisticated home bar is one of the things that can truly make a person feel like an actual adult. Planning out your bar cart along with planning for specific cocktails for entertaining helps streamline entertaining to-do list and allow you to be prepared for any time guests come over. Read along for my free printable cocktail of the month calendar with coordinating shopping list so you can always be prepared!
The Beginnings of a Bar Cart for Home Cocktails
If your home bar cart is anything like mine, it got its humble beginnings from a stray bottle or two left behind by guests who had come over for a party or gathering. You know – the random bottle of Triple Sec, 1/2 a bottle of coconut rum, another random half-filled bottle of low quality tequila, etc.
Don’t let my multiple bar cart posts and cocktail recipe posts fool you. We really aren’t big drinkers in my house. In fact, the Hubs doesn’t really drink at all. As for me, I am only a social drinker. And since our social calendar is not exactly hopping many times of the year, it’s the good ole’ Diet Coke you’ll usually find me with.
That being said, I love to be a true grown up and be able to offer guests a nice cocktail – which is why I have a bar cart to begin with.
Restock Your Bar Cart Annually (Or More Often, If Necessary)
From all the cocktails I’ve made or attempted to make over the years, I have found frustration in walking over to my cart only to discover the one liquor I needed for a specific cocktail was nowhere to be found in my stock. With years of these frustrating experiences going on, I finally made myself a list of the top liquors that I felt I needed to keep at all times.
If you’ve ever walked into a liquor store, you might know the feeling of overwhelm. There are so many choices. How do you know where to begin?
Staple Liquors for Home Bars (Perfect Complements to My Printable Cocktail Planner)
- Dark rum
- Light rum
- Whisky
- Vodka
- Gin
- Bourbon
- Tequila
- Coffee liquor – Bailey’s, Rumchata or Kahlua
Over the years, I’ve learned that most of our friends think Tito’s is the only way to go when it comes to vodka.
Secondary Liquors for Home Bars
There are a gazillion other liquors that you can add to your home bar to allow for a larger variety of cocktail possibilities.
- Triple Sec
- Peach Schnapps
- Peppermint Schnapps
- Flavored vodkas – apple vodka, basil vodka, watermelon vodka, etc.
- Flavored rums – coconut rum, mango rum
- Fireball
Complementary Cocktail Mix-ins
Don’t forget all the fun mix-ins that put the finishing touches on cocktails!
- Simple syrup
- Flavored mixers
- Grenadine
- Ginger beer
- Prosecco or other sparkling wine
- Juices
- Sodas
- Maraschino cherries
- Olives
- Dried fruit wheels
- Fresh fruit garnishes
- Sugar blends and salts for rimming glasses
No more than we entertain with cocktails, I’ve decided to take inventory and restock my home bar twice a year. But I want to make sure I start each new year off with a fully stocked bar. It is going to be one of the things I do the first week of every January. People who prepare cocktails more often will likely need to take inventory and restock more regularly than this.
Print My Printable Cocktail of the Month Calendar for Your Home Bar
I’ve decided to make my life more simple, I want to start making one “house drink” for each month. This is the drink I will make and offer guests any time we have visitors. And if my guests would prefer to create their own cocktails from my fully stocked home bar, that is perfectly fine too. But having one specific cocktail in mind to offer will help simplify my shopping and planning so much!
I often go down the rabbit hole of all the drink possibilities when I’m planning an event at my house. I might go back and forth among 6-8 different cocktails which leads to overspending at the grocery store on this juice, that juice, this mixer, that garnish, etc.
Print my free cocktail of the month calendar and simplify your own life!
How to Use the Cocktail of the Month Calendar
Keeping a monthly “house special” will help streamline all of that for me. I created a monthly calendar with one cocktail recipe printed per month – themed around the seasons and holidays. The months go from January through December. If you are hoping for a Dry January, then start with whatever month you wish.
On page two of my printable cocktail of the month calendar, I have listed a shopping list for each cocktail.
Bam! The thinking is done for the whole year! I’m going to keep the calendar printed and framed at my bar area. That way, guests are free to self-serve themselves as well if that is the way things work out. Every month, I will be sure to buy the juices, sodas, and garnishes that are needed for that month’s drink. No more overbuying because I can’t make up my mind about which cocktail to offer!
AND…if you don’t like the drink listed for a particular month, you can always just reuse one of the one’s from a different month. For example, I’m not a big mint julep fan. But I went ahead and put it for the month of March on my calendar since many people do enjoy mint juleps during the month of March. But if I’m not feeling it, then I will just choose one of the other more generic cocktails from the calendar and serve that one in my home instead.
To boot, most of the cocktails can be adjusted to make in pitcher form. Easy peasy for entertaining!
Happy planning! Wishing you all a stress-free year of hosting!
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