Tequila and Bourbon ‘not needed’ for basic cocktails

Consumers have been told Tequila, Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey and Bourbon are not vital if they want to stock a decent home bar, but they should buy genever and two styles of rum instead.

The 12 bottle bar omits cocktails with Tequila and Bourbon, as well as other whiskies, as they aren’t “old school” enough

New cocktail book, The 12 Bottle Bar, by David and Lesley Solmonson, advises consumers to stock seven spirits, one liqueur, two vermouths and two bitters to create the perfect home bar.

However, it omits Tequila as it “just isn’t called for in that many old-school cocktails”, and includes rye as the only whisky variety because “it is far more old-school than Bourbon”.

The cocktail book, which is divided into sections by spirit category, calls for consumers to fill their home bar with a brandy, dry gin, genever, amber rum, white rum, rye whiskey, vodka, orange liqueur, dry vermouth, sweet vermouth aromatic bitters and orange bitters.

It offers a brief history of each spirit style, why it should be included in your bar, and several recipes.

There is also a guide at the back of the book on how to serve cocktails and a selection of virgin recipes.

The husband-and-wife authors, who write the 12bottlebar.com blog, do however explain the lack of Tequila, Scotch, Irish and Bourbon whiskies as a “personal choice”, and of course consumers are free to choose what sits in their home bar.

The book is available to buy from online retailers.