Your Holiday Home Bar

 Drinks are a big part of the holiday scene. There is wine to accompany a Christmas ham or turkey. Champagne to ring in the New Year/ A nice Irish coffee to finish a quiet night in. A home bar should be well stocked and ready for any kind of drink. whether alcoholic or -nonalcoholic.

What should any well stocked home bar have? Corkscrews are always a must  along with bottle openers.There will always be bottles to be uncorked and you don;t want to use a dinmer fork to do this.A couple of jiggers or small measuring cups are also handy ,expecially when you're creating mixed cocktails and even mocktails. Of course yo'll eed a good cocktail shakers for those holiday martinis along with strainers for making sure ice or pulp doesn't drop into the finished drink. Most professional bartenders use what's called a Boston shaker but you can buy a cobbler one that has a built in strainer. For the perfectly mixed drink make sure you have bar spoons which long handled spoons with small bowls. Also have mixing glasses for making multi ingrdient libaions. You can. find these at any store from Amazon to Wal-mart. You should alreay have champagne glasses and tumblers too. If you are dealing with a big crowd, then buy the plastic versions and keep the good stuff locked away.

What about the types of alcohol? A good gin such as Beefeater's is a must. It can serve as a base for many cocktails. Whiskey is another must have.  Keep in mind it and bourbon are sort of alike. Bourbon has fifty-one percent of a corn mixutre in it while whiskry has just an equal amount of mashed grains in it. Another home bar staple is rum. The best for cocktails is Flor di Cana, which has aromas, of white chocolate, and orange along with sweet almonds and vanilla. As for rumfor punches then have Bacardi Superior rum for a fun fruity punch, A good tequila rounds out the bar. Try to find a good blanco or silver one . it has a relatively mild flavor and clear color.It's the best for cocktails. Sodas play an important role in a home bar too, epsecially for mocktails. Yes, you should have cola for makeing rum and Coke along with ginger ale for non drinkers)Both drinkers and non drinkers like a good fizzy cocktail. Have various seltzers around. One of the best is Waterloo which comes in such flavors as grape , spiced apple, watermelon and peach. Also have plain sletzer for mixing as well.

Make sure your home holiday bar is well stocked for the dinners and parties ahead. This will ensure tasty cocktails and mocktails for yourself and guests. There's nothing like the perfect sip for the holidays.

Your Guide To London Bars

London is the place for summer vacations. It's a witty, polished town full of style and taste. It is also a sophisticated city laced with bars for the thirsty tourist and native. Yet , like other international cities, there are so many to choose from. Luckily there is a guide to help .

 Travelers need to pack London's Best Cocktail Bars :The Most Popular Hotspots (Lifestyle Books 2019). The author , Susan Cohen, a Londoner herself, has written this extensive guide to the city's best bars. She is the expert on all things British,usually writing on where to go for a proper British tea  and uniquely English subjects such as midwives and the Women's Institute. Travelers and Anglophiles may be familiar with her first guide London's Afternoon Teas:A Guide To London's Most Stylish and Exquisite Tea Venues. This may be good for who else - tea totalers . The new guide is perfect for those who want to try a variety of different quaffs along  being seen in the capital city's trendiest night spots. This is a beautifully crafted book, full of lovely pictures of the bars and their seating areas. One interesting note is that Ms.Cohen also includes recipes for some of the cocktails mentioned. Readers could try them out at home, especially at an at home cocktail party. A big plus is that the author includes dress codes - very important  - and lists the places of interest nearby.

The bars mentioned range from the ultra fun to the classic ones. Those with kids - yes kids - should check out Belowzero Ice Bar, located not far from Trafalgar Square.The seats and sculptures along with the glasses are made from ice. It's a perfect respite if London suffers from yet another scorching summer. Couples or groups may get a kick out of the whimsically named Sexy Fish. It also has the bonus of being within distance of Fortnum and Mason, one of the world's oldest food purveyors and a foodie's dream come true. Their drinks are unusual and the bar offers patrons a flavor map to help them decide what to order. There are also the typically English sort of bar such as The American Bar at The Stafford Hotel.It's the kind of place where you could see upper crust sorts enjoying an after work drink or internationals taking advantage of Tanqueray or Dubonnet cocktails.It was also a hang out of Elizabeth , the Queen Mother.Ms. Cohen also includes the famed and sophisticated Connaught Bar at the world famous Connaught Hotel. Visitors will love the martini trolley along with the drink Fleurissimo, a tribute to Grace Kelly,one of the hotel's famous guests.

London's Best Cocktail Bars: The Most Popular Hotspots is the guide book to have for any one with London vacation plans. It is a must pack and must have when visiting this amazing cities. Like the cocktails themselves, it's full of spark and sparkle.