If you only had 10: Liquors for a house bar

With people cutting back across the board, one easy way to save money is to limit the number of drinks you buy at bars or restaurants. If ever there was a time to have a good home bar, this is it. People think they need every liquor and cordial under the sun, but really all you need to make a majority of drinks are these 10 basic liquors:

1. Dirt-cheap vodka: Buy a 1.75 liter for under $15, and once it’s cold in the freezer it tastes perfectly fine with heavier mixers like cranberry, Red Bull or orange juice. Keep a big bottle in the freezer and you can always have after-hours at your place, even if the crowd is big and you don’t like them very much.

2. Middle-of-the-road vodka: Preferably a small batch brand like Kansas’ own Most Wanted or Tito’s. When it’s really cold, it tastes as good as stuff that’s twice as expensive. This is the vodka to use for tonics or vodkatinis.

3. Aged whiskey or scotch: The liquor equivalent of a sports car. It’s not for everyday, but rather to impress certain people on certain occasions. I’m partial to Irish whiskey (Red Breast is excellent) but any fine aged one will add prestige to the bar. Nearly every good whiskey also has a good story about how it came to be. By learning that story, you can impress visitors and also make sure they remember the brand next time your birthday comes round.