How to choose bottles for your bar - Workhorse Spirits

[@DirtyHairy01]

I spent over $1k this summer on bottles for my home bar because of this channel! 😂🤣 And it was the best summer ever, thanks Leandro! 🥳

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

It’s what we’re here for 😂

[@j777]

I think I also busted 1k easy, let's blame Leandro :) (but totally worth it!)

[@garlicgirl3149]

Right!

[@timothysteadham331]

So you remember that summer? lol.

[@vincethewhat1362]

So glad to see three star show up it’s really an awesome budget rum makes my favorite daiquiri

[@josefausto6467]

Love all the price points on all of these bottles. For a beginner, these are all excellent options not only for their price, but for their quality. I absolutely use all these bottles in my home bar whenever I’m entertaining. Leandro, you are a true Cocksmith. One of the greats. I’m looking forward to seeing all the videos in this segment.

[@-Seeker-]

The word Cocksmith just sounds wrong.

[@josefausto6467]

Cocktail Craftsman? How about Cocktail Artisan? I like Cocksmith. What do you prefer Leandro?

[@Cadwallon85]

Much as Cocksmith made me laugh, I think the swanky term these days is 'mixologist' 😂

[@scottboyle4596]

Saw Old Grandad Bonded and I’m in. My fav low cost bourbon. Good neat, great as a mixer. Always on my bar shelf.

[@FunctionallyLiteratePerson]

Re: rums I highly suggest checking out the book Smuggler's Cove! I personally find their categorization system the most meaningful and all in all it's a great book to read. Traditionally in America, rums are categorized by color, which as you alluded to, doesn't really do them justice. The system from the book really connects a lot of dots and helps comparing/contrasting rums go much easier in my experience.

[@paulgoodwin81]

Have you checked out Smith and Cross? Bit more higher end but well worth it. Great for sipping and mixing.

[@scottboyle4596]

The Navy strength is amazing. My wife hates it. Too funky for her, but it’s everything I want in a rum

[@cfunch]

Great book

[@smokeytiki3185]

It's funny, from the thumbnail photo, I literally thought you were going to be talking about bottles. I'm glad, instead, you talked about what's inside the bottles. Great video! It's nice to know some of your favorites, that aren't too pricy.

[@ogreenius]

Love that you called out ethics and sustainability with the agave spirits! Great recommendations. I do consider mezcal to be at least as important as tequila these days though, and arguably a lot more modern classics actually incorporate or rely on it. So hopefully you'll get to additional base spirits in a future video. With how well planned this seems to be I have little doubt. 🙂

[@brendancurtin679]

I agree about mezcal, but I think for a video on "workhorse" spirits, doing a tequila and not a mezcal makes sense. All it takes is making margaritas sometimes to require using lots of tequila, so having something good enough and budget friendly is important. On the other hand, I think mezcal would go nice in another video on other base spirits to have on hand (eg, mezcal, cognac, cachaca, Pisco, some other rums, etc.). Depending on preferences, I could see some people needing a "workhorse" choice for any of those, but most people probably don't. Of them all, mezcal or a dark rum would prob be the most likely to need a good workhorse value choice.

[@ogreenius]

​@@brendancurtin679 Yeah, you're definitely right that tequila is the more expected "core spirit", and probably was the right choice. But I think it's worth noting a couple things here. Warning: long comment ahead. 😄 So I think at the heart of it is that spirit popularity and use in good/modern classic cocktails is on a curve, but it's a pretty sharp drop-off of that curve from the most popular to the least popular spirits. Tequila actually falls into the least popular when it comes to number of recipes that include it. For the most part you have whiskey and gin as by far the most popular, with vodka and arguably rum coming in reasonable seconds as far as the number/variety of recipes that use them. Tequila is a fairly distant 3rd place, so to speak, and mezcal is not that far off from a similar number of recipes that use it. Again I'm talking about *modern classics* and other currently popular recipes, and also referencing number of recipes, not popularity of a single one. Obviously margaritas are made quite often, but that's a single drink. The Paloma is probably another quite popular tequila drink. And... that's largely it. So not to say that mezcal is as popular *overall* as tequila, but I'm talking about use in a variety of recipes here, and also contextually for *this* channel. Think of the number of tequila vs. mezcal recipes you see on here. Checking the Edu Barfly website, the number of hits for each spirit in a search is *very* close, with tequila having 30 results and mezcal 25. Compared to gin at more than 200, and even rum at 135. In other words rum is used more than 4x more often in Edu Barfly recipes vs. tequila, and tequila in contrast is only *slightly* more popular than mezcal. So I suppose I'd say my point about mezcal is that because tequila is actually in so few popular/modern classic recipes, it feels to me as though mezcal deserves some mention. Not a bottle recommendation perhaps, but I would have said e.g. "mezcal is another agave-based spirit that's increasingly popular, which we'll get to in a future video". I'd also point out that your suggestion to include it in a separate video along with a bunch of other less popular spirits makes total sense given the choice to include tequila here, but again departs from the reality of their use in recipes, at least as reflected in this channel's content. If you put together hits for cognac and brandy on the Edu Barfly website, it's something like 70-80, far outweighing tequila's representation (and even cognac on its own is at a similar level to tequila). So should cognac/brandy have been in this first episode? In the end again I understand why tequila is here. It's still considered one of those important core spirits. But its popularity is also being challenged by mezcal, and as far as actual utility and number of recipes you can make from this channel, you'd be as well off knowing what mezcal to buy as what tequila. I think this is a great video, and it's part of a series so nothing important will get missed. But I also think it's a good opportunity to consider and perhaps update our understanding of what constitutes "core spirits" as far as modern cocktail representation and curation of one's own home bar is concerned.

[@DirtyHairy01]

I’ve been wondering why Tequila is about double the price of the other liquors I like to drink, I had no idea the agave cactus takes so long to mature for harvest, yea sustainable estate Tequilas will be my only future purchases.

[@brendancurtin679]

@@ogreenius All good points. I just think "workhorse" implies you're going to go through a lot of it, so you want something that is good without breaking the bank. Even though tequila isn't in as many popular cocktails, one of the cocktails it is in is one of the most popular cocktails in the world and one that people will drink several of in one sitting. You can easily go through a few bottles of tequila just having a few friends over for tacos and margs. Yes, you can use mezcal in a marg (and I like to), 99% of them will be all tequila. I think most people are less likely to go through several bottles of mezcal in a night than they are to go through several bottles of mezcal. But you could go through several bottles of anything if you make it the feature drink of a party. You can go through several bottles of pisco making pisco sours for everyone. But I just don't think it's as common to have a lot of those drinks be what everyone is drinking several of as it is for the margarita.

[@ogreenius]

@@brendancurtin679 Yeah, I have to agree this is probably true. It annoys me (margaritas just aren't great cocktails to me), but I can't argue with their genuine popularity. 😄 And I think more than that I'd like to believe viewers of this channel have broader horizons much of the time. But still, given people drink a lot of them in general, it's a very good thing to have an ethical/sustainable recommended bottle at a good price point!

[@cameronmichael4670]

I'm a huge gin guy and I've been building my home bar for a few years, so this is a little more expensive (~$30), but Ford's gin is a fantastic London dry which makes a great workhorse gin.

[@OGDaybreak]

When I started the video and saw a bottle of Fernet-Branca I raged clicked through to see how you could've possibly justified that pick, only to find you didn't talk about it at all. If that was an intentional troll... well played.

[@Aekif]

i saw that also. I even went back when it disappeared and was like "did i imagine that?" I love fernet branca but I was like "it's definitely not a 'workhorse spirit'"

[@OGDaybreak]

@@Aekif Same, I was like "Fernet?! Over Sweet Vermouth? Over Campari?!"

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

😂 you liked that little Fernet Troll did ya?

[@brendancurtin679]

@@TheEducatedBarfly lol. On your website, I did notice you put fernet under must have Amari, but you don't have Campari on your list under Amari or liqueurs. If you combined those categories, I'd prob put Campari as the third most important bottle (after one orange liqueur and maraschino liqueur). Between the Negroni and all of its riffs and the americano, I don't see how it could be left off a list that also includes cynar and fernet (both of which I have, but I go through Campari 10x faster than those). Anyway, I know the website post is from last year, so consider including Campari when you get to the video on Amari and/or liqueurs!

[@jpcampbell]

If Fernet is not on the mandatory bottles in the end, I’ll be disappointed.

[@rakghoul6393]

As someone who's been mixing drinks as a hobby for just over 2 years now, these bottles are permanently on hand for me. Old Granddad especially is just such amazing value for the money, won't make a Paper Plane with any other Bourbon. As for rum, Havana Club 3 year is another great and cheap bottle (depending on retailers near you) that has a lot of good character to it. If you want to go with a darker rum, Plantation 5 year is a great, albeit slightly more expensive at ~$30-35, bottle you could consider.

[@boingobass]

Beefeater is why I love spirits in general. Props for giving it love. Also, Rittenhouse Rye is one of my favorites. Best whiskey for the price, hands down. Will be checking the other bottles out. Great video.

[@daniel_dumile]

Strange this is exactly what I was planning out this week. My new favourite channel.

[@paulgoodwin81]

I agree with the Beefeter. Always my go to for my speed rail and house cocktails.

[@g0mikese]

I'd strongly poke people into not worrying to much about having the exact bottle that's used in a video. Try the drink with what you have and if you like it but think "this could be better" consider then changing bottles for things like the same gin that was used or one closer to it in flavor. You wont have the same drink, but it'll be damn close in many cases and you'll learn more about what the bottles you do have preform well in rather than having a million bottles and not being sure what to do when the Beefeater runs out (hint: anything Beefeater is good for I think The Botanist is better for, if you can stomach the price difference). I'd also suggest playing with syrups. The easiest way in the world to make a strawberry mojito/daiquiri/margarita is to just sub the simple syrup or sugar for strawberry syrup. Will it be the best? No. There's better ways to go about that that make a more balanced and interesting drink. But you can find those by starting with that simple sort of step, and it will be a great drink at the same time.

[@SCLSUMudDogs1]

I'm in the process of renovating my 1st floor. I plan on building a cocktail/wet bar, so these videos are perfectly timed. I'm set on spirits and tools, but just curious if you plan on talking about design, layout or workflow within a cocktail bar. That's where I struggle; I feel like I am not as efficient as I want to be. Any suggestions like that in a video would be hugely helpful!

[@christinecamley]

Fabulous video Leondro! I am a huge Gin fan and my favorite category of Gin is a terrific London Dry Gin. Beefeater is a huge favoriite and it makes a terrific martini and can go into so many cocktails and certainly the classic cocktails. It's one of the most versatile spirits I have ever come across! LOT 40 Canadian Rye has taken over as my "go to" Rye but I also use Rittenhouse a lot. It is considerably more expensive in Canada. Given the price point in Canada other Rye spirits start to compete for a terrific "go to" Rye! I also really enjoy Bulleit Rye! I am looking forward to episode 2!! Your videos are always so packed with fabulous, helpful information! Thanks so much!! Cheers!! 🙂

[@KevinMirsky]

What a great series to start, especially as someone who's pretty much in spot you're targeting. Subscribing and looking forward to the next episode!

[@marvelboy74]

I have been buying Arette tequila blanco and I love it.

[@aparthia]

I like the idea of doing packages of spirits. There isn't a lot of cocktails you can make just with the base spirits, but if you went for eg a bourbon package with red vermouth and ango bitters, you have a solid base for cocktails like the mint julep, old fashioned, manhattan, whiskey sour, and can be expanded pretty easily. A gin package could look like gin and dry vermouth to open for Gimlets, Southside, Gin and Tonic, Tom Collins, etc. From there I'd go either the "rum route" or "brandy route" which will open a whole suite of cocktails.

[@jeremyeckhause1747]

Leandro, fervently agreed with all choices, though I definitely prefer Tanqueray to Beefeater (though I like the latter). Where I live Tanqueray is only slightly more (maybe $23 vs. $26), and Beefeater recently dropped the proof from 94 to 88 in the US. Tanq is still 94.6 proof here, thankfully.

[@error.418]

Tanqueray is absolutely better than Beefeater. Still right in that affordable spot, still a London dry gin, still juniper forward. I also find when serving people new to gin that I have far more success with Tanqueray No. Ten. Tastes change, that's okay.

[@chefsabbaa7896]

Yes, tell me. I do need to learn a lot more on beverages so let's go.

[@ogreenius]

Timestamps: 00:00 Intro and Background 1:50 Availability and Alternatives 2:49 Bourbon Whiskey - Old Grand Dad 3:36 Gin - Beefeater 4:54 Tequila - Arette 6:29 Rye Whiskey - Rittenhouse 7:34 Light Rum - Plantation 3 Star 9:20 Wrap-up

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

Thanks for the time stamps! Caught Marius asleep at the wheel 😂

[@ogreenius]

@@TheEducatedBarfly Doesn't happen often, gotta take advantage when it does 😁

[@ronpriskie6330]

Happy to see Plantation 3 Star made the list. It's my go to for rum drinks. Looked like a bottle of Fernet hiding in the background in the early shots but it disappeared as you went on. LOL

[@carl_busch]

HAHA I was thinking the same thing.

[@bermei5187]

I find plantation 3 star a little too sweet for my liking. I recommend Flor De cana extra seco for a good bargain white rum. It's so clean but is still noticeably a rum. I don't know how they get away with selling it for so cheap.

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

Flor de Caña 4 is a good one

[@MrMoney331]

Easy to find and easy to Replace, I don't know where you are finding OGD Bottled and Bonded recently. But it is always sold out around me 😥

[@deangraves7462]

Gin: Gin Mare (Mediterranean version of London Dry) Rum: Plantation Aged 5 Year Tequila: Partida Blanco Burbon: Wild Turkey 101/ Maker's Mark (recommended for Beginners) Whiskey: Wheel Horse Rye Brandy: Lairds Apple Brandy Blended Scotch: Monkey Shoulder Irish Whiskey: Red Breast

[@nathanjackson8356]

Need or in the mood for a lower rye bourbon I use Evan Williams 1783 for a lot of cocktails. You can find it around 20 bucks.

[@jts04]

100% agree with every pick

[@milomaz1]

It's always fun seeing Americans talking about good rums since here in Canada we don't have the Cuba embargo and get some of the best Cuban rum for like $20 a bottle.

[@andreasnygaard98]

As a norwegian, seeing beefeater go for 16$ seems insane to me. That bottle would go for somewhere between 30-40$ where i live😬 say Hi to Marius from your norwegian crowd❤️

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

Will do!

[@fuzzzone]

Very weird to think that I'm 7x further away from London than Oslo is and yet I get Beefeater for half the price you do...

[@berelinde]

Prices vary a lot in the USA, too. Marius in California is paying about $5 less per bottle than I pay in New Jersey. Weird, but true. That said, his recommendations are still solid, because that price increase is universal, and the value for money is still there.

[@mamikgibar]

This is terrific info--particularly appreciated the rum and tequila categories. I'd love to also get a cognac rec--the one I really like, Martell Blue Swift (a bourbon drinker's cognac) is $45+ per bottle, and would love to get a workhorse recommendation. Also, I am increasing interested in learning about "New World" spirits (rums, tequlias, piscos, etc), and that might be an interesting video in the future. Thank you for all the great learning!

[@berelinde]

Have you tried Salignac cognac? It's around $43/bottle in New Jersey, and it's versatile. It tastes good neat, but I find that it mixes well, too. Cognacs are generally smooth, so you aren't going to get harsh edges with any of them, but why put $65 cognac in a cocktail? I don't use if for cooking, though. I've got a small bottle of E&J for that.

[@jgutierrez8024]

AWESOME !!!! Very informative, thank you. I enjoyed this very much and can't wait for the next part.

[@TheWhiteDragon3]

When I started mixing drinks as a hobby, I did the dumb thing and went out and bought everything at once. It was _exceedingly_ expensive. On the bright side, even if you do that, if you drink at an acceptable rate, it will be a looong time until you need to restock.

[@smokeydes8501]

Awesome vid, can’t wait for pt2

[@gregsoucie]

Solid picks Leandro!

[@treblack1743]

Love to see the net in there

[@mr-vet]

White rum, aged/dark rum (several, comprising different styles/countries of origin) spiced rum, overproof/high proof rum, bourbon, scotch whisky, rye, Canadian whiskey, a couple of good gins, vodkas, and orange liqueurs, coffee liqueur, quality tequila…a blanco, Reposado, and an anejo. This is what I have with the addition of some other liqueurs…and heavy on the rum

[@Coasterdude02149]

Of the Gin's I've tried, I always keep going back to Boodles. How does this compare to others? Also, the Rye, I've been addicted to Old Overholt since you posted the Flip Side cocktail. I really like the flavour profile of that mixed or on the rocks. Am I too far off the mark? Not even going to get into the Tequila, but that's more for sipping rather than mixing for me so.....I paid a crazy amount for my Tequila.

[@SanTM]

Nice video. Very helpful too. I spent a lot of money on my home bar but these tips are always welcome. In the UK Beefeater gin is 40% so 80 proof. I like Tanqueray as it's 43% and of course mixing it up with Rangpur, Roku, Gin Mare etc In the UK we can find Havana Club 3 for around £19 and easy to find. I love the flavour and it's so much better than Bacardi Carta Blanca, but if you need a lot of rum mixed drinks then Bacardi is fine. I just think a could white rum is a gamechanger

[@boozeontherocks]

This was a great set of work horse reviews!!

[@scottboyle4596]

The rum rabbit hole is deeeeep

[@chickrepelant]

i keep a blended scotch on hand, and a brandy. I know they're used less, BUT i kinda wanna normalize them a bit more, so i play around with them, A LOT

[@berelinde]

One year later, prices are about $5 higher in my area. That said, I'm 100% with you on the rye, gin, and rum recommendations, but I don't bother with bourbon or tequila. I don't use them, so I don't buy them. I do buy Salignac cognac. At $43 locally, it isn't cheap, but it's definitely good value for money, especially when you consider what most cognac sells for. I've usually got vodka in the house, but the brand varies. Except for the cognac, I don't drink spirits neat, so unless it smells like paint thinner, it's probably just fine in a cocktail.

[@ashrujitpoddar320]

I don't have access to any kind of bitters. Only non-alcoholic ones that's also one company only. What do you recommend? I really love brandy cocktails & Sazerac too.

[@-Seeker-]

I've recently made a home bar that cost me more than I want to talk about. I bought a lot more spirits than listed here that helped me start out with a large repertoire that I can try and build my skill with. Personally I bought a bottle of Cointreau and Vodka as well and two bottles of Vermouth then a bottle of Cognac. And of course, bitters. Red wine is pretty much a standard for a lot of cooking stuff here, so I just used my father's dry red wine for New York Sours. I wholeheartedly recommend buying a bottle of Cognac for drinking straight or mixing if you like Brandy. And buy quality bartender tools. They make mixing drinks easier and a lot more fun if you know you can trust your tools. You only have to buy them once.

[@garlicgirl3149]

Same

[@Marfoogled.Bar.Brewing]

I've built my Home Bar over 7 years ago, and $1000s later, I'm better Stocked with more flavors than some City Bars

[@Tomvaneester]

Hah, I know that feeling. I'm at that point where if someone for example goes "I once had this herbal thing in Prague thirty years ago" I get up, open a door, and hand him some Becherovka. "Was it this?"

[@bp3986]

I brought a bottle of Amer Picón home from Spain just so I could make a real Liberal cocktail 😅

[@lrvogt1257]

Outstanding choices. These aren't just good for the price... They are really good. Monkey Shoulder scotch is on my list. An excellent blended whisky at a very good price. Tito's Handmade Vodka is also on my list. Arette blanco in sometimes hard to find but I like Tapatio blanco just as well. Similar price. Plantation 3 Stars is great. That plus some Appleton Estate Jamaican, and a dark rum like Pussers and you can make any rum cocktail and it will be delicious. Beefeater is an excellent mixer and makes a fine martini as well.

[@margefoyle6796]

Excellent!!

[@evanhayes5891]

Keep doin' it, man. The latent rage on your face makes me chuckle and the apparent knowledge makes me listen!

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

😂 rage that isn’t actually there 😂

[@horriblelittlegoblin]

Great advice & agree with all the recommendations - my question would be what is the best way to determine the sustainable/ethical credentials of a tequila supplier? In non-US locations such as mine the choice is more limited, so would be great to know how to assess the options in that regard.

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

Luckily we have this: tequilamatchmaker.com Problem solved ::::mic drop:::::

[@GShopen72]

Interesting choices. I made a few different choices. 1. Gin: Beefeater (Price in PL: ~$16) 2. Rye: Bulleit Rye (~$21) 3. Bourbon: Maker's Mark ( ~$21) 4. Scotch: Black Label/Caol Ila 12 (~$21/~$41) 5. Rum: Bacardi Carta Blanca (Price in PL: ~$11) 6. Tequilla: El Jimandor Blanco (Price in PL: ~$23) Here in PL we do not have so wide choice of bourbons or rye whisky. And they are more expensive. For example the price of this Old Dad is aobut $34. I love Manhattan and i have tried rye whisky from Jack Daniels, Wild Turkey, Balcones 100% Rye, Ezra Brooks, Templeton Rye 4 yo and few more. IMO ratio quality/price makes Bulleit a winner. I use Caol Ila mainly to make Sand Fly, which is a fantastic cocktail. I have take a recipe from your video. Thank you. I love your channel by the way. Take care.

[@steventwiddy3402]

Hey man what is that skull 💀 up on the book shelf ? Is it a mortar and pestle ?

[@taylorwhitener3746]

For the whiskey, old granddad makes a nice high proof called ogd 114 if you wanting a cheaper budget cask strength. For another bomb quality low cost if you cant find the ogd bonded he suggested, take a look at the Evan William white label. They tend to run around $17-20

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

Yep love me the 114 too I’ll put together a bourbon video at some point soon, I’ll be doing this for all spirits

[@taylorwhitener3746]

@@TheEducatedBarfly be excited for that one, I feel whiskey can get as crazy as rums with all the diversity

[@als.2983]

@@TheEducatedBarfly A spirit series would be appreciated. You could really help steer folks to great choices. For me, I have a solid handle on starter bottles. I could use your insights on which bottles/spirits are worth the the extra cost. For example, in tequila I like Arette as a starter bottle. But in spirit forward tequila cocktails Tapatio is worth the extra money. Plus, I would value your thoughts on less well traveled spirits like Pisco, Mezcal, Amaro, etc.

[@rocnathan]

Very happy to see that, but for the tequila and bourbon, those are exactly my workhorse spirits. I've been using Evan WIlliams, but lately turned to Jim Beam Devil's Cut, which in my opinion makes an almost unbeatable manhattan. To my shame, I haven't considered the ethics angle for tequila before, but I daresay the Cuervo 1800 I've been using and loving doesn't fit the bill. There's something to look into. The plantation is one of my favorite rums and absolutely brilliant in a classic daiquiri, but thends to get swallowed up by stronger flavors, so I wouldn't use it (ahem) in a Bacardi Cocktail, for instance.

[@bryced5]

I saw Fernet Branca peeking through your selected bottles there, which piqued my curiosity. That would have been quite the "dark horse" of a "workhorse" bottle! Or do you consider that your workhorse amaro?

[@bjp6202]

Considering availability - I would love to see Hamilton get going with distribution in Europe.

[@nevadanate4957]

Plantation 3 isn't really a budget rum in my area, Total Wine offers it for 26.50 which is already almost the price of Bacardi 8. If I can find it though, Royal Standard Dry Rum has a suspiciously similar 3 island blend and is like 20 bucks a liter, so that's a gem. Personally I think for "well" rum drinks you're better off getting a liter of Castillo for 10 bucks and then collecting weird stuff for when it counts.

[@fuzzzone]

Total reverse here. My Total Wine has Plantation 3 for $18/750ml and JR Royal Standard for $26/1L.

[@TheyCallMeKent]

If you live in Sweden this is a guide for this video, Old Grand-dad is not available. I recommend trying Buffalo Trace(35$) for your bourbon, its highly available and rarely needs to be ordered. Beefeater(26$) is in every liquor store . Arette Blanco(45$) order only, will take some time to get. Rittenhouse(50$) most of you will have to order. And for rum, Plantation 3 star(30$) only is for orders and takes time, but in Sweden you can get Havana club(27$) which is just as good if not even better. You might not see it that much on KZbin though because its from Cuba and banned in the US.

[@douglascamus8207]

@TheEducatedBarfly What's your opinion of Aviation Gin?

[@Marfoogled.Bar.Brewing]

My advice for Beginners to building a home Bar, Dollar tree or $1.25 store has Bartenders Tools and Bar Glassware, and other equipment for building a Home Bar

[@natasha5306]

Dutch market (I used to sell alcohol): bourbon is a bit pricey, so wait for deals. Dry gin, British or made in NL, is cheap enough. Vodka from Germany, France, Netherlands, etc., is quite cheap. Tequila: the good stuff is a bit pricey, so wait for deals. Rum: the usual suspects are affordable, and we get rum from Suriname (even overproof)! Brandy: also cheap enough.

[@brendancurtin679]

Leandro, what are your thoughts on any of the Kirkland (Costco) brand spirits as workhorse spirits? Beefeater has generally been my workhorse gin, because I could get a handle of it for around $30-34, generally. But the Kirkland gin is $17 a handle. It's not quite as good as Beefeater, but the price difference is huge. Beefeater is better, but it's not 2x better! I still get it sometimes, but Kirkland has become my new home bar "well" gin.

[@ogreenius]

Would love to see them do a *blind* taste test between Kirkland bottles and A: the other low-priced well/workhorse they'd otherwise recommend as well as B: bottles of similar price to the Kirkland. I'd be shocked if Kirkland's stuff didn't beat similarly priced products, at the least. My general understanding is that Kirkland spirits products are often made by some of the same large producers as other major brands (their vodka is rumored to be produced similarly to Grey Goose, etc.), and while the recipes and blends, etc. may be different, the basic "quality" of the spirit is reasonably good for the price point.

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

Yep we can do that! I’ve been meaning to do a Trader Joe’s and Costco bottles vid for a while

[@ogreenius]

​@@TheEducatedBarfly Oh yeah, TJs! Sounds like it *might* make a good series then, go one spirit at a time and test: Kirkland vs. TJs vs. Price-equivalent product vs. name-brand Workhorse. Could probably be done as Shorts if you wanted, and those are shorts I might actually watch. 😄

[@brendancurtin679]

@@ogreenius I'd also guess that Kirkland will generally beat out anything at the same price point, but probably will usually fall a little short of the other workhorse choice, similar to the gin example I gave. But it'd be interesting to see where it comes close or could beat out a more expensive workhorse choice.

[@brendancurtin679]

@@TheEducatedBarfly Awesome! Thanks! As Oshyan mentioned, it'd be nice to see how they compare to other workhorse options.

[@caspargregersjensen7372]

the 44% Beefeater isn't available a lot of places, especially outside the states.

[@mattijousmaa6084]

Hi! I have a question. Which of the following gins would you buy when the prices are following: Beefeater (40%), 29,90€; Tanqueray (43%), 34,90€ or Bombay Sapphire (40%), 35,42€?

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

Tanqueray seems like the best deal why is your Beefeater so damned expensive???

[@mattijousmaa6084]

@@TheEducatedBarfly I have wondered your kind words on Beefeater, 'cos it ain't cheap here in Finland (a.k.a. Funland, the happiest country in the world). We have government-owned monopoly on alcohol stronger than 5,5%. The monopoly favours the more expensive products by having bigger profit marginals on the cheaper stuff. The cheapest gin in Alko is Juniper Gin (37,5%), 20,69€. The bottle size of these gins is 0,7L. The crazy priced bottles might be cheaper here than elsewhere. We do booze cruises to Estonia and Sweden, because alcohol is cheaper in Estonia and the ferries to Sweden have tax free.

[@ItsMe-fs4df]

Thank you for mentioning it's not just price and taste you should be concerned about, ethics and sustainability are major considerations too ❤

[@nickramos6477]

I own a bar in Indiana and I’ve been told by my liquor distributors that beefeater just had a huge recall due to quality issues.

[@carl_busch]

I LOVE all your must haves. I haven't tried that tequila yet. I guess I know what we are getting next time we are in Madison.

[@aaronparsley6491]

I saw a little switcheroo in htere... Fernet didn't make the final cut?

[@mglennon5535]

Good Stuff

[@cameronmichael4670]

For some reason it's harder to find Plantation 3 Star in my area (thank you NC for having communist liquor distribution), so I use Havana Club Blanco (~$20) and it's a great substitute.

[@Garrettjohnson94]

I have a question unrelated to this video, just hoping you see this. I see you have pre-squeezed fruit juices in glass bottles in some videos, how do you keep it fresh for long? Google says fresh lime juice only lasts a day or two

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

You don’t keep it good for a long time. In the beginning of this channel I would pre-Squeeze juice and shoot multiple episodes and use it all up in the course of a shoot day. Nowadays I just squeeze per cocktail

[@Garrettjohnson94]

@@TheEducatedBarfly Got it!

[@teddydanielson4225]

Cheap-but-good bottles became my mantra as a cash strapped college student with a taste for quality drinks! Rum is my personal favorite, and while Plantation 3 is lovely, I always kept Appleton Estate Signature on hand. It’s a wonderful intro to Jamaican rums (which I’m partial to) and it stands up pretty well in a rum and coke, frequently the drink of choice for my friends. It was a great way to show them that there was much more to the world of rum beyond Bacardi and Captain Morgan.

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

Appleton estate will definitely be in a video but it’s specifically Jamaican rum which doesn’t work for every drink. Then again no single rum works for EVERY drink lol 😂 it’s a great option. Kudos to you for upping the game for your friends!

[@christinecamley]

Appleton Estate Signature is a must have! It's always in my bar!

[@julioriviera]

You have cost me close to €6000. Cheers bro 😂

[@jaydub2971]

Great selections, Leandro, though I have to swap out Rittenhouse for Bulleit Rye so my sibling won't pitch a fit

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

😂 we do what we gotta do!

[@lrvogt1257]

"Steve the Barman" has an excellent KZbin channel just about rum.

[@Vasarcdus]

Is this a re-upload or an update to the previous?

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

re-upload, moved it over from the other channel because it's a better fit here. And we're continuing the series here. Watch it again :)

[@michaelpatten315]

The best bottles are the ones that easily break over one's head when a saloon brawl breaks out

[@sethjohnson2287]

Boo Rittenhouse, Hooray OF 100 Rye! I read the article and saw it was also included

[@polishprince7219]

nice video but if you are trying to make every single cocktail made by yourself, Anders or Steve the Bartender you will spend thousands on Booze no matter what lol. Beefeater is my favourite workhorse gin and I prefer it over Tanquery and Bombay. Plantation 3 star is also my work horse white rum! it is so good! Tequila isn't called for in a lot of cocktails and that's a good thing because even a crappy bottle of tequila can be quite pricey.

[@switchposition]

Didn’t have to go out and buy anything after this video. 😉

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

You Rockstar!

[@MrMoney331]

Kind of a quick end there. I guess See you on another time!

[@rac6510]

Most of those bottles are not available in Mexico, damn.

[@krzysztofstolarczyk7773]

Havana Club rums, Havana Club rums my dear American friend :)

[@66edm]

Before Educated Barfly, 6 bottles in my bar. After 40+ bottles in my home bar.

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

😂 glad to be of service!

[@jonstrongman3292]

I just paid $95 for Rittenhouse here in Australia. I do love it so I pay it, but only paying twenty something in America, not fair!

[@keirkeirkeir1]

Price for these same products in Australia at least 3 times as much...='[

[@lassebangsgaard9422]

Im having a deja vu. Is this a reupload?

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

🤔

[@wwoolofl8056]

My lady refuses to be near me if I drink Grandad. Evidently it makes me stink unlike any other liquor I have drank

[@equinoxhg3363]

Am I crazy, or is this a repost from a long time ago?

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

🤔

[@RightofdaWrongchords]

How confusing is chopping down a tree, then chopping it up?

[@simonmelbye-mortensen3163]

That sentence is so downhill, because it's so uphill understanding it!

[@Deathkvlt696]

It's a shame that Rittenhouse is so expensive in NZ. Like close to $80

[@marcl5925]

What happened to that bottle of fernet branca hiding behind the rittenhouse in the opening shots?

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

It was just me trolling y’all lol

[@Marfoogled.Bar.Brewing]

If the Educated Bar Fly wants to go on Tour to show Other (Fans) Home Bars, you'll be welcome to join my Bar, here in Olympia Washington

[@Marfoogled.Bar.Brewing]

My Bar is better Stocked with more flavors than some City Bars

[@matthewk8418]

I just learnt that even with conversion rates the US pays f all for alcohol

[@tyboar1926]

It's an oof when your bar has none of these.

[@DzigaJerkov]

Haven’t you already made this video

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

🤔

[@DzigaJerkov]

@@TheEducatedBarfly a workhorse spirits videos from like 3 years ago. But an update doesn’t hurt. Still watched the whole thing lol

[@hinkema1805]

rip to 47% beefeater 😔😔

[@TheEducatedBarfly]

Pour one out for the homie 🥲

[@ApplepieFTW]

4:15 yeah well, it's a bottle of vodka with artificial juniper syrup added to it ...

[@uraniumrock8381]

My tiki bar is probably worth around 5 grand. Don't tell my wife.

[@johnnythepillpopper1974]

No Vodka?