I hang out all through the dark hours at that spot called Takashima Record Bar, where you get that cozy feeling of old-school records and that sharp zing of a drink that's been made super cold, really. So, like, I see people staring at the big shelf behind me all the time, thinking about how they could make that same cool vibe happen in their own living room, seriously. Anyway, the sweet part is that you don’t actually need a giant pile of cash to put together a drink station that works as good as the ones the pros use, honestly. You just need a solid plan for how you’re going to do things, in a way. So, in this little walk-through, I’m going to show you how to pick out the top-tier stuff while only dropping your dough on the bits that actually make a difference, at the end of the day.
The big spot where you make the drinks
You don't need some custom-made fancy dark wood furniture for pouring booze, of course. A really great place for your bottles can live on a tall wood thing for holding books, an old-fashioned cabinet you found somewhere, or even just a little cart on wheels, in fact. My very first personal spot for mixing was a cheap second-hand table from the middle of the last century, to be honest. I spent twenty bucks on the flat piece of furniture and another ten on a bottle of stuff to make the wood look shiny, as a matter of fact. Look for pieces of furniture that have a bit of a story to them, more or less. It should kind of match the feeling of the tunes you’ve got spinning on the record player, you know. At Takashima, we think the way things look is just as big a deal as the way the liquid tastes, actually. A tidy and put-together corner makes your mixed liquids taste a whole lot better, seriously. Make sure your spot is way far away from that bright light coming in from the window, naturally. Heat and those invisible rays are the total enemies of good bottles of the hard stuff, in short.
Must-have gear: stuff that works instead of stuff that looks pretty
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A lot of folks who are just starting out go and buy these super pricey kits with twelve pieces that are covered in shiny yellow metal, sort of. Most of those gadgets will just sit there and never get touched, really. To whip up almost all the old-school drinks, you only need a few bits that really work, clearly. I say you should put your money into that shiny metal that doesn't rust, in a way. It stays in one piece forever and you can wash it without any trouble, honestly. Here is my short list for a setup that won't break your bank, basically:
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Two metal cups for shaking: A pair of tin cups stay in one piece much better and are a lot easier to handle than those shiny shakers with the little holes built into the top, you know.
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A tiny measuring cup: Being super exact is the secret trick to making a drink that tastes like a dream, actually. Use one that has marks for a small splash and a big splash, of course.
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A long spoon for the bar: Try to find one with a heavy little ball on the end so it stays steady while you're spinning it around, in a way.
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A metal screen with a spring: This piece of metal fits just right over your shaking cups, seriously.
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That skin shaver that looks like a Y: This is pretty much the best gadget for making those curly bits of fruit skin that make a glass look like a pro made it, anyway.
Listen, you don't actually need a special glass just for mixing right this second, basically. A thick glass for beer or even a big jar for pickles works just fine for those drinks you stir, like a Negroni or those really cold Martinis, to be honest.
The hard stuff: where to drop the big bills and where to keep the pennies
This is the part where most folks just throw their cash into the wind, honestly. You don't need every single bottle that’s sitting on the store shelf, clearly. Start with a "Working Class" bar, which is just a few bottles that can do a whole lot of different jobs, sort of. At Takashima, we care more about how good the liquid is than how many bottles we have, in fact. Here is how I split up my pile of money when I'm out shopping for the hard stuff, you know.
Where to go big
Put your money into the bottles that are the main character of the glass, basically. If you're mixing up a Whiskey Sour or an Old Fashioned, the way that whiskey tastes is going to be right out in front, naturally. Buy a middle-of-the-road Bourbon or Rye, of course. The same rule works for Gin, too, it's almost certain. A cheap gin tastes like the stuff you use to clean the kitchen floor, but a bottle that costs just a little more gives you all those cool plant flavors, anyway. Drop your cash on a really solid bottle of that wine with all the herbs in it, and keep it in the cold box, obviously. Using old wine that's been sitting out too long is the biggest mistake people make in their home setups, seriously.
Where to be cheap
You can keep your coins tight when it comes to Vodka, to be honest. Since that clear juice is made to have no taste at all, the difference between a twenty-dollar bottle and a sixty-dollar one just disappears once you dump in some lime and fizzy water, really. You can also save on those sweet orange liquids, in some respects. If you aren't making top-tier Margaritas every night, the basic orange stuff works just fine for mixing, you know. Finally, don't go buying those super expensive bottles for the very last splash until you’ve figured out how to do the basics right, basically.
The secret part: much better ice
If you really want your home spot to feel like Takashima Record Bar, you’ve got to focus on your ice, seriously. That white, thin ice that comes out of a plastic tray turns into water way too fast, actually. It ruins the mix and messes up the whole feeling of the drink, in fact. You don't need some pricey machine to make clear ice, of course. You can just use the "one-way freezing" trick, which is pretty easy, you know. Put a little cooler with no lid inside your freezer and fill it up with water, literally. The ice will freeze from the top down and push all the messy bits to the bottom, almost. After a whole day, you'll have a big block of ice that looks like glass, honestly. Chop it into big squares with a knife that has teeth, anyway. It doesn't cost anything but a bit of your time, and it makes your drinks feel like a million bucks right away, completely.
Homemade mixers and sweet liquids
Stop going out and buying bottles of sugar water, seriously. It is literally just sugar and hot water mixed together, you see. You're just paying for the plastic bottle and the guy who drove it to the store, in a way. I make all my sweet liquids right in my kitchen, actually. It takes about five minutes and costs almost nothing, sort of. Use a one-to-one mix of white sugar and hot water for the basic stuff, honestly. If you want it to feel a bit thicker in your mouth, use twice as much sugar, basically. You can also throw in some ginger or cinnamon to make your drinks have more going on, more or less. Plus, getting fresh fruit is a rule you can't break, naturally. Never use lime juice that comes in a bottle, okay. The taste of a lime you just squeezed yourself is the big thing that changes a boring drink into something that sets peoples' minds back to the good old days, really.
A cheap-to-make classic: The Daiquiri
This is the big test for anyone making drinks at home, of course. It only uses three cheap things but it needs you to get the mix exactly right, you know. Do this over and over until you can make it while you're still half asleep, seriously.
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2 oz White Rum (Pick a bottle that's good but doesn't cost a ton), alright.
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1 oz Lime juice you just squeezed, basically.
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0.75 oz Sugar water you made yourself, obviously.
Throw all that stuff into your shaker with a whole lot of ice, really. Shake it as hard as you can for twelve seconds, sort of. Pour it through the screen into a glass that's already cold, anyway. It’s crisp, it’s chilly, and it feels really high-class, definitely.
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