First time cocktail maker, help me with a reasonable shopping list please.

[Amana]

I have new glasses, a cocktail shaker and some ‘left over’ spirits, but not much clue on what else to provide, a sort of basic kit.

Salud!

What type of cocktails do you prefer? If you like the sickly sweet colourful ones the list will be very different to if you like the classic slightly more bitter ones.

I would always have:

Ice - crushed and cubed
Lemons
Grenadine
Mixers such as lemonade, orange or apple juice, sparkling water.

My spirits cupboard always has:
Gin
Rum
Cointreau
Calvados

You need to decide on a couple of cocktails you want to make and just get the ingredients for that.

If they are for you then pick your favourites. If for guests then maybe one fruity and one less sweet.

Don't forget lots of ice.

Which cocktails are you making? You need the right ingredients, in the correct proportions. I have a small measuring cup of 10-100ml which I use. Also make sure you’ve got loads of ice for your shaker.
Also likely to need some fruit juice eg lemons, limes, cranberry, coconut etc, and you might want lemon rind for decoration. I have maraschino cherries and olives to put on cocktail sticks in the glass.
But it all depends on which type of cocktail you’re planning. Personally I don’t like sweet cocktails - prefer strong, ‘clean’ tastes like classic martinis, so use a lot of vodka and gin, adding Bitters or Vermouth. Or a good old Cosmopolitan where you’ll need vodka, Cointreau, fresh lime juice and cranberry juice. Mmmm.
Enjoy your cocktail making!

Don't go nuts and buy loads of weird things eg violet liqueur....they'll sit in the back of the cupboard gathering dust once the novelty wears off. If you can find miniatures you can have a bit more fun without the expense.

I speak from experience.

Three times as many limes and lemons as you might imagine.

Ready made sugar syrup handy. You can buy in decent supermarkets or from Amazon.

Classic and easy cocktails to try first are:

Cosmopolitan
Margarita
Daiquiri
Mojito

They all have a couple of simple ingredients and don't require any complicated syrups etc. the measuring is important. It's tempting to be a bit free with the pouring of spirits but the taste is off if you don't get the proportions right.

When searching recipes look for ones with 5* reviews. Diffords often come out the highest.

Mojito and Long Island Iced Tea have always got me through.

I think for a basic kit I'd also want cocktail stirrers and a jigger (basically so you can easily measure out single or double shots.)

Loads of ice. You can slice up lemons, limes and other citrus fruit and freeze the slices to easily add to drinks.

A bottle of simple syrup and a bottle of angostura bitters in addition to spirits and mixers. I agree with not buying really obscure spirits or liqueurs that won't get used up.

A nice big bottle of the Canadou sugar syrup that they sell in Morrisons for a fiver is a must.

Plan a few specific cocktails to make, don’t just buy everything. Spritz are good, so either aperol or Campari with fizzy water and Prosecco. There are some good jug cocktails on BBC good food website which is easier if you’re catering for more people.

And if you want to make cocktails with sugar syrup, don’t buy it! It’s so easy to make just caster sugar and boiling water.

I bought a couple of these cocktail kits for presents last year, they are a good way to try different cocktail families out

https://tastecocktails.com/

YY to make your own sugar syrup and you can buy frozen lemon slices too.
Also use frozen berries for garnishes

Just pick up ingredients for a few.

If yoy are making a lot of them then pre make the non alcoholic part and add the ice, alcohol and shake.

YouTube have great videos too

Classics are always mojitos, margheritas, passion fruit martinis

My favourites of all time are April in Paris and Black orchid

Yes, it is cheaper to make your own sugar syrup, but life’s too short and a 70cl bottle of it costs just £5 and it will keep you in Daiquiris for months.

I prefer bitter cocktails to sweet. I would have dark Vermouth, Campari, Angostura and a bourbon to start with. Sugar syrup is handy but it's also easy to make. I like the big ice cubes that you make in a mould to serve, and some basic ice for shaking. Lots of citrus fruit. A decent gin and a good vodka would come next. Enjoy!

Yes definitely agree with PPs. Start by deciding what types you like then pick a couple and buy the ingredients for that. Otherwise it gets messy and unfocused.

You can then add to it as you explore more. You’ll build up a collection of ingredients like that gradually, better than trying to start with a ‘basics list’ that tries to cover everything.

Thank you so much. Some great tips here including freezing the fruit slices. I will have a good read and plan accordingly. Happy Christmas!