Raising the Bar

All you need for an over-the-top cocktail setup that will impress even master mixologists.

MIXED DRINKS are immeasurably better today than they were 20 years ago, thanks to the ongoing cocktail renaissance. But the standards for home bars are higher, too. That chintzy shaker and cheap whiskey? They won’t cut it anymore. You need a real setup, one that surpasses the basics. “It’s an easy mistake to start with only the headliners—gin, tequila, rum,” says Kathryn Bangs, a founding member of the D.C. Craft Bartenders Guild. “But without the supporting players—vermouth, bitters, Campari—you only have the ingredients to make a Long Island iced tea.” Here are all the essential spirits, gear, and advice you need to entertain in the golden age of mixology.