Stocking the Liquor Cabinet what is essential?

[Anonymous]

This is actually a liquor for baking and cooking oriented question, but I don't want to limit the convo.

What do you consider your liquor cabinet essentials that you use over and over in cookery and baking?

So far all that is on my list is sherry and calvados. What else is a must have? How do you use it?

I'm not really counting red and white wine, but if you have a particular favorite, please share.

Please tell us about your drinks cabinet essentials as well.

[Anonymous]

For cooking: sherry and brandy, plus red wine. Maybe vermouth.

For drinking, a good bottle of the following: gin, vodka, tequila, rum, bourbon. A nice scotch. Bitters. Small cans of soda, tonic. Rose's lime cordial. Lemon and lime juices (I keep these in the fridge). Triple sec if you like margaritas.

[Anonymous]

I agree with 14:59 for the basic drinking bar.

For cooking, I would add grand marnier, and I also cook with bourbon and tequila (in marinades and the bourbon in chili).
I also keep kahlua, tia maria, bailey's, and frangelico on hand -- mostly for making DW dessert drinks, but they also sometimes go into an actual dessert.
tia maria is a coffee liqueur, so you might think it duplicative of kahlua. but they're diffferent--kahlua is sweeter, tia maria more delicate.

I don't really bake, but if I did, I'd probably make desserts that had rum in them too.

[Anonymous]

Also, I try to avoid bottled lemon/lime juice. Always fresh if possible. But I do have an emergency bottle just in case I'm out of lemons/limes.

[Anonymous]

The grand marnier is for macerating berries. Also for splashing on top of margaritas or palomas. Sometimes a tiny bit will go into whipped cream, or some of it will go into a pan where I'm frying fruit or finishing tequila lime chicken. But the pan use is a pretty expensive use of grand marnier, I try to keep myself from doing that.

[Anonymous]

I also keep kahlua, tia maria, bailey's, and frangelico on hand -- mostly for making DW dessert drinks, but they also sometimes go into an actual dessert.

Of course, they're also good in coffee or hot chocolate. Winter's coming.

[Anonymous]

A splash of Grand Marnier is excellent in your French Toast batter