The ultimate home bar essentials of 2023

Is Home the new Pub in 2023?

Since 2020, there has been a surge in shop-brought alcohol, with 55% of Brits spending less money on a night out and instead opting for a night in.

With growing economic concerns in 2023,  more people are choosing to make cut backs and are choosing a stay-at-home occasion, drinking from their own home bars.

If home is becoming the new pub, then we’re ready to get involved!

Bringing you the ultimate home bar necessities.

 

A spirit of every kind

If you’re planning on setting up your own home bar, you’ll likely want a mix of spirits to offer to guests, providing you want to share your bar with friends and family, of course. So, let’s get started.

 

·      Cognac

Interesting fact about cognac, only brandy produced from grapes grown in the region of Cognac and adhere to specific guidelines can display the name Cognac on its label.

Cognac can be served neat, on the rocks or in a cocktail. If you’re looking for the perfect cognac to join your personal bar, then check out our fantastic selection of cognacs.

Browse our selection of cognacs

 

 

Gin is a clear, distilled spirit and must contain Juniper berries to be classed as a gin.

An essential spirit for any brewing home bar, check out our gin-tastic selection of gins, including our award-winning Foragers Winberry Gin.

Check out our flavoursome selection of gins

 

Rum comes in various styles, from light, dark, rich and aged. Meaning there is always a rum for everyone. Lighter rums are typically used as mixers in cocktails, whilst darker rums are normally for sipping.

Discover the right rum for you and check out our current selection of rums.

View our rum-tastic selection of rums

 

 

Clear in colour and with a neutral flavour, vodka can be made from a variety of crops. Perfect neat, or as a cocktail mixer, and can even be used as an antiseptic. Though we prefer to drink our vodka.

View our range of Vodkas

 

 

A dark distilled spirit that is made from a variety of grains, it is distilled throughout the world. There are various styles of whisky and some countries have regulations that stipulate how the whisky is produced.

Here at Whisky Merchant, we have a world full of whisky options!

View our Other World Whisky

View our Scotch Whisky

View our Vintage Scotch

 

 

Now that we’ve found our spirits, no bar is complete without that statement piece that gets everyone talking.

This could be anything from unique bar furnishings, to collectable glasses or decanters.

 

 For years, whisky decanters were seen as a status symbol, today it’s easier to find a decanter that fits your personal style. Whilst they certainly stand out, they have their practical uses too.

A whisky decanter allows oxygen to interact with the whisky, making it easier for those nuanced aromas to really kick in.

If you’re looking for your new practical statement piece, then view our current selection of decanters.

Discover your decanter

 

 No bar is complete without your stylish glasses and tumblers to match! Plus, how else are you going to serve drinks? Whether you’re searching for a matching set, or individual glasses that just shout sophistication, we have it all!

Take a look at our glassware

 

The pub away from the pub

If you’re taking the plunge and building your own ‘home pub’, let us know! Contact us on social media and share a photo of your home pub.

Follow us on Instagram: whiskymerchant1

Or sign up to our newsletter, so you never miss out on our current offers.

Whether you’re drinking from a pub, restaurant or at home, all we have to say is… cheers!

 

 

New Awards For Stalla Dhu!

We are extremely happy to see Stalla Dhu bottlings take home a new round of awards! The World Whiskies Awards 2023 have been quite lucarative for the most recently released bottles. Taking home 3 Silver and 2 Gold from the New Releases. In addition to those 2 other Silver and a Bronze was awarded to 3 of the Core Range.

A lot of time, effort, and most importantly quite a bit tasting goes into picking the right casks to be bottled under the Stalla Dhu label. Each one Ron chooses is one that he believes will give you a unique representation of the chosen distillery. Maybe a way you haven’t seen the distillery before.

Our two gold medal winners are:

Glenrothes Late Hour Port Finish Cask Strength

Toffee apples on the nose and toasted caramel notes emerge beautifully. The palate is complex and rich with notes of nougat and woody tobacco hints. Definitely one of our favourite’s!

Linkwood Reserve Cask Strength

This “handsome” release of 13-year-old Linkwood will surely surprise you, as even if bottled at the high abv of 57.3% it carries itself extremely well. Balanced notes of nougat richness, silky mouthfeel, and hints of salinity on the finish. Just delicious.

Check out the full list here!

15 Fettercairn Years Old Single Cask Silver
Linkwood Reserve Cask Strength Gold
Teaninich 15 Years Old 100 Proof Single Cask Silver
Glenrothes Late Hour Port Finish Cask Strength Gold
Soars Aois Single Cask Silver
Orchant Seleccion Highland Single Malt Whisky Silver
Islay Single Malt Whisky Silver
Speyside Single Malt Whisky Bronze

 

Slanj,

Andrew

Alligators, Hurricanes, and Mojitos

What’s not to love about Florida!? Sub-tropical weather, sailing blue ocean, white beaches, and rum! My favourite Florida variety is Bad Bitch from Key West, which is well worth a trip! 

When I arrived for a wee break on the beach it was apparent that there were storms brewing in the Atlantic! Could there be a Hurricane heading my way? By Hurricane, I don’t mean the sugary New Orleans favourite that has contributed to so many “where am I” moments. 😉

Side note: I must say if they don’t use the obligatory mixes and do it classily with restrained use of Passion Fruit syrup you can get a rather splendid drink.

Anyway, real hurricanes are more scary than refreshing. When I realised one may be heading to the West Coast of FL, where our sailboat was resting comfortably under the care of Seaking, my son’s yacht management company. I thought ok, I’ll head out east to west.

Since I had time, I jogged north a little to visit our friends Rocky and Nish at Rocky’s rather splendid cigar bar ‘Burn’ located in the very entertaining Mercato Naples. I enjoyed a perfectly appropriate lancero by our proprietor and a rather pleasant Bacardi-based Mojito with just the right blend of sugar and mint. All cool here, let’s head South to check on that Beneteau ”Puffnaway “.

Arriving at the  Marina it was a beautiful sunny day, but there was a hustle about the place as it seemed more likely that the storm was heading this way.

So some hours after helping clean and prep the boat, for what we still hoped would pass us by…I hopped into the Marina pool for a cooling swim and a ‘boat‘ made Mojito.

Every sailor has a stash of rum and mine includes some that I have to carry with me from the other side of the Atlantic due to not being able to buy Cuban rum in FL. El Rumbo is to me the ideal base for a Mojito, 100-proof Cuban rum shipped to Wales that spent time resting in Snowdonia Distillery in freshly emptied Cognac casks, it punches through the sugar and mint with just the right balance of flavour and strength. Now storm concerns are drifting away…at least for me after the 2nd one…though the chatter and nervous energy around the Marina sense more.

That evening we enjoyed a family dinner with an array of nicely prepared fresh seafood at Fin Bistro and Antinori Pepoli Chianti, one of my favourites. After a peaceful sleep on the boat, we battened down hatches and left the rest to the professionals to get her ready to brace for whatever may come.

We are heading back east, away from the inevitable visit of Hurricane Ian. The best part of my exodus from stormy weather is one of my favourite Florida spots, which is on the way, Everglades City! This Stone Crab capitol of the World has so much to offer Alligators, Airboats, and Awesome fishing in 10,000 Islands. This little historic town, once Calusa Indian territory, houses the rather splendid, although admittedly a touch tired Rod and Gun Club.

 

As you step through the doors you step back in time. A dark embrace of nostalgia floats the hallways with stunning taxidermy and relics of its illustrious past as a premier fishing hunting lodge. We sat down and shared the best of the season (stone crab season hasn’t started), so fresh out of the Everglades sautéed alligator, fresh local frog legs, and blackened Hogfish will do just fine thank you!

Before we embark on our journey back East, I spend an hour or two in my favourite of swimming pools, now don’t ask me why. Sitting to the side of the R&G Club it’s a relic that I treasure, a stone waterfall and rough stone coping. It’s certainly not everybody’s favourite but then again it’s one of the reasons I love it.  Mostly it’s mine alone or shared with a couple local kids, but perfectly cooling from this hot balmy air.

Now there are no cocktails available at R & G club, however resourceful I am and thanks to my wife picking up mint at Seed to Table. With a little rum and soda from the bar, I have my primitive but tasty Mojito in the pool while enjoying an Oliva Orchant seleccion cigar. Tell me that’s not living!

So now back across alligator alley to our wee spot on the beach, where I’m sure I have some rum! Oh, maybe not, might have to fly back to Blighty to stock up!

I did find some El Rumbo Coconut rum made with fresh sugar cane and fresh coconuts…makes a lighter more tropical variation Mojito. That saved the day.

-Ron

 

 

*Update: Hurricane Ian devastated part of Florida’s west coast. While we escaped with only minor damage, our prayers are with those who lost families, homes, and boats.