Hello, and WELCOME to the Modern Bar Cart Podcast—the cocktail podcast where we demystify the tools and techniques that make great drinks.

I’m your host, Eric Kozlik, and I’m glad you’ve decided to join me for what may be one of the most crucial early episodes you’ll listen to on this podcast. In Episode 2, I broke down the essential cocktail-related tools you’ll need to build your home bar or bar cart, and if you recall, I used a computer analogy that compared hardware and software to cocktail tools (like shakers and bar spoons) and consumables (like spirits and mixers).

Today, we’re going to take a deep dive into our metaphorical cocktail software—the literal spirits and cocktail mixers you’ll need on hand if you want to start learning how to mix delicious drinks.

Because this episode follows more of an audio essay format, I’m going to include a complete transcript of this episode (including links) in the show notes at modernbarcart.com/podcast. This is going to be a fairly BRAND-DRIVEN episode (at least toward the end) where I make a TON of brand recommendations at different price points. So please do check out the show notes or email [email protected] if you have any lingering questions.