Party On, Guide! How to stock your bar

If you just installed a new bar in your home or are looking to restock it for a party, here's the essentials.

If you are ordering any special liquors or beer in kegs, give yourself a buffer of a couple days for that to arrive.

1. Give yourself an average of drinks per guest. While this depends on the crowd you invite, you can safely assume that guests will drink about 1-2 drinks per hour. Figure how long the party will last, how many people you will invite and you've got a more solid number. Now, what will people be drinking?

2. If you are inviting people over for beers, you can either buy beer by the can and bottle or buy a keg. To quantify things, there are 165 servings (12 oz.) in a full keg and 81 in a pony keg. The disadvantage is everybody better like the kind of beer you like, because you can't be buying for a crowd with various tastes.

3. If you are doing cocktails, you should create a check list (we've got a free shopping list here!). What you get (rail vs. top shelf, specialty liquors) will all depend on your budget, but at least get the staples: Gin, Vodka, Tequila, Rum, Whisky, Brandy, Scotch, Bourbon. As far as figuring out the drink ratio, a fifth (750 ml) houses 17 drinks (1.5 oz. or 1 shot)

4. After you have the spirits bought, purchase your mixers (coke, juices, water) and purchase extra for your designated drivers.

5. Next you'll need some garnishes. No matter what, you should have some sliced lemons, sliced or wedged limes, maraschino cherries and olives. Depending on your drink menu, you can also get rimming salt, cucumbers and pearl onions.

6. Will you serve barsnacks? If so, popular barsnacks are pretzels, popcorn, mixed nuts and or pickled eggs. Think salty.

7. Plan on keeping your things cold? You better pick up some ice. If you have an ice chest, get enough to fill it. If you're getting a keg and don't have a kegerator, make sure to put it in a tub with ice. Otherwise, rule of thumb is that a healthy drinker will take 1/4 to 1/2 lbs. of ice per hour.

8. Finally, extras. Glasses - 1 cup per guest per hour (people are clumsy), straws - same ratio. As far as equipment goes, make sure you have at least one dozen shot glasses on hand if you will be doing shots, a cocktail shaker, ice scoop and a proper bartender's guide (we've got free cheat sheets here!). The rest of the extras are up to you - plastic swords, umbrellas, toothpicks.