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Mixing drinks isn't very hard. There are a few things to think about, but given five or ten minutes, anyone can do it. If you take a few minutes to browse around this section, you should have a pretty good picture of how it works

To set up a bar, you have to start with the obvious (never mind the actual bar - a table or a bench can work just as well): Glasses, basic ingredients, ice, a few tools (of which you probably already have a few - given you have a kitchen) and some fruit. That doesn't sound too hairy, does it? Now, we are almost up and running.

Basic ingredients

The amount of ingredients is a matter of how ambitious you want to be. A bar can contain a thousand different kinds of ingredients, but three is fine too. The most important thing is to use premium products, if you want your drinks to taste well.

Here is a basic list of what can be a good start. Pick a few or many ingredients in the beginning, and if you think bartending is fun - you can expand gradually.

- ABSOLUT VODKA.
- Any other ABSOLUT FLAVOR you like.
- A garnish (lime and lemon being the most usable).
- One or more bottles of liqueur. (Any you like! Triple sec - orange liqueur - is a good start, or apple liqueur.)
- Juice(s).
- Soft drinks.
- Simple syrup.

This, plus ice, is basically what you need to make very good drinks. If you browse around the drink recipes, you will probably find what ingredients you want to have in your bar.

Ice

We cannot stretch this enough; The ice is crucial for bartending. Just a single tray from the freezer will probably not cover more than a couple of drinks - and you don't want to be an ice scrooge. So, when a party is coming up buy a sack of ice. And see to it that the ice is fresh.

There are mainly two qualities of ice used; crushed, and ice cubes.

For crushing ice you can buy a machine, a simple ice crusher, or just wrap ice cubes in a tovel and pound it with a hammer or a mallet. This kind of ice is suitable for use in blended, and stirred drinks.

When shaking or building drinks you probably want to use ice cubes. If you are making a cocktail you will probably want to strain the ice away before serving.

When you have gotten this far, why don't you move on to the tools.