Creating the perfect spirits cupboard

I will start with a disclaimer: the art of curating the perfect spirits cupboard is not yet one I have perfected. For one, I do not own a stylish cabinet, and bottles tend to find themselves in an arrangement that is best described as “organised chaos”.

I cohabit with a fellow drinks professional, and we have a terrible track record for amassing far more bottles than we could ever drink. Obscure spirits made from weird botanicals. Sticky fruit liqueurs bought on a whim on a snowy day in Amsterdam, and never touched since. Dozens of tiny bottles of “driver’s drams” from a road trip in Scotland. Special gift boxes waiting for “the right moment”, doubling up as a makeshift side table in the meantime. Rums, tequilas, brandies. Limoncellos, Frangelicos. Anything you could possibly want to drink (if you can identify it through the dust).

Amid this cheerful disorder, there are a small number of special bottles that hold pride of place on the shelf. These are the ones I find myself turning to, sipping and savouring them over months, wishing they would never end.

One day, I will be the proud owner of an elegant drinks cabinet - some gleaming thing made of dark wood, housing a perfectly curated selection of bottles. Everything will sparkle. Dust will not exist. Deciding what to drink will be an act of joy. This is my metric of success in life, and I am determined to make it happen. One day. In the meantime, I have some lessons to learn.

So here are a few words of advice, on all you really need for the perfect spirits collection. I made these mistakes, so you don’t have to.

The jewels of the collection

These are the bottles you want for pure, unadorned sipping pleasure - perhaps two or three expressions that you really cherish. For me, these would typically be whiskies, although there are some exceptional rums that are well worth considering too - the Berry Bros. & Rudd Own Selection Guyana Rum being one of them.

A special standout bottle in my collection was a Distillery Exclusive whisky from the Isle of Raasay - a distillery I visited on a memorable trip to that windswept corner of the Inner Hebrides. The whisky combined elegant peat smoke with caramel richness, a hint of chocolate and wood spice. Even the physical bottle was a thing of beauty, the glass emulating the island’s weathered rock, battered by the sea. I loved the way it caught the light from where it stood on the shelf, a tangible reminder of the time spent on the island. When I finished the whisky (a sad day), I filled the bottle with flowers.

Simple sippers

I’m a huge fan of Calvados, and the best thing about meeting my partner was that he came with a complimentary bottle of Michel Huard’s 1994 Calvados, an exquisite liquid from my birth vintage. It had an extraordinary apple richness, combined with a beguiling hint of polished wood and a texture like silk. We really savoured that one, stretching it out for as long as possible. But you also need something for those days when you’re just craving something simple and delicious…

Enter the Own Selection Calvados. I wouldn’t describe it as a special bottle, per se, but it’s still absolutely delicious and perfect for casual enjoyment. Bright and smooth, it’s bursting with golden apple notes, with a gentle but refreshing acidity. Apples always feel quite autumnal to me, but Calvados is a surprisingly versatile drink. In the summer, you can enjoy it chilled with a little soda and a juicy lemon twist. Or, make like the Normans, and add it to your coffee.

The store-cupboard whisky

Premium whisky is a fine thing, but you’ll also want to make sure you’ve got a reliable staple - nothing fancy, something you can use as a base for cocktails. My mother was aghast when I poured almost the entire contents of a whisky from Dingle Distillery, a souvenir from a family trip to Ireland, into the Christmas hot toddy mix. I still haven’t lived it down. Since then, I’ve always made sure I’ve got a more “unsentimental” whisky to hand.

For this, I’d recommend the Own Selection Blended Scotch Whisky. It is elegant, light and balanced, with a delicate toffee richness. It’s just the thing for a simple dram, using as a base in hot toddies and whisky sours, or with soda and tonic in the summer.

Many cocktails, such as the Manhattan and the Old Fashioned, use Bourbon as a base, so you might also want to consider having a reliable favourite to turn to. Brands such as Maker’s Mark, Smooth Ambler and FEW all produce delicious expressions, with signature notes of vanilla, sweet spice and coconut.

A classic gin

No spirits cabinet is complete without a top-notch gin. It is an indispensable cocktail ingredient and a crowd-pleasing favourite. You’ll need something of exceptional quality - something that will make a bracing Martini and a robust Negroni, or simply shine with some tonic.

If you only have space for one on the shelf, I’d recommend making it the No.3 London Dry Gin. The spirit is made with a mix of botanicals, striking the perfect balance between juniper, cardamom, coriander, grapefruit and sweet orange peel. Think bright citrus and delicate spice, with a refreshingly crisp quality.

The bitter ingredient

Bitterness is one of the key elements in many cocktails, including the Negroni, the Americano, the Boulevardier and the Sazerac, as well as that ever-popular summertime favourite, the Aperol Spritz. Nothing makes a cocktail feel more grown-up and sophisticated, especially when adorned with a perfect twist of citrus. Such cocktails are a real treat to drink as an apéritif, with some Gordal olives and salted almonds. Suspend your disbelief, and you could be enjoying aperitivo hour in a sun-baked piazza.

Bitters are a distinctly Italian category, and the most famous include Campari, Aperol, Cynar and Amaro. It depends which cocktails you are most partial to. Personally, I always like to have a bottle of Campari in the mix – partly because I am a Negroni fiend, but also because it’s delicious with soda and orange in the summer. Light and refreshing.

Angostura bitters is also an essential store-cupboard staple. You only need a few dashes, but it can completely transform an Old Fashioned, a Manhattan or a simple gin and tonic, adding spicy botanical depth.

Something sweet

Like bitterness, sweetness is one of the other main elements often at work in cocktails. Even cocktails that do not necessarily feel sweet will have some kind of sweet element to hold up against the bitterness or the sourness. This may come in the form of fruit syrups or liqueurs, but unless you are planning to make something specific, I would advise against cluttering your spirits cabinet with such bottles – take it from me, they do not get drunk.

Instead, I’d opt for a sweet Vermouth. Lustau, based in Jerez de la Frontera, produces some brilliant Vermouths from the same juice that goes into their Sherries. Lustau’s Blanco , Rosado and Rojo expressions are all delicious, each made with a different combination of botanicals. The Blanco makes for some very refreshing summer sipping, neat or with soda.

Ultimately, when it comes to curating a spirits cabinet, less is more. Two things to bear in mind are quality and versatility. If you opt for a decent quality classic, you can’t go wrong – it will be equally delicious neat and in a longer drink. It’s simple really. That’s what I keep telling myself, anyway.