BYOB (Build Your Own Bar) When your facebook friend count is higher than your bank balance, you may start looking for cheap ways to entertain at your place. But a fridge full of PBR and a plastic jug of vodka just won’t do the trick now that we’re pretending to be grownups. Learn to fake a full bar on a budget and you’ll never drink alone. Tools You’ll need a corkscrew, cocktail shaker and a long mixing spoon. Extra points for having toothpicks to stick drink garnishes together and little plastic straws for the kids who are into that. Mixers and Garnishes Stock up. Coca Cola and Sprite are good basics, but be sure to have the diet versions of each. You’ll also want club soda, OJ, cranberry juice, and lots of tonic water. Invest in a bag of limes, lots of olives (big jars of olives mean lots of brine for those dirty martinis) and maraschino cherries. The Hard Stuff If possible, avoid buying the .75 liter bottles of alcohol because those have the highest demand and are priced per unit, so pony-up and buy the big bottle with the most booze for your buck. You can get most of your friends drunk on a couple of bottles. Throw in a drink shaker and another bottle of the hard stuff, and feel free to start calling your pad Ava’s place. (Or, you know, your own name’s place.) Vodka Buy a brand worth drinking, and buy a lot of it. On the higher end, try Grey Goose, but if you’re looking to save some cash, Pearl isn’t a bad way to go. Vodka + OJ= Screwdriver Vodka + Kahlua + milk = White Russian Vodka + Cointreau + cranberry juice + lime = Cosmopolitan Vodka + OJ + cranberry juice + Vitamin Water Energy = Pink-o Gin Tanqueray has some good mid-priced selections. BTW, you’ll need a small bottle of dry vermouth for martinis. Try Martini and Rossi, it’s available everywhere on the cheap. Gin + Dry Vermouth = Martini Gin + lime juice + lime= Gimlet Gin + grapefruit juice + salted rim= Salty Dog Rum Spiced rum is the most common mixer. Sailor Jerry’s is fabulous, has a cool label and a high alcohol content. Rum + OJ= Brass Monkey Rum + Cola + lime= Cuba Libre Rum + Passion Fruit Syrup + lime juice= Hurricane If all else fails become a wine-o. Keep two bottles of red for each bottle of white. When Charles Shaw won’t do, try these mildly trendy, but oh-so-impressive selections for less than $15: Renwood Zinfandel, Matua Valley Marlborough Savignon Blanc, Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz, Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio, and Masciarelli Montepulciano D’abruzzo. — Ashley

BYOB (Build Your Own Bar)

When your facebook friend count is higher than your bank balance, you may start looking for cheap ways to entertain at your place. But a fridge full of PBR and a plastic jug of vodka just won’t do the trick now that we’re pretending to be grownups. Learn to fake a full bar on a budget and you’ll never drink alone.



Tools
You’ll need a corkscrew, cocktail shaker and a long mixing spoon. Extra points for having toothpicks to stick drink garnishes together and little plastic straws for the kids who are into that.

Mixers and Garnishes
Stock up. Coca Cola and Sprite are good basics, but be sure to have the diet versions of each. You’ll also want club soda, OJ, cranberry juice, and lots of tonic water.
Invest in a bag of limes, lots of olives (big jars of olives mean lots of brine for those dirty martinis) and maraschino cherries.

The Hard Stuff
If possible, avoid buying the .75 liter bottles of alcohol because those have the highest demand and are priced per unit, so pony-up and buy the big bottle with the most booze for your buck. You can get most of your friends drunk on a couple of bottles. Throw in a drink shaker and another bottle of the hard stuff, and feel free to start calling your pad Ava’s place. (Or, you know, your own name’s place.)

Vodka
Buy a brand worth drinking, and buy a lot of it. On the higher end, try Grey Goose, but if you’re looking to save some cash, Pearl isn’t a bad way to go.

Vodka + OJ= Screwdriver
Vodka + Kahlua + milk = White Russian
Vodka + Cointreau + cranberry juice + lime = Cosmopolitan
Vodka + OJ + cranberry juice + Vitamin Water Energy = Pink-o

Gin
Tanqueray has some good mid-priced selections. BTW, you’ll need a small bottle of dry vermouth for martinis. Try Martini and Rossi, it’s available everywhere on the cheap.

Gin + Dry Vermouth = Martini
Gin + lime juice + lime= Gimlet
Gin + grapefruit juice + salted rim= Salty Dog


Rum
Spiced rum is the most common mixer. Sailor Jerry’s is fabulous, has a cool label and a high alcohol content.
Rum + OJ= Brass Monkey

Rum + Cola + lime= Cuba Libre
Rum + Passion Fruit Syrup + lime juice= Hurricane


If all else fails become a wine-o.
Keep two bottles of red for each bottle of white. When Charles Shaw won’t do, try these mildly trendy, but oh-so-impressive selections for less than $15: Renwood Zinfandel, Matua Valley Marlborough Savignon Blanc, Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz, Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio, and Masciarelli Montepulciano D’abruzzo.

— Ashley