I worked a wedding this past Saturday and only brought eight bottles. But listen closely, I didn’t take my own advice and bring the typical eight you’re “supposed to,” but it worked out just fine. Number one, this was atypical in the sense that the people who hired me, M&J, knew exactly what they wanted and I was able to batch up two cocktails ahead of time: Negronis and old fashioneds. The other cocktails they wanted were Army & Navy and the good old Mezcal Last Word.

As I tended bar throughout the event I started to realize most people don’t want rum at all. A shame, but truth. No one asked for a daiquiri. One drunk person kept asking for vodka as if on the second and third go around it would appear and two people were ok with drinking straight gin martinis with lemon twists which were easy to pull off without dry vermouth. No one asked for a manhattan, but a couple of people wanted scotch. The most popular cocktails not on the menu were, you guessed it–highballs. Lots of Aperol spritzes, Tequila sodas and the indomitable gin and tonic.

So let’s get into it a bit here. Here’s the atypical eight bottle bar: London dry gin, Aperol, noyaux, maraschino, green chartreuse, bonded bourbon, tequila, and mezcal. I also had fresh lemon and lime juice as well as three dashers: Ango, absinthe, and Peychaud’s. As far as other mixers, there was Fever Tree tonic and Topo Chico standing in for soda water. I also had rich simple and regular simple turbinado syrup on stand by just in case. Oh yeah, also a smallest deli with kosher salt for rimmers.

The question here is, “What can I make with this stuff?” especially if you can’t make Manhattans and proper martinis. Well, the aforementioned stuff is pretty easy and great but with the Atypical Eight Bottle bar you can also make a traditional Last Word with gin, but also a Final Ward (OGD is high rye bourbon) with equal parts rye, lemon juice, green chartreuse, and maraschino. Along these lines you can also bust out a Naked and Famous which traditionally uses yellow chartreuse, not green, but whatever, it’ll still taste pretty good. There’s also the ability here to make a Oaxacan Old Fashioned (another Phil Ward drink) and something called the Division Bell–1 oz. Mez, .75 oz. Lime Juice, .75 oz. Aperol, and .25 oz. Maraschino. During the course of the evening I also busted out a couple margaritas I made with tequila, fresh lime and turbinado simple which is how I make them at home. I usually have turbinado at home and I just measure with a tablespoon and put it all in the microwave for a minute. Instant simple. No need to bring the scale out to weigh anything. Tommy’s be damned. They’re quite delicious. Try one. We’ll call it a J-Dawg’s Margarita.

J-Dawg’s Margarita

Big 2 oz. Tequila

.75 oz. Fresh Lime Juice

.5 oz. Microwaved, Micromanaged, Turbinado Simple

Boom. Great but even better with a salt rim. Try it sometime.

You’ve got leeway here for those who love the mez. You’re not going to see this type of set up at a normal wedding bar but for those with the taste for artisan agave, you’re going to impress. If I could add one or even two more bottles, however, I would really impress. I’m talking about a bitter and a sweet vermouth. Then, if I brought along some orange bitters I could put out a damn good Martinez and a Boulevardier. All this would fit snugly into a cardboard case (the dashers and syrup bottles notwhithstanding).

Oh, what about eh Noyaux? Yeah, maybe not entirely necessary here. The Army & Navy, you see, was a cool variation of the original where I used some simple wizardry gleaned over the years working in the same building as Mr. Fox and the Koji Kid. But the noyaux can also stand in for a nice Amaretto Sour or Godfather with bourbon replacing scotch. Hey, it all tastes pretty good after the first few anyway. With the addition of sweet vermouth we’re now in Bijou territory. I do them a little different.

Bijou

1.5 oz. Gin

.75 oz. Green Chartreuse

.75 oz. Sweet Vermouht

2 Dashes Orange Bitters

2 Dashes Absinthe

This one is fantastic with mezcal. Call it a Joya. Gin and mez do seem sort of interchangeable in most circumstances, right? I’m thinking about that more and more. It sort of makes sense.

Oh, and last but not least…The Sazerac. Yeah, never forget a dasher of absinthe. Don’t leave home without it.

Happy fourth.