Setting up a home bar requires an initial investment, some space to store bottles, and the will to get creative. “Cocktails are a spontaneous expression of the people,” says William Grimes, author of Straight Up or On the Rocks (North Point Press, $12, www.amazon.com) and restaurant critic for the New York Times. Select a setup depending on how experimental, experienced, and expressive you are.

The Essential Bar

A nine-bottle bar should meet all your cocktail needs and give you the ingredients to make hundreds of additional recipes. Add wine and beer and you’re in business.

Liquor

Bourbon

Cointreau or Triple Sec (some people swear Cointreau is worth the extra cost, even if you mix it)

Gin

Rum (light)

Scotch (blended)

Tequila (white)

Vermouth (dry)

Vermouth (sweet)

Vodka

Mixers

Cola, ginger ale, club soda, sparkling water, tonic water

Lemons

Limes

Cranberry juice

Orange juice

Angostura bitters

Simple syrup (Recipe: Heat 1 part sugar and 1 part water in a saucepan. Simmer until the sugar dissolves. Simple syrup keeps at room temperature for a couple of weeks; eventually it will crystallize. In a pinch, superfine sugar can be substituted.)

Garnishes

Green olives (pitted)

Lemons

Limes

Kosher salt

Maraschino cherries

Gadgets

Long cocktail spoon

Paring knife

Peeler

Cutting board

Corkscrew

Bottle opener

Juice squeezer

Standard shaker (metal bottom, metal lid with strainer). If you don’t want to invest in a shaker, use a jar with a cap, a piece of Tupperware, or anything that seals, says Dale DeGroff, master mixologist and author of The Craft of the Cocktail (Clarkson N. Potter, $35, www.amazon.com).

Jigger (usually with a 1-ounce measure on one side, 1 1/2 ounces on the other). Most recipes call for 1 1/2 ounces of alcohol (a jigger or a shot), but some call for 1 ounce (a pony). If you don’t have a jigger, 3 tablespoons are about equal to 1 1/2 ounces.

Bartending handbook

Cocktail napkins

Cocktail toothpicks

Glasses

Martini glasses (must-haves for every bar because they say “cocktail”)

Highball glasses