Home is where the bar is. If the bar is at home, well done! And if you enjoy entertaining, this could well be the very thing that gets you that promotion or an attentive husband snagged just to lovingly keep that home bar stocked.

To start with, we suggest picking alcohol that you love – and not just to impress. What’s the use in stocking Campari when you call it an acquired taste that you have not acquired, yet? Or, worse still, you could end up spending a fortune on alcohol that you will never drink. If you travel a lot, pick up some native brews to add a bit of the exotic. If you love cocktails, start by stocking up on ingredients, and please say no to the pre-mixes and store-bought ones too. We guarantee this will give your home bar more substance than a hipster's handmade leather journal.

Now it’s time to show the family that you still know how to bring home the bacon, and whiskey, and vodka, and rum. What we mean is getting your base spirits of gin, bourbon, scotch, tequila, and the above mentioned. Before that, a word of caution; if you’ve got teenagers at home we suggest you invest in a top-end locking mechanism. Because who hasn’t broken into their dad’s bar and replaced that expensive Glenfiddich dear old dad was saving for the next family wedding or funeral, with honey-coloured tea? If you being the epitome of obedience have not, your kids will have read this by now. We recommend Yale locks for a very good reason.

Now that you’ve protected your base spirits by more pre-nups than the ex-bunnies of the playboy mansion, it’s time to start thinking about mixers. Stock up on the staples of tonic water, ginger ale, orange juice, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, tomato juice or just plain cola. If you have a flair for the dramatic or think you’re a Carrie Bradshaw who thrives on cosmopolitans knowing your book will spawn a mini-series, we recommend you stock up on garnishes for those cocktails. Be it cocktail olives and onions, lemons, or Tabasco, to just plain old ice that you can serve with fish, steak, or a bad break up.

If you’re not lucky enough to own beachfront real estate, we suggest you get the proper tools to create those exotic cocktails. This includes good crystal with decanters that let the good bourbon breathe. It’s not that we have an aversion to the economical; it’s just that we know there are less expensive bourbons, but there are also thinner steaks and smaller cars. Honestly now, did you spend your youth dreaming about someday owning a fridge that you might find an occasional stale beer in? No? We thought so. And, remember when that bottle of carefully hoarded Chivas is down a peg or two: to the host it's half empty, but to the guest, it's half full.