A mixer is a beverage (often carbonated) that is added to a drink.  Juice, syrup mixed with water and fruit waters can also be used as mixes.

Club soda is great to have around for drinkers who want to order a hard drink “tall.”  A typical example is the proverbial Scotch and Soda.  It is used to add flavorless bubbles to any cocktail.

A bottle of cola allows you to make simple cocktails such as rye and coke, bourbon and coke and rum and coke.  Coke is also sometimes used to top off specialty cocktails such as a Long Island Ice Tea.

Gingerale is mainly mixed with rye or whiskey to give those spirits a bit of a sweet nip

Sprite and 7UP are good examples of a lemon-lime mixer. With a bottle of this on hand you can make vodka and 7s, gin and 7s, rye and 7s, rum and 7s and other simple cocktails.

Tonic water has quinine in it, which gives it a slightly bitter taste. It goes well with gin, rum, tequila and vodka.

Lemon Juice is probably the most common juice used in cocktails but there are several other juices you might want to have on hand.  Remember that the more mixes and juices that you behind the bar, the more cocktails you will be able to create.

Vodka and Cranberry juice is such a popular cocktail that you will want to keep this on hand because you are bound to get an order for it.  Cranberry is also the base juice used to create the very popular Cosmopolitan.

Grapefruit juice is good to have on hand to make tropical drinks as well as the classic vodka and grapefruit cocktail called The Greyhound.

Lemon Juice is part of many classic cocktails. You should always make every possible attempt to use freshly squeezed lemon juice; it does make a difference.

Like Lemon juice, Lime juice should always be freshly squeezed. Lime juice is usually used in tropical style drinks such as Daquiris and Margaritas.

Orange juice, one of the all purpose mixes,  is used to make many classic cocktails including Mimosas, Screwdrivers and Harvey Wallbangers.

A syrup is a concentrated flavoring, often very high in sugar that can be added to a drink.  Mainly syrups are used to take the edge of the taste of alcohol by adding a tart or very sweet flavor. Think of a syrup as a non-alcoholic cordial.

Grenadine is a sweet red syrup, originally made from pomegranates, but most brands are now artificially flavored. There is also a “cordial” available that goes by this name as well.

Actually a cross between lime juice and a lime syrup, time cordial can be used to replace limes in a drink recipe.  Rose’s Lime Juice is a dependable brand that you can buy in the supermarket.

Having even half of these mixes on hand for a party should satisfy most guests.