This week on Five Rules for the Good Life, I sit down with bartender, beverage consultant, and all-around cocktail whisperer Linda Douglas to talk about her Five Rules on Building an at Home Bar. She shares the importance of intention when choosing base spirits, to learning how to batch drinks like a pro, all while demystifying the world of mixology with warmth, clarity, and a healthy pour of real-world experience. Whether you’re starting from scratch or ready to level up, this episode gives you the tools to build a home bar that works for you and your guests.
I love this episode because it removes the mystery of putting together an at home bar. You don’t need a rolling cart or fancy bottles or an encyclopedic knowledge of spirits—just a little curiosity and a few smart tips. Linda’s advice lets you build confidence as you learn what you like, what to serve, and how to host without stress. Best of all, it helps you find your signature cocktail—the one you make without thinking, the one that makes people smile when they walk in the door. That’s the power of hospitality, and that’s what makes this episode so special.
Hello, and happy holidays.
Welcome to Five Rules for the Good Life.
I’m your host, Darin Bresnitz.
Today, I sit down with LA bartender extraordinaire, Linda Douglas, who can be seen crafting cocktails at Donna’s and serving up her own creations at her excellent events across the city and the world. Today, she shares her five rules on building an at-home bar. She talks about the importance of personalizing what you put together, that intentional curation will help with cost when it comes to buying liquor, and how picking your bartender’s brain is the best way to build the best collection at home.
It’s a fantastic conversation for anyone who’s ever wanted to have their own little speakeasy in their house, serving up crafted cocktails for loved ones at home. She also shares her recipe for a freezer door martini, which can be seen in the episode description below.
So let’s get into the rules.
Linda, such a pleasure to see you. Thank you for making time during the busy holiday season.
Great to see you. Thanks for having me. I’m excited for this.
When I was reading up on you and your inspirations, one of the inspirations of yours that I love was nostalgia. What do you love about looking backwards to create something new?
Besides always trying to figure out what trends are going on, mainly because of my brain rot on TikTok. Knowing that flavor trends bring things back to base of home and nostalgia comes back to a sense of making people feel good, whether they’re drinking a beverage or spending time at your restaurant. And nostalgia is different for everybody. And it hits at the same place, though. It’s a constant journey to find everybody’s little bit of nostalgia that we can all come together with.
When we dined at Donna’s, the idea of nostalgia and a different era of a restaurant that has been updated definitely came into play. I found that as much with the food as with the cocktails that you made for us. What old ideas have you brought into the new world with the cocktails that you helped make at the restaurant?
When we build on how we want our guests to feel, we think about making people feel that they’re coming back to a place, whether it’s their first time there or their 30th time.
I love that. Really making things welcoming and not intimidating.
And that’s a really big part of my process with cocktails and storytelling. People should be excited to ask for their very first martini, not be intimidated by asking what a certain ingredient is. The thought of sharing a bit of why we’re excited as bartenders and hospitality professionals to be a part of everybody’s special moment or just their regular Monday night. Having pride in our work goes and overflows into our guests having a great time.
I love that. I love the idea of hosting and having a great time. I’ve always associated with chefs or professional bartenders that their home is an extension of their restaurant. But I’ve also been to some chefs’ houses and there’s nothing to eat but some frozen pizza and maybe a bag of almonds. Are bartenders the same way? Do they have a built-out bar at their house? Or is it, as I have also seen, Miller High Life’s and a bottle of Jameson?
Oh, goodness. You’re really hitting it on the head. I just felt seen.
A little bit of both. Yes. A common question that I even ask other industry professionals, are you making drinks at home? And a lot of times we’re saying very low stakes cocktails. Highballs. Perfect.
We have a lot of things batched probably from different events that we just had or we’re tasting things or R&Ding for something.
What a dream.
My freezer has six cocktails in it right now. Four of them, I love. Two of them I’m trying to work through.
You end up building an at-home bar of all the things that you really enjoy, and it might be a bunch of small nips of things that you’ve shared with other bartenders along the way. There is this little circle of us. We each send over three ounces of our favorite spirit to one another.
Ugh.
So my home bar is little bits and pieces of mini bottles that we’ve shared with each other, which is kind of special.
Not everyone is friends with some of the best bartenders in the city and in the country, which is why I’m so excited for you to be here to share your five rules on building an at-home bar for people who aren’t living that life professionally.
I thought a lot about this and at times have felt intimidated when I’ve gone over to whiskey collectors’ houses. Is this how my bar is supposed to feel at home? Your first rule talks about making the right type of setup for who you are. What’s your rule number one?
Rule number one is to personalize it. Build a bar that excites you. Your home bar has to be exciting for you to play around in. A lot of people will think about making a home bar very expensive, but my favorite thing is to go to estate sales, thrift stores, garage sales, and finding fun personalized glassware that really speak to me and I’m excited to use and play around with. And we’re not spending as much money thinking that hey, I’m thinking about having to buy very professional tools. I’m not working well for making 300 cocktails at a nightclub or something. This should be fun and exciting for you to engage with.
I also think that there’s a set lineup of glassware that you should look for when you’re going to these estate sales. And the lineup should be a martini coupe, a rocks glass, and a highball glass. Three of those and you can make a bunch of cracked cocktails.
The idea of having to start from scratch or having to buy a whole new setup can be really tough, especially if money’s tight or you don’t want to make that huge investment. And the other thing that people can get hung up on are the tools and the equipment needed, which is a core tenant of your rule number two.
My rule number two is keep tools simple, essential, and high quality. You don’t need every single gadget that’s going to come in one of these kits that you’ll probably find around the holidays right now. My go-to list: a Boston shaker, a bar spoon, Hawthorne strainer, a jigger, a hand juicer, and a mixing glass. That’s it. It doesn’t have to be super fancy. It just has to not annoy you from using it.
There are times when you go to make a drink or even when you go to cook and you don’t have the tool that you need to actually make the thing that you want. That’s a real pain. And so being really thoughtful and intentional about what you have in your house, either equipment or ingredient-wise, is a big part of building out your bar and a big part of your rule number three.
Rule number three is stock smart. Buy what you know and how to use it. I don’t want people to feel pressured to buy—great, I’m going to have a party for New Year’s or Valentine’s Day, I need to buy 42 bottles. Slowly build your repertoire of what you want to hold on to and what you want to carry on your home. An easy way for me to plan this out is you want to have two bottles of the same spirit: one that’s on a basic level, something that you can shake and drink in a mixed cocktail. And the second one should be something that is more luxurious, that you want to cherish, that you want to sip neat after dinner or on a date. Something that shines by itself.
Supporting ingredients like digestives and modifiers should earn their place on your bar. You want to make sure that you’re using ingredients that you’re comfortable and confident with but also you can use it in various different ways. If I am going to buy coffee liqueur for an espresso martini, I could also use it in a coffee negroni or coffee old-fashioned.
Yes please.
If I’m gonna buy a really lovely amaro, great—I can have it on the rocks after dinner or before dinner, I can make it into an amaro spritz and I could put it into a black manhattan. Using these bottles in versatile ways is going to get more bang for your buck and you’re going to make more exciting, creative cocktails at home.
Budget plays a big part of this, especially as we hit the holiday season and hosting and entertaining are at an all-time high. Your fourth rule speaks to this. What is your rule number four?
Rule number four is to batch and prep in advance. It’s helpful to use this tip especially if you’re planning on hosting. Being able to think about making a cocktail that’s just in a bottle that you pour over ice, you put a lemon peel in it, and it’s ready to go, is the most helpful thing that you’re going to have. One of my go-tos is a freezer door martini. You basically just take your recipe that you like for your martini, pour it into a bottle, and you’re not going to add any water to it. You’re going to put that bottle into the freezer. You’re going to wait at least 24 hours. And now you’ve got a beautifully crystal-clear, delicious martini that’s just ready to pour for your guest, and it looks so classy when you just hand it to them without even having to go to your bar.
I love this idea because it reduces the anxiety of prep, especially when you’re trying to entertain, you want to be hosting, and you’re working the playlist, and you’re also trying to get the food out. Having these premade drinks allows people to start the night off with something a little special before they transition into something else. Which brings us to your final rule, which is something that really brings the home bar together. What’s your rule number five?
Rule number five is to pick your bartender’s brain. Bartenders are excited to share about our favorite spirits, things that we’re excited about. We spend a lot of time and investment trying different liquors and spirits and digestives, and you can really just ask what should I have at home or if I want to do a stirred cocktail, what would you recommend? If I want to do something for a party, what’s your go-to? And it’s amazing how generous bartenders are with their time and advice and excited to share some things. And that’s also a really great way to engage in your community and engage in local businesses.
Linda, these are amazing rules. Thank you so much. Before we go, if people want to follow you, book you for an event, or just see what you’re up to, where can they go?
They can find me on Instagram @_linduh_, or they can find me directly through donna-la.com.
Amazing. Thank you so much, and happy holidays.
Happy holidays. Thanks for having me.
