A basic cocktail shaker is key for making budget-friendly cocktails at home.
Cocktail culture has exploded in the past few decades, and with it, the prices for Vespers, Sazeracs, and Sidecars on bar and restaurant menus. You can easily spend $15 to $20 per drink at a local watering hole or start making cocktails at home with a good shaker and save big money. Two $15 cocktails, twice a week, would cost you over $1,500 per year. Those same cocktails cost closer to $3 or $4 to make at home, depending on the drink and necessary ingredients.
OK, so you’re going to need more than just a shaker to create bar-level cocktails, but almost nothing is as inflated as alcohol served in restaurants so, even with the cost of booze, mixers, bitters and glassware, you’ll still be saving major moolah by having happy hour at home.
- Upfront cost: $30
- How much you could save:Up to $1,400 (based on consumption of two cocktails per week)