MIXERS

Great cocktails are built on great mixers. Behind every daiquiri, margarita, piña colada and old fashioned is a supporting cast of bitters, syrups, purees and cream of coconut that turns a bottle of spirit into an actual drink. Our Mixers collection gathers the bar essentials that make home cocktails taste like they came from a proper cocktail bar — the flavor-makers you reach for again and again.

Start with bitters, the salt-and-pepper of the cocktail world. Angostura Bitters 4oz ($12.99) is the non-negotiable classic — a few dashes lift an old fashioned, a Manhattan or a rum punch — and Angostura Orange Bitter ($16.09) adds a bright citrus note for tiki drinks and gin cocktails. Collectors and gift-givers will want the beautifully packaged Angostura 200th Anniversary Bitters ($74.09), a special-edition tribute to two centuries of the world's most famous aromatic bitters.

For the sweet side, Master Of Mixes, Grenadine 375Ml ($5.99) delivers the pomegranate blush that a Mary Pickford, a Tequila Sunrise or a Shirley Temple needs, while Codigo Agave Nectar ($8.99) is the clean agave sweetener that belongs in every margarita and tequila sour. And no frozen-drink station is complete without Coco Lopez Cream Of C Oconut ($5.99), the cream of coconut that makes piña coladas and painkillers sing.

These mixers are the connective tissue of your whole bar. Pair them with a bottle from our rum collection for tropical drinks, raid our cordials & liqueurs shelf for maraschino, triple sec and amari, or grab something from best sellers to build around. For grab-and-go options, our ready to drink collection skips the mixing entirely.

A few habits separate a good home bar from a great one. Buy bitters once and they'll last for years — a bottle of Angostura Bitters 4oz is used a dash at a time, so it's the cheapest upgrade in cocktail-making. Keep sweeteners like grenadine and agave nectar refrigerated after opening to protect their flavor, and treat cream of coconut as a fresh ingredient — shake or stir it well, since it naturally separates in the can or bottle. With a small, well-chosen mixer shelf, you can make dozens of classic drinks without ever running to the store mid-party.

Not sure what to make first? Our fresh cocktail guides put these mixers to work: the grenadine and maraschino star in the Mary Pickford, while a dash of bitters and a whisper of cane elevate Martinique's Ti' Punch. Stock your mixers, pick your spirit, and start shaking.