Two bottles, and what they really make

There are 2701 ways to pick two bottles out of this library. 52 of them have a drink that uses both. Every other pair is two bottles doing separate jobs on the same shelf, which is worth knowing before you buy the second one.

Where these numbers come from

Barello is a home cellar and bar app that tells you what to open tonight, what to keep, and what you can mix from what you have.

Every count on this page is taken from its cocktail library: 193 recipes, each carrying the rules that decide whether a bottle on your shelf satisfies an ingredient. That's the same engine the app runs on, so nothing here is an estimate.

The library and the matching tool are free and need no sign-up. The cellar side, with the drinking windows, is the app.

The pairs that mix 52 of 2701

The two bottles	What uses both	Covers
Coffee liqueur and vodka	Black Russian, Espresso Martini, White Russian	10
Gin and orange liqueur	Breakfast Martini, White Lady	15
Gin and dry vermouth	Dry Martini, Gibson	15
Dry vermouth and vodka	Dirty Martini, Vodka Martini	9
Orange liqueur and vodka	Cosmopolitan, Lemon Drop Martini	9
Maraschino liqueur and white rum (blanco or light)	Hemingway Special, Mary Pickford	8
Aromatic bitters and rye whiskey	Old Fashioned, Trinidad Sour	5
Campari or red bitter and sweet vermouth	Americano, Milano-Torino	4
Gin and sparkling wine	French 75	18
Campari or red bitter and gin	Enzoni	16
Aromatic bitters and gin	Fitzgerald	15
Gin and absinthe	Monkey Gland	14
Gin and apricot brandy	Paradise	14
Gin and maraschino liqueur	Aviation	14
Gin and crème de mûre	Bramble	14
Gin and sweet vermouth	Gin & It	14
Vodka and sparkling wine	French 76	12
Campari or red bitter and vodka	East 8 Hold-up	10
Crème de cassis and tequila	El Diablo	8
Galliano and vodka	Harvey Wallbanger	8
Grand Marnier and tequila	Grand Margarita	8
Lychee liqueur and vodka	Lychee Martini	8
Orange liqueur and tequila	Margarita	8
Passionfruit liqueur and vodka	Pornstar Martini	8
Peach brandy and vodka	Sex on the Beach	8
Raspberry liqueur and vodka	French Martini	8
Aged rum and white rum (blanco or light)	Don's Special Daiquiri	7
Campari or red bitter and sparkling wine	Spritz	7
Peach brandy and white rum (blanco or light)	Missionary's Downfall	7
Rye whiskey and red wine	New York Sour	7
Aromatic bitters and sparkling wine	Champagne Cocktail	6
Aged rum and sparkling wine	Air Mail	5
Campari or red bitter and white wine	Bicicletta	5
Crème de cassis and sparkling wine	Kir Royale	5
Campari or red bitter and dark rum (anejo or añejo)	Jungle Bird	4
Cognac and amaretto (amaretto or disaronno)	French Connection	4
Cognac and Green Chartreuse	Champs-Élysées	4
Pisco and white wine	Pisco Punch	4
Cognac and crème de cacao	Brandy Alexander	3
Cognac and orange liqueur	Sidecar	3
Cognac and green crème de menthe	Stinger	3
Cognac and tawny port	Porto Flip	3
Crème de cassis and white wine	Kir	3
Amaretto (amaretti) and scotch whisky	Godfather	2
Amaretto (amaretto or disaronno) and aged rum	IBA Tiki	2
Aromatic bitters and aged rum	Three Dots and a Dash	2
Drambuie and scotch whisky	Rusty Nail	2
Green Chartreuse and overproof white rum	Nuclear Daiquiri	2
Peated Scotch whisky and scotch whisky	Penicillin	2
Crème de cacao and green crème de menthe	Grasshopper	1
Orange liqueur and mezcal	Mezcal Margarita	1
Orange liqueur and aged rum	Mai Tai	1

"Covers" counts every drink the pair can make between them, including the ones that need only one of the two. Kitchen staples are assumed, the same way the app assumes them: a sour isn't blocked by invisible sugar.

The pairs that cover the most, mixed or not

The two bottles	Covers	What uses both
Gin and tequila	20	nothing uses both
Gin and vodka	20	nothing uses both
Gin and white rum (blanco or light)	19	nothing uses both
Gin and sparkling wine	18	French 75
Gin and whisky	17	nothing uses both
Gin and red wine	17	nothing uses both
Campari or red bitter and gin	16	Enzoni
Cognac and gin	15	nothing uses both

This is the table most "best two bottles" lists are really showing you, without saying so. It's a good list. It's answering "how many drinks does this open up", not "what can I mix from these two".

The one worth having both ways

Gin and sparkling wine cover 18 drinks between them, and unlike the pairs above them on the list, one of those drinks uses both: a French 75. That's the rare case where the second bottle buys you something the first one couldn't reach.

The full list for that pair, with what each of the 18 needs.

Why so few pairs mix

Classic cocktails are mostly one spirit plus a kitchen. A Daiquiri is rum, lime and sugar. A Gimlet is gin, lime and sugar. Neither wants a second bottle, and the drinks that do want one usually want a modifier rather than another spirit: a vermouth, a bitter, an orange liqueur. That's why the mixing pairs above are nearly all a spirit and a modifier, and why two spirits together are usually two lists rather than one.

Which makes the buying advice simple. Pick your second bottle for the drinks you already want, not for the pair. Every bottle this library holds, and what each is worth on its own, is on the home bar page.

Questions people ask

What can I make with two bottles?

More than you'd think, and less of it mixed than you'd think. Two bottles reach as many as 20 of the 193 drinks in Barello's library, but of the 2701 possible pairs only 52 have a single drink that uses both bottles at once.

Do gin and rum go together?

Not in a glass. No classic cocktail in this library uses both, so buying the two gets you two separate lists of drinks rather than a new one. As a pair of first purchases they are still among the strongest, which is a different question.

Which two bottles make the most cocktails?

Gin and tequila, at 20 drinks. For a pair that mixes, gin and sparkling wine cover 18 and give you a French 75.

Tick what you own instead. Barello checks your shelf against 193 recipes and names the one bottle that would open the most new drinks. Free, nothing to sign up to.

What cocktail can I make?