A good bar is one that collects not bottles as much as stories. This is doubly true for a home bar. If you’re like me, your home bar has many staples that you go through on the regular, but you also have a collection of odds and ends.

You may have an ancient bottle of scotch given to you on a special occasion by a dear friend. Perhaps you picked up a bottle of absinthe so that you could add a dash of it to a special cocktail and now you have 80% of that left that you never plan to use.

I love all of those odds and ends, and I love all of those stories. But what do you do when you have to start all over again?

Two months ago, my partner and I picked up our entire lives and moved from California to Hong Kong. It’s not as if this was a sudden transition — it was long planned — but it was no small thing.

Prior to our departure, we threw many a shindig and soiree to drink the bar that you see pictured as dry as we could. For the most part we were successful.

But now we are here in Hong Kong, this lovely Asian world city, having to start anew. It is a complete reset; we brought no bottles with. And while there is no shortage of good bottles to be acquired here, it is still a daunting task. Where does one even begin to rebuild?

We all have our favorite cocktails: our go-to drinks the serve our tastes in any situation. So let’s start there.

I could get by forever on a good Manhattan. Rye, vermouth, some bitters, and a proper cherry are really all that I need to keep a home bar. With that I’m content.

From there, it’s not hard to stock up on a couple more things. If you add some gin and Campari to the mix, suddenly you have the makings of a negroni. Add some bourbon and you can make a boulevardier as well.

But I digress. The main point is to start with a few drinks that you like. You don’t have to be fancy. Especially to get started, you just need to cover a few favorites.

In time, the rest of the bar will flow naturally. Every so often, you’ll want to add one or two more drinks to your home’s menu. Take your time; there’s no rush. Enjoy each new addition and the story it brings with it. Soon enough, the home bar will be filled with all sorts of bottles and tales to tell about them.