in case it helps, i'd like to weigh in on your dilemma: pay for overpriced cocktails at the bar. i know the dollar per ounce economy screams against it, but the value of know-how is triply important here. early on in my own backward self-education, i sat down with a friend who knew nearly as little as i did, and we tasted our way through ten or twelve different important spirits. we had no idea what we were doing, and as a result, everything tasted awful. i'd guess it took me the better part of a decade to undo the stigmas formed in that ill-advised tasting.

despite surface appearances, bar economics work in your favor, at least when you're finding your footing. sure, you'll pay anywhere from 2 to 8 times the amount per ounce for liquids consumed, but you won't need to buy a full bar's worth of high quality ingredients, which is in fact what it takes to ensure a pleasant first trip on the cocktail trolley.

what will be your first drink of choice, the first one that really makes you say, “aha! so this is what everyone’s going on about!” it’s hard to say, really. it could be a vodka tonic. or it could be a sazerac, a mai-tai, or a top-shelf margarita. take yourself out to a properly-stocked bar, and you’ll have all of these options at your disposal. once you know what you like, you’ll have a much shorter list of ingredients to collect in order to assemble a personally tailored home bar. in the long run, you’ll save loads of money not buying costly bottles you’ll never use.

the important thing, right off the bat, is to make sure you end up at the right kind of bar. what’s the right kind of bar? well, it’s a place that carries a wide variety of high-quality spirits, of course. again, i know this generally means higher cost. but if that cost is justified by quality ingredients and know-how, each additional dollar is likely to return value at an exponential rate.

more importantly, the right kind of bar is the one sporting good staff. any bartender who knows his/her craft should be able to mix a good drink, but that goes without saying. more importantly, a bartender should be able to talk you through your options, and should be eager to do so. i, for one, have always enjoyed consulting guests that haven’t gotten to try much. the potential to delight in this situation is really grand. i start by asking what types of food they like. what flavors do they enjoy, and what sensations would they rather avoid? within the span of a 10 second interview, i generally know exactly where to start them out.

so, if you find yourself in a deafening mob of thirsty clubbers, struggling to flag down a sneering barstaff of too-cool-for-school twenty-somethings who can barely hear you and don’t seem to care, it’s probably best to shove off and head down the way. you should be getting value for your business, and part of that value is professional advice.

as a general rule, don’t trust bars that use pre-made mixes or bottled citrus juice. if they tell you their whiskey sour contains whiskey and sour mix, the door will probably turn out to be your best friend in the room.

the ready availability of fine establishments will depend entirely on where you live, and what center of urban culture is nearest to you. the booming cocktail renaissance is working in your favor though, and decent watering holes are beginning to crop up in the tiniest of towns, in the unlikeliest of places. anyone who tries to tell you “you just can’t get a good cocktail outside of NYC or san francisco,” is just flashing their “i’m pretentious, ask me how” badge, right along side of their “i have no idea what i’m talking about” badge.

if you’re bent on sussing it all out on your own, the best way to proceed is to decide which base spirit to tackle first. to keep it simple, i’d limit the crowd to vodka, gin, tequila, rum, and whiskey. each of these base spirits offers an entire family of wonderful libations to be explored, but you may want to audition them in these drinks (ordered according to base spirit): vodka tonic/vodka gimlet, gin and tonic/gin gimlet, margarita, mojito/daiquiri (the classic recipe, that is -- watch out for frozen smoothy versions, which have very little to do with the original), whiskey sour/manhattan. these are some very basic drinks, and i’ve chosen them just because they each showcase the qualities of their base spirit. once you’ve picked a favorite starting point, the world will be yours to explore.

looking for a quick and easy recipe guide? i’ve always been impressed by the intuitive arrangement and thorough scope of the internet cocktail database ( http://cocktaildb.com/ ) they may not have all the hip, new-fangled, and elaborate recipes and techniques you’ll find employed in the most cutting edge cocktail labs and retro-speakeasies of the day, but you won’t be wanting to use liquid nitrogen right off the bat anyhow, i’m guessing -- and they’ve got the basics well covered. their approach is straightforward and their recipes are clear. also, you can search for recipes by base spirit as well as by name.

sorry for the long reply, but i hope some of this helps. and thanks for throwing in on this one!