Whether you are a professional bartender or someone who enjoys making cocktails at your home bar station from time to time, it can be fun to experiment with different ingredients. Liquor is the base ingredient of most cocktails, so here are four liquors to try the next time you want to create a libation.

1. Vodka

Vodka is a colorless liquor that is made by distilling the liquid from grains or potatoes. Because of its neutral taste, vodka is used in a variety of alcoholic beverages including the bloody Mary, Cosmopolitan, Moscow mule and screwdriver. If you are a cocktail enthusiast at home, a restauranteur looking to get your alcohol license Dallas TX, or anywhere in between, vodka is a must-have ingredient for cocktails of all kinds.

2. Tequila

Most commonly known for being the main ingredient in margaritas, tequila is distilled from the agave plant and comes in clear, light brown and dark brown varieties. Colorless tequilas are best for making margaritas while darker tequilas are more pleasant to sip neat or on the rocks.

3. Whiskey

Whiskey can be made from a variety of grains including corn, barley, wheat and rye. Common drinks that use whiskey are the old fashioned, Irish coffee, mint julep, Manhattan and whiskey sour. The old fashioned is a popular yet simple cocktail consisting of whiskey, bitters, orange zest and a cherry.

4. Rum

Like tequila, rum comes in both clear and darker varieties depending on what taste you are going for. Distilled from sugarcane, rum is used in such cocktails as mojitos, daiquiris, mai tais and piña coladas. Rum also pairs well with soft drinks due to its slight sweetness from the sugarcane.

When out ordering a drink or crafting a beverage at home, consider which flavor you would like as your base liquor and work from there.