I'm a vegan bartender who shops at Aldi. Here are 14 cheap cocktail ingredients I always buy there.

Aldi always seems to be stocked up on fresh lemons, limes, and oranges.

I grab a bag of each to use for juice and garnishes. Three bags usually costs me under $10.

I take my time in the produce section and check out what seasonal goodies there are — strawberries, watermelon, peaches, mangos, and apples are all great for cocktails.

On this day, I got a seedless watermelon to juice for daiquiris.

This coconut milk from Aldi makes a good substitute for cream in cocktails like an espresso martini (vodka, flavored liqueurs, and cream) or White Russian (vodka, cream, and coffee liqueur).

No, it doesn't have a strong coconut flavor.

Salt is great to have for rims on margaritas and to help with tequila shots.

I also always add a little salt to daiquiris, palomas, sours, and my original cocktails.

Pro tip: Coarse sea salt is great for rimming glasses and fine-ground salt is better for syrups and batched cocktails.

Bartenders know that some classic cocktails call for an egg white because it's what gives drinks like a Gin Fizz that signature fluffy, whipped texture.

My secret, plant-based egg substitute for drinks like those is 1 ½ ounces of wheat beer. That's right — wheat beer has enough protein to replace egg white. You're welcome.

Tea is one of my favorite ingredients to use when I'm developing new cocktails for a menu or an event. I like to use peppermint and chamomile with honey and whiskey, or chai in rum punch.

I love infusing vinegar with fruits and sugar to create sweet and sour syrups for drinks. My favorite is made with concord grapes, sugar, and apple-cider vinegar.

This might be a regional thing, but where I'm from it's popular to take a shot of pickle juice as a chaser for whiskey.

Plus pickles make great snacks for the bartender. These baby whole kosher dills are perfect.

Not only is agave a great plant-based alternative to honey, but also it's an important ingredient in all the best tequila cocktails, like the margarita (tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice) and the paloma (tequila and grapefruit soda).

Using fresh citrus juice instead of a sour mix means I always need simple syrup on hand to sweeten things up and keep the balance in my drinks.

I make a 1:1 simple syrup with white sugar as my main syrup and a thick, 2:1 brown-sugar syrup for old fashioneds (whiskey, simple syrup, and bitters).

Coca-Cola and Sprite are commonly requested as mixers for booze, chasers for shots, and non-alcoholic beverage options.

I always have a bottle of sparkling wine just in case someone proposes or orders a French 75 cocktail (sparkling wine, gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup).

This bottle of Italian Prosecco is perfect for spritzes or on its own.

One of my favorite ingredients to use for cocktails is ginger syrup, which I make by simmering fresh ginger with sugar and water.

The sweet and spicy syrup has more flavor than ginger liqueurs. It also makes the best Penicillin cocktails (whisky, ginger, honey syrup, and lemon juice).

You can elevate your garnish game with cucumbers for under $1.

Cucumbers are also an essential pairing with gin cocktails, and they go great with simple washes like vodka and soda or a gin and tonic.