When hosting guests at your house, the way you stock your home bar is crucial. Building a home bar doesn’t have to be as difficult as it seems. But before you go from keeping a single bottle in the fridge to displaying a full bar complete with various spirits, mixers, and mini champagne bottles in bulk, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Every home with adults should have a proper home bar. There’s no harm in having a home bar installed even if you don’t drink; having something to offer guests is always a good idea, and it can add an interesting design aspect to any room.
Learn how to set up a place that not only contains all the necessary tools but is also beautiful and stimulates you to try new things, whether you’re just starting to prepare cocktails and enjoy spirits or have been mixing for years.
Setup For A Bar
If space is at a premium in your studio or one-bedroom, consider converting a console table or side table into a bar. You may also place a tray with your preferred liquor and tools on your kitchen counter for easy access. Local shops are a great place to find a trendy tray, whether you’re looking for a wooden, metal, or plastic one.
You can have a stylish bar cart or trolley if you have room for it. You should keep all of your drinking equipment in one convenient location.
Tools For Lowering Bars
You may get by with just the bare minimum at first when stocking your bar. Shake the cocktails in a shaker (most bartenders like a two-piece Boston tin shaker, although a three-piece cobbler shaker will do in a pinch).
The Parisian shaker is beautiful to behold but a real hassle to use (try pouring a cocktail out of it).
A jigger for measuring ingredients; a Hawthorne strainer for removing ice, pulp, and other debris from mixed drinks; a muddler for mashing fruits, herbs, and spices; a mixing glass for stirring cocktails; a long-handled bar spoon for stirring and layering drinks; a manual citrus press for extracting juice from lemons and another citrus; a bottle opener (which you probably already have); a corkscrew for opening wines; and a
Glassware
The visual value of glassware is not the only consideration. With the right glassware, your favorite cocktail will taste even better. However, glasses take up a lot of room, so you should probably just buy the ones you plan to use frequently.
Get a set of rock glasses, also known as Old Fashioned glasses, if you like your drinks neat or on the rocks.
Whiskey sours and other spirit-forward drinks like Negronis and Old Fashioneds are traditionally served in these lowball glasses, which resemble short tumblers (hence the name of the glass). Highball glasses are perfect for lengthy drinks like gin, tonics, and other carbonated beverages.
For beverages that are shaken or stirred but not served with ice, a coupe or coupette glass is the way to go.
Spirits
Only as good as its liquor selection can a bar be considered. To stock, your bar, stock up on gin, vodka, rum, whisky, bourbon, and tequila; these are all versatile spirits that can be used in a wide range of cocktails and enjoyed on their own. Spending more on higher-quality goods is unnecessary.
Get plenty of your favorite bottles because you’ll be the one drinking them most often. Learn how to make a few easy cocktails that you may serve to friends and family.
Vermouth and cream liqueur are two examples of aromatized fortified wines that, once opened, should be refrigerated to prevent oxidation and spoilage.
Mixers, Syrups, And Bitters
You can do many interesting things with the flavor of your drinks by playing with different mixers and syrups. Cocktails and highballs use mixers such as soda water, tonic water, cola, ginger ale, and various fresh and ready-to-drink fruit juices to improve the flavor of the spirit.
Do not omit the sweetener from your cocktail; it is required to balance and accentuate the flavors of the drink, just as the sour agent (such as citrus) is.
Homemade simple syrup is easy to prepare by simply heating equal parts of water and sugar together. This can then be used as a foundation for other flavored syrups.
Garnishes
The visual appeal of cocktails can be greatly enhanced by using garnishes, but those same ingredients also contribute to the cocktails’ aroma and flavor.
Citrus fruits like lemon, lime, and orange are typically used as garnishes. For some dishes, you’ll only need the peel, while others will call for a slice or a wheel.
The white pith within an orange peel is bitter, so leave it out if you want to use the peel. Apples, cucumbers, and pomelos are just a few examples of fresh garnishes that look great in a fruit basket or you can use some pretty old but fancy perfume box packaging to present garnishes. It taste great in other contexts outside cocktail hour.
Conclusion
You don’t have to go all out with your purchase, but neither should you settle for second best. Add some variety to your bar by stocking up on regional alcoholic beverages and mixers.
Corn whiskey, gin with native botanicals, grain vodka, absinthe, liqueurs, and even bitters from close by can all be excellent choices.
Now if you wish to invite close friends or a business partner to discuss some wholesale aftermarket car parts deal, your home bar is the perfect place!
