No home bar is complete without the basic essentials. These "tools of the trade" will come in handy no matter what occasion.
The home bar. The place to get away from a long day or a hectic week or a place to congregate with friends. Stocked incorrectly, however, the home bar may become a less than perfect place, and leave you or your guests feeling a bit cheated. By keeping these important components in your bar room, you'll come out on top every time.
Refrigerator or Mini Fridge
- Since many ingredients and bottles will need to be kept cool, a refrigerator is recommended. Although not everyone can afford a separate refrigerator for both kitchen and bar room, a mini fridge is an excellent alternative. This way, you can stock your own ice, and keep a place for all the cold components of drink mixing.
Container For Ice
- Should have a thermal lining and be able to hold up to 40 cubes of ice.
Mixing Jug
- According to Kingsley Amis' Everyday Drinking, this should be made of glass, be tall and narrow, with a lip beak to hold in the ice when pouring, and must not be less than a quart in size.
Shaker
- For shots and drinks with more than a few ingredients, the shaker is necessary.
Strainer
- A bar strainer, not a kitchen strainer. Use when pouring from the mixing jug and shaker.
Bar Spoon
- Should be long with an almost flat bowl. Resembles an ice cream spoon.
Lemon Squeezer
- Amis says this should be manual so that it is always in working order. He recommends plastic rather than glass.
A Very Sharp Knife
- Depending on how many guests you may be having, be sure to have any truly difficult cutting taken care of prior to any drinking. This will ensure safety.
A Corkscrew
- These can be found in any liquor or kitchen store. There are four recommended types of corkscrews. There is none that is better or worse than the other. Pick whichever works best for you.
- Lever Style - clamp the opener on the bottle and use the levers to open
- Waiter - Like a Swiss army knife, the screw, called the worm, and the small knife are folded up and away from the server. Servers can put it into their pocket or apron to keep from being poked.
- Twisting Pull - According to Rhinowinegear.com, this corkscrew has a circular rim that you place over the lip of the bottle. This centers the worm over the cork. You then begin twisting the handle on the corkscrew. When the worm has been twisted into the cork, the corkscrew is braced against the bottle and the cork begins to emerge from the bottle as you twist.
- Winged - Like the twisting pull, this screw has a circular rim that you place over the bottle. As the worm twists into the cork, the wings rise. Once they have completely risen, you pull down the wings, bringing the cork out of the bottle.
A Bottle Opener
- While twist caps are becoming more popular, not every bottle is so easy to open. Keeping a bottle opener handy will ensure you have an open bottle every time.
Glasses
Essential glasses include:
- Wine glasses
- Sherry glasses, or rocks glasses
- Old Fashioned glasses
- Highball or Collins glasses
- Beer glasses
While everything on this list is recommended for a successful home bar, everyone is different. Feel free to add or adjust these essentials to your own taste, and have a great time!
The copyright of the article Bar Room Essentials in Beer, Cocktails & Beverages is owned by Jessica Spengler. Permission to republish Bar Room Essentials in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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