If you love having people over for drinks, dinner or for game night, adding a bar to your home could be a really fun addition for entertaining. If you love mixing cocktails, then a home bar is a perfect choice. Here we have put together six steps to show you how to make your own home bar…
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Decide on a location
Decide where you’re going to set up your bar, and consider whether you want to buy a new piece of furniture for it. If you have a lot of space, like a large dining room that isn’t being used very often, you could treat yourself to a proper bar. Options like sideboards or drinks cabinets also make beautiful additions to a dining room or lounge without taking up quite as much room. A bar cart works well for smaller rooms.
Find the right equipment
If you’re making drinks, you’re going to need the right bar tools. Start with some basic items like a corkscrew and a bottle opener. For measuring spirits accurately, you will need a jigger. For cocktail making, you will need to buy a cocktail shaker. You might also need bar spoons, muddlers and strainers, depending on the cocktails you plan to make. A decanter can be a good addition for red wine drinkers. After the basic items, you could upgrade to fancier options, like electric corkscrews and red wine aerators. If your favourite cocktail is a blended drink, you could invest in a blender to store on the bar so you can make it for yourself at home.
Sort out your glassware
Serving drinks in the right glasses can make a big difference to the quality of the drinks. For beers, pint glasses are the best choice. You’ll also need the right glasses for wine, cocktails and spirits. For wine, invest in the right glasses for red and white wine and some flutes for sparkling wines. You’ll also need options for different cocktails and mixed drinks, such as highballs or crystal gin glasses. If you host a lot of parties, you could buy cocktail pitchers or a punch bowl to make serving lots of drinks simpler.
Get stocked up!
Stock your bar with spirits. Start with your favourite sand the basics for good cocktails, such as a good gin, vodka, rum and whisky. Additional spirits can be bought as you go, like tequila, some liqueurs or flavoured spirits. Bitters are a good thing to have if you’re planning to mix cocktails often too. Have a look to Shop at The Bottle Club and stock up on some mixers. Coca Cola is always a good standby, but for more interesting cocktails, try other sodas, juices and tonics. Don’t forget the ice! Get yourself a good quality ice cube tray to make sure your drinks are cold and refreshing.Finally, don’t forget the garnishes. You can’t make a Long Island Iced Tea without lime wedges or an Old Fashioned without maraschino cherries! Don’t forget to get some lemon and other citrus fruits too. With these essentials, you’ll be able to make any drink you like. So get stocking up and start mixing!
Buy some mixers
Like the spirits, start with the basics first like lemonade, coke, some different fruit juices and plain tonic water. You can add to your mixers later to include some more different fruit juices or flavours of tonic water. Buy some cocktail mixers like ginger ale, tomato juice or soda water.
Improve your aesthetics
Upgrade your home bar with some extra items to enhance the drinks you most enjoy making and drinking. If you mostly drink spirits, a bar optic looks professional and makes getting drink measures accurate incredibly easy. A mini-fridge under the bar is very useful for storing mixers or canned drinks, where they’re always cold and ready to serve. A proper wine rack will look good and give you somewhere to store your wine near the bar.
