_A home bar is an Invitation to drink and creating it doesn't have to be a headache; Invest in basic equipment, stock up on essential liquors, mixers and garnishes, and you can have a spread that will impress your guests at your next dinner party.
The first golden rule – go slow on stocking up
The first rule while setting up a bar is to work in an incremental approach instead of buying everything you can imagine.
Start out with basic glassware, essential alcohols, and mixers – mainly those you like to consume or make cocktails with. Buying fancy liquors and letting them live their lives on the shelf is only going to cost you a fortune with no real use.
Best locations for a home bar are those that are closer to the kitchen, particularly, in the case of a dry bar. If you prefer to have a wet bar, you should consider the plumbing arrangements you would need to make to install a sink in your bar. As for the furniture, you can choose from a nice looking shelf on the wall to a full-fledged cabinet with ample storage space to accommodate all the bar items.Have tall shelves to accommodate tall bottles, and ample top space to allow room for the glassware and some space for mixing drinks
Bar Equipment: You should consider buying only the essential equipment, to begin with. Here are the basic items you need to equip your bar with:
- Ice bag
- Bar spoon
- Muddler
- Jigger
- Corkscrew
- Citrus press
- Cocktail shaker
- Strainer
- Ice cube trays
Glassware: You should choose your first glassware depending upon your own choice of drinks and cocktails instead of going overboard with collecting fancy glassware. A few short glasses, tall glasses and stems are enough to get you started. However, if you plan on hosting parties, you can also go for flutes or champagne glasses as well.
Filling your Bar Shelves: The most important part while setting up the bar is to fill it up with spirits, mixers, juices and sodas. While selecting all this, you should keep the golden rule in mind, i.e. choose only what you enjoy, first.
A few common spirits that work well in several cocktail recipes are:
- Gin
- Bourbon whiskey
- Scotch whiskey
- Tequila
- White rum
- Dark rum
- Wine
If you don’t know the recipes of your favourite cocktails, a good cocktail recipe book would be a great addition to your bar too. Look up the ingredients of your favourite ones and find out the mid-priced variants of the drinks unless you’re confident that the larger sums of money are worth spending.
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DD Recommendations: Bar Essentials
Reference: Setting up a home bar , Home to start your home bar