Home bar: how to create it with everything you may need
Creating a home bar in your apartment can be an excellent idea for those who love entertaining friends and relatives at the end of the day, serving cocktails and appetizers in front of a movie, or simply for anyone who wants to give a contemporary touch to their home. It might seem like a tough job, but actually having a respectable home bar is a lot easier than you think. You don't need to live in a Hollywood mansion to have your own corner dedicated to cocktails and mixers.
On the contrary, you just need to carve out a small space to be used as a bar in your living room: whether it's a bar cabinet, a counter or simply a cabinet, remember that you should have a selection of quality bottles.
- Decide where to place your bar
If you live in a two-room apartment where space is inevitably scarce, choose a shelf or cabinet to use as a bar corner. The important thing, in fact, is to be able to exploit every centimeter available, while paying attention to the aesthetic aspect: the home bar, in fact, must have colors and shapes in line with the furnishings of the house, in order to avoid a jumble of different styles.
After choosing where to place it, move on to the glasses. Remember, you don't need to get a full bar set, what matters is having the right amount of cocktail, martini and wine glasses and goblets. In short, according to Jeffreys it will be enough to get three or four different types of glasses.
- Buy the proper equipment
What kitchen utensils will you need? Take a pen and paper and write down the following. In your home bar, jars, spoons and measuring cups cannot be missing. Obviously, shakers and pestles are also essential. Remember that to make a good cocktail you need a lot of precision: to obtain a satisfactory result, in fact, you need to dose each single ingredient correctly.
- Stock up on bottles
Most of the best cocktails are made with American gin and whiskey, so start by buying a bottle of both. You will then need at least two types of vermouth, one French and the other Italian. Finally, a blended Scotch whiskey and a bottle of good Polish vodka.
- Get syrups, bitters, and mixers
Green light to syrups and bitters. As for the former, you can prepare them at home independently. On the internet you will find very detailed instructions on how to obtain sugar syrup and grenadine in a few simple steps. In fact, using poor products would inevitably damage cocktails. Remember: it is not enough to have only quality alcohol to receive compliments from your guests. Then try to always keep a few bottles of sparkling water and tonic water aside - but be careful to dose the latter, because it is very sparkling.
- Don't underestimate the importance of ice
Your bar is now almost fully stocked. But don't forget a fundamental detail: ice. You will always need tons and tons and tons of ice. More than you can imagine.
Which appliances should you buy?
First of all, you’ll need a wine cooler. In order to choose the perfect wine cooler for your home bar, you’ll need to consider three main factors: capacity, temperature and whether it is built-in or free-standing.
- Capacity: How many bottles would you like to fit in your wine cooler? Some models can hold less than 10 bottles, while others hold up to 200! Make a wise choice based on the space available and your needs.
- Temperature: Some wine coolers allow for dual temperature zones, while others only for one. If you intend to store both white and red wine bottles, you might want to opt for a dual zones cooler.
- Built-in or free-standing: where will your wine cooler be? If you plan on installing it within some furniture, then you might want to opt for a built-in model. This will also be a space saving solution in case you don’t have much space available for your home bar.
Check out our selection of wine coolers here.
You might want to purchase a kegerator: a machine that will allow you to dispense craft beer, the store bought kind or maybe even your own!
You can choose between freestanding kegerators – the cheapest solution on the market – or under counter kegerators – a space saving solution. You could also decide to purchase an outdoor kegerators, if your home bar will be outside in the garden or in your patio. Furthermore, you might also want to consider multiple tap kegerators, which will allow you to serve multiple types of beer.
Check out the best kegerators we sell here.
Furthermore, a proper home bar will need a beverage center to be complete. In order to buy the best one to fit your needs, you will have to consider the amount of beverages to be stored in it, where to locate it and the energy usage. You might also want to opt for extra features such a dual-zone temperatures, safety locks, digital temperature controls, adjustable shelving and led lighting.
Here’s our selection of beverage centers.
Depending on your needs and passions, you might want to purchase some other appliances, such as an outdoor kitchen, bar furniture, arcade games, billiards and air hockey tables. Click here to see all the home bar-related products we offer!
