Posts Tagged ‘home bar’

If you’re considering building a bar in your home, one of the tricky things you have to cipher through is just where to put it. After all, you can’t serve people cocktails if they have nowhere to sit, and you can’t put together a great martini if you have no place to stock the goodies, right?

A lot of people enjoy putting the bar in their kitchens. It makes sense, as extra utensils or supplies you might need are nearby. Likewise, it makes for a great place when a party is in session. Food and drink can come together in a perfect way.

But if you don’t have room in the kitchen, you can always consider building a bar in your basement. Basement bars tend to be a little more cozy and relaxed. Bring your buddies over for a game and show off your bartending skills. Kick back on the couch once you’re done behind the counter.

Another location is outside. Outside bars are used mostly during parties, other get-togethers, and during warmer months. It’s up to you how full you want to stock it with beer, liqueurs, or wine.

Ultimately, it will be up to you where you want your bar and what you want to serve.

There are several tools that a bartender can use when making various drinks. Whether you want to go pro or just have a smashing home bar, there are several tools that you simply can’t work without:

Jiggers
Pourers
Mixing glass
Hand shaker
Barspoon
Bar strainer
Ice scoop
Ice tongs
Muddler
Fruit squeezer
Funnel
Glass rimmer

Each of these tools has a very specific function, whether it’s to make the job of pouring easier, to allow you to make drinks faster, or to allow you to more precisely obtain ingredients for drinks. Depending upon how well-stocked your home bar might be, you may need only a few of these items, or all of them. If you want to be a professional, all these items may already be at your bar, unless you intend to practice with them.

Another handy tool is a quick book that contains various drink recipes. These can be found in almost any bookstore; online or in retail stores. By storing as many drinks in your head as possible and how to make them, you can be fast and efficient for delivering drinks to everyone around you.

Whether you decide to stock your home bar with typical items or wild ones, here’s a few that may or may not go over well with your visitors. Of course, you never know – you might start a new trend!

Potato vodka – Actually, this type of vodka isn’t all that surprising. It’s relatively well-known now, though it’s still going to be different from what most vodka drinkers are used to.

Pizza beer – We all love to have beer with a slice of pizza, but this puts them all together. The beer actually includes real pizza crust, tomato, oregano, basil, and garlic.

Chili beer – As if pizza beer wasn’t enough, if you took a chili and tossed it into your beer, you might get something like this. Don’t say you haven’t been warned though.

Milk vodka – Oh yes, there really is milk involved, but many claim it tastes quite good. In fact, it’s becoming more popular and even with a few celebrities.

Snake vodka – Yes, there is a real snake in these bottles. You’re likely better off using this one as a shocking decoration rather than actually serving it!

Chocolate wine – A mix of wine and real chocolate? Some wineries use chocolate flavoring while others use real chocolate. Take your pick!

Want to make your home bar feel like a real bar? Try throwing a bit of bartender terminology into the mix. Some terms are more common than others, so if you have any friends who may have done a bit of bartending, why not wow them by using a few phrases and keep the drinks coming!

Blend: Drinks that are mixed in an electric blender to combine the ingredients.

Box: Mixing the drink quickly without any shaking by pouring the drink into and out of the shaker only once.

Chaser: A second drink taken immediately after the first to create a new taste.

Lace: This often applies to the final ingredient in a drink, often poured directly on top of the drink.

Highball: Any spirit served in a highball glass with ice and soda water.

Lowball: Similar to a highball, only served in a smaller glass.

Neat: A straight shot of liquor.

On the Rocks: Any spirit poured over ice.

Sour: A small drink that includes liquor, sugar, and lemon or lime juice.

Tot: A very small amount of liquor.

Virgin: A non-alcoholic drink.

When entertaining for friends and family at your home bar, if you never bothered to pick up any books about the various drinks that can be made (or bothered to go online and compile a list), no worries. There are still dozens upon dozens of drinks you can make that are extraordinarily simple. With just a glass, some ice, and a couple of ingredients, you can quickly hand out some tasty favorites and traditional classics that everyone will enjoy.

Many drinks, from rum to vodka, mix extremely well with the various sodas (or pop, depending upon your word preference) you can purchase in the grocery store. From the ever-popular rum and coke to the jolt of vodka and lemon-lime sodas, the combination of alcohol and soda is a sure-fire winner every time. Not sure what to pair a drink with? Simply get online and do a quick search – you’re bound to come up with dozens of tasty possibilities. The difficult part will be to make a final choice.

When it’s party time, it’s always a good idea to stock up on the necessary party items.  Depending upon the party you intend to have, you may have to add a few extras to your bar to make sure everyone has a good time.  So what should you look into purchasing for your home bar?

Shakers are extremely important for making cocktails, and if you don’t have at least one on hand already, now is the time to invest.  Shot glasses can also be a great addition if you intend to make a few of those for your friends.  Cocktail strainers can be important for drinks that include ingredients that need to be filtered out.  A condiment bin makes choosing the right little fruits and additional bits easy.  Double jiggers make measuring easy, and ice scoops keep your hands out of everyone’s drink.

With just a handful of new bar items, you can really start swinging and throw a great party, making all the drinks that people want and always have what you need on hand.  After all, if you’re going to have your own home bar, it’s best to do it right!

When stocking your home bar, there are a lot of items you need to get in order to have a truly fantastic bar that people will want to visit again and again.  Even if you don’t have a great deal of variety, there are some garnishes that can put a little extra twist on the drinks you are able to make.  Consider the different drinks and what they include and then head on out to stock your bar with all the best garnishes.  There are plenty to choose from.  Here is just a starter list:

Lemons & Limes – For lemons and limes, there are times when you just need a quick twist and other times when a wedge is called for. 

Maraschino Cherries – There are actually two types: red and green.  Red is the most common variety of maraschino cherry.  Green cherries are very strong and minty.  Try to obtain cherries that still have stems because most people like to eat the cherry right out of their drink.

Olives – Serve these in martinis without the pimento.

Celery – Remember to leave the leafy end at the top when you pop one of these into a Bloody Mary for a true garnished look.

Oranges

Cocktail Onions

Whipped Cream

Salt

Sugar

Nutmeg

The final six are all rather straightforward and tend to give drinks just a tiny bit of extra flavor, though mostly they are for looks.

When you get your home bar up and running, you’ve got to decide what alcohol to purchase in order to make sure your bar truly is a bar – not just a spot where a handful of bottles are kept.  But before going all out, it’s important to take a moment and consider the people you intend to have over to enjoy the bar.  Be sure to consider yourself as well!  You can also take into account how much you’re willing to spend before making final purchases.  However, in order to have a solid home bar, you should at least opt for products that are of good quality.  For the most part, you can do plenty with a basic array of liquors, beers, and liqueurs.

Liquor: Vodka, whiskey, rum, gin, tequila, scotch, and bourbon.  All of these work great on their own or when mixed.  It’s a solid selection for any diverse crowd.

Beer: Consider both domestic and a few imported beers in order to keep everyone happy.  You may not get the brand every person likes (every person has their own personal favorite), but at least they’ll have something to choose from.

Liqueurs: Schnapps, brandy, crème, and orange flavored liqueurs such as Triple Sec tend to be the most popular.  You can also grab a few bottles of Kahlua, Jagermeister, and Rumple Mintz, or any other liqueurs you know people will enjoy.

Don’t forget a few bottles of wine, some mixers, garnishes, and other bar mixes like bloody mary mix.