Having a home bar at home might just be the ultimate dream for those who’ve been missing the nightlife. Since the pandemic hit, bars and nightclubs remain closed, and even if they start reopening, there’s still the fear of sharing a confined space with a lot of people. That’s why it’s better to stay at home and still be able to do the things you love the most, especially in your free time.
Whether you’re an aspiring bartender or you find drink-mixing to be an interesting hobby, setting up a home bar is something worth considering. It’s a good entertaining space for guests. Plus, if you feel like indulging yourself with a few drinks after work, you can easily fix something if your home bar is fully functional and all stocked up.
Setting Up Your Home Bar
A home bar isn’t just a corner in your house where you can spend time mixing drinks and enjoying yourself. You can also look at it as an investment, especially if you like having guests at home. Your friends will surely be amazed seeing the newest addition to your place.
If you’re not entirely sure where to start, here are some tips that might be of help as you figure out how to set up your very own home bar:
1. Create An Accessible Bar Space
The first step in building a bar at home is to create a space for it. Before you go ahead and knock down a section of your living room or kitchen, make sure you’ve already thought of other options that don’t involve plenty of work and remodeling. For example, a little corner with an empty wall might already work if you’d think of clever ways to transform it.
A classic Crestview furniture piece could do the trick as long as you’re creative enough to make it happen. Think accent cabinets or console tables with a rustic or natural finish. As long as the furniture has enough space to hold all the drinks and other accessories that you’ll need for your bar, you should be good to go. You can also think of installing wood shelving on that empty wall to make the area look edgier.
2. Stock Up on Supplies
The main point of having a home bar is to have access to drinks that you want any time, right? If so, you should fill your bar cabinets and shelves with enough supplies for your mixing gigs. For starters, buy the ‘usuals’ that any bar should have, such as vodka, gin, tequila, and scotch.
To spice things up, you can also add drinks that’ll help you create the perfect mixers and cocktails, including flat coke, ginger ale, tonic, soda, and other carbonated drinks. If you have more space, you can think of having a wine cooler if you also want to stock up on your favorite wine bottles.
To highlight your special drinks and wine, you can also consider some lighting ideas for your home bar. This greatly helps in setting the mood of your space, especially when entertaining guests. You can make use of bulbs in different sizes and colors to up the ante of your drinking station.
3. Don’t Forget the Essential Mixing Tools
You’ll also need bar tools if you plan on learning to be a mixologist at home. Some of the tools you’ll need include bar spoons, mesh strainers, mixing glasses, a peeler, shaker tins, corkscrews, and pint glasses.
Other essentials are:
- Wine opener
- Ice bags
- Muddler
- Jigger
- Ice cube trays
- Beer/bottle opener
You don’t need to stock a lot of these tools. At most, you’ll need at least one of them to make sure that you’re ready for any drink-mixing challenge that may come your way.
4. Invest In the Right Glassware
Of course, your home bar has to have the right glassware, just like how bars outside do. Part of having the full bar experience is to drink the mixers and cocktails in shot glasses that match the design and ambiance of your bar. Bar glasses come in different styles, textures, and sizes, so you also have to pay attention to what you need and what you want to have at home.
If you don’t usually have guests over, you can start with maybe six to eight pieces of glasses. Make sure you vary them by getting tall glasses, shot glasses, and stem ones. Go for reliable brands that won’t break easily, so you won’t have to keep on buying new ones.
The Complete Home Bar Experience
Setting up a home bar takes time, effort, and money, too. It doesn’t have to be a straining task, especially if you think about the sense of accomplishment that you’ll get in the end.
Now that you know how to get started, you can build your way up and learn more techniques in maintaining your home bar. Soon enough, you’ll know your way around, and your drink-mixing skills and collection will be the center of every event and celebration at home.
