Creating a home bar is a dream we all share. The thought of being able to make your favorite cocktail from the comfort of your home, then sit back and recline on the couch as you enjoy your drink is appealing to most of us. You will need essential bar tools to make the experience worthwhile. A home bar creates a new level of convenience, in addition to allowing you to improve your mixing skills. It also increases the home's attractiveness to your friends and family who come over for a visit.
Furthermore, with the closure of bars due to COVID-19, the home may be the only place you can drink at all. But how do you create a home bar?
What are the essential bar tools? What should every home bar have? These are the queries many have. Come with me on this journey as I break down the complicities you might have with the setup of a home bar.
It would be best if you had a container to mix in for both your shaken and stirred cocktails. You may use something as simple as an empty jar if you possess one, but we highly recommend getting a proper shaker for style and impression.
Boston shakers are highly popular due to their simple but effective design. They're made of two tin cups that fit perfectly together to form a tight seal that prevents the contents from splashing over you as you shake. They also separate easily.
There's also the cobbler shaker for those with smaller hands who may not use the Boston shaker. Cobbler shakers are smaller, easier to hold, and already have a filter built into the lid.
A jigger is the measuring device bartenders use behind the bar. Jiggers help you accurately measure what goes into a cocktail so you can keep it balanced. These come in all shapes and different sizes. However, you will usually only need 1 oz. X 2 oz. And a 1/2 oz. X 3/4 oz.
You may be wondering, 'why should I buy a jigger when I can pour the drink with my bare hands?'
Well, pouring with your hands may be faster, but there's a good chance you'll fail to get the accuracy required. The most reliable way to accurately measure fluid in a glass is by using jiggers, as seen in most cocktail bars.
Remember the Boston Shaker that's great for mixing your cocktails? Due to its simple build, it doesn't have a built-in filter. It would be best if you had a filter for your home bar because it comes with a coil spring to fit around your shaker and prevent ice, mashed-up fruit, and pulp from getting into the drink.
The Hawthorne strainer won't be able to filter everything. It would be best if you doubled strain your cocktail using a fine mesh strainer to catch the more refined pulp, seeds, and ice shards and keep your cocktail free from unwanted elements.
The Hawthorne strainer and fine mesh strainer work perfectly together to filter your cocktails and give them a great look as well as taste.
You might think of picking up a glass from the cabinet to mix the cocktail, but we recommend you use a real mixing glass – more specifically, a Yarai mixing glass. These glasses are elegant and will look good on your bar, but they're also robust and well suited to stirring, straining, and pouring cocktails.
A bar spoon is needed for a variety of purposes. You need a bar spoon if you're going to stir cocktails like Martini's or if you're going to layer drinks. It also helps you add in measured doses of ingredients like syrup, liquor, or sugar.
The difference between your regular tablespoon and a bar spoon? The length of the stem. A bar spoon is longer and better suited for mixing cocktails, especially in a deep glass.
A muddler is used for crushing fruit and herbs to extract flavors and juices to be added to the cocktail, especially when making a mojito or caipirinha. However, the aim is not to crush and destroy but release the herbs and fruit's oil and juice.
Choose a wooden muddler because metal muddlers can shatter the glass as you crush the ingredients. Also, choose one with at least 10 inches in length for easy handling.
It is a simple device for extracting fresh juice from citruses, that is to say, lemons, oranges, and limes. Cocktails taste better with fresh juice. All you have to do is cut fruit, insert and squeeze, then the fluid flows down into the glass or mixer. Juicers are also easy to clean and budget-friendly.
You can also use an electric one if you're making a lot of drinks or want to save time.
They say the clothes make the man. In the same way, the glass makes the drink. After laboring to create your fine cocktail, you need suitable glasses to enjoy your hard work. So get yourself some delicate glasses, even if you have to spend a bit. It'll be worth it as you lean back and sip your homemade cocktail.
The usually forgotten ingredient, ice, is an essential cocktail tool. Ice cools down the drink and dilutes the alcohol content. It is easy enough to make using ice molds in your freezer.
A great way to use ice is to get an ice bucket, so you don't have to keep going back to the freezer. Just load up once and get the ice scoop to help you break out the ice from the bucket as often as you need it.
With the cocktail in the glass, ice added, you can get an extra touch by using a y-peeler to add citrus oils on top of the drink. Y-peelers cut off the citrus peel without digging into the fruit's flesh, creating wide peel pieces for garnishing.
Last but not least is the party bar. These are made in various shapes and sizes, but the idea is the same: to give you a cool, portable bar that's easy to set up anywhere, including your home. You can move it to the backyard and have a great time with your friends enjoying those homemade cocktails.
So there you have it. Those are the essential bar tools in 2021. As long as you get those items, creating a home bar will be a piece of cake. Enjoy a lifetime of fulfillment, fun, and a 5-star rating from your guests when they come around. I mean, we give our money to hotels and restaurants to get something similar but have to endure the travel back home with little or no stamina, so why not create this experience domestically.
And in case you're interested, you can get yourself a tremendous commercial-grade L-shaped bar with three levels of plastic shelving, an in-shelf cooler that holds up to one point of drink, a travel case for easy transport as well as storage, a 6 ft. square umbrella and a set of 4 matching bar stools. Pretty cool, right? Check it out here.
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