After a certain point, a beer keg and red disposal cups no longer cut it for entertaining. If you’re like many of us, you’d like to have a properly stocked bar cart or cabinet for entertaining, but you’re not certain what you need.
Below we’ve listed the beverages, drinkware, bar tools, and other accoutrements that will let you play bartender at just about any occasion, from intimate soirees to blowout bashes. Of course, you probably won’t need all these elements at all times; for instance, you can probably nix champagne at your Super Bowl party (unless you team is in it, perhaps).
Tools: Jigger, shaker, strainer, stirrer, citrus squeezer, muddler, channel knife (if you fancy a twist), bottle opener, wine corkscrew, and ice bucket and tongs
Serveware: Highball and old-fashioned glasses, wineglasses or tumblers, champagne flutes or coupes, punch bowl, pitcher, decanter, serving tray, and wine bucket
Booze: Vodka, gin, tequila, rum (both white and dark), bourbon, Scotch, whiskey, vermouth (both sweet and dry), champagne, St-Germain, Campari, orange liqueur (triple sec, Cointreau, curaçao), beer (light and dark), and a red and a white wine
Mixers: Lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit juice (fresh, please); different sodas (there’s always a rum-and-Coke guy in the house); tonic and soda water; simple syrup; and bitters (Angostura, Peychaud’s, and orange are the three to start with)
Garnishes: Fruit slices, berries, pomegranate seeds (they float!), herb sprigs, crushed ice and ice cubes, and sugar and kosher salt for rimming glasses
Accessories: Swizzle sticks, straws (paper or sterling silver feel special), umbrellas, coasters, and cocktail napkins
Required reading: Well, it’s not really required so much as strongly suggested, but a cocktail “cookbook” will have you mixing, stirring, and shaking your way to cocktail gold in no time. Two we like: The United States of Cocktails and Whiskey Cocktails.
A bar cart is especially useful for smaller homes: Post-party, you can use it to display favorite items or to hold anything from books to tablets. Photo by Tony Vu.
Five Favorite Bar Cabinets and Bar Carts
• Aimee Bar Cabinet. Available in two frame colors, this cabinet has shelving, stemware racks, and a drop-down door that can double as a surface for holding napkins, swizzle sticks, and the like. The door fronts have panels of woven cane that bring a touch of the tropics to a room.
• Bamboo Mirrored Bar Cart. This petite two-shelf cart is made of metal, finished in gold or black, made to resemble bamboo for just a hint of chinoiserie chic. Just 30 inches in diameter, it will fit in even the smallest of spaces.
• Tibby Velvet Bar Cabinet. A must for Art Deco/Hollywood Regency devotees, this cabinet hides shelves and a hanging rack that can hold up to 15 wineglasses behind its reeded white velvet doors. A marble top and golden accents add to its glamour.
• Peters Bar Cart. The latticework galleries surrounding the two shelves not only add to this wooden cart’s stateliness but also help keep bottles and glasses from tumbling off.
• Margery Three-Tier Swivel Bar Table. The center tier is a round shelf that swivels full 360 degrees, adding to this bar table’s versatility. Below the top shelf is a hanging rack for glassware. All three shelves boast a glossy white finish that complements the golden frame.
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