Home Bar Essentials

Barware Essentials for your Home Bar

Home Bar Essentials

Finding yourself at home more these days? Many are seeking ways to make their home a bit more comfortable and maybe a little more fun. Maybe you have been mixing a cocktail occasionally on the weekends and you want to step up your game. Here are the instruments that will help you do that. Personally if I am going to enjoy a drink, I like to enjoy the experience. That comes with using the proper glass, the right kind of ice, adding the garnish and presenting it well. When your drink is visually appealing, you may find it more enjoyable. You won’t likely need all of these at once, unless you are planning to make many types of drinks, but these are things you will come to realize make all the difference when mixing a cocktail or even just pouring your bourbon neat.

 We may use some affiliate links in this post, which means I may earn a commission on sales made through my links.

Double Jigger – Probably the most used & most important piece of bar equipment. This tool will help you measure accurately to provided the perfectly balanced drink.

Hawthorne Strainer – This strains any ice or particles used to flavor your drink that you don’t want in the finished product. many shakers come with a strainer and it is usually a Hawthorne.

Royal Crested Giant Extremely Large Cocktail Shaker – $39.95

Cocktail Shaker – Classic piece of bar equipment, Generally there are two ways to mix a cocktail: Shaken & stirred. Both are equally important for various reasons. A shaker will bring the proper temperature and mixing when recipe calls for a cocktail to be shaken, there is no great substitute.

Mixing Glass: This is a perfectly sized glass to mix your finest cocktails & the julep strainer is the ideal companion.

Julep Strainer – This strainer is used with a mixing glass

and nicely restricts ice & particles getting into the finished product.

Muddler – Made to crush & mix (aka muddle) ingredients for your cocktails. Used to incorporate flavors of fresh ingredients like herbs & fruits into your drinks. Easy to use and and essential in creating the perfect old fashioned.

Citrus peeler & zester: Use this to add a nice orange peel for your old fashioned’s, or zest a cocktail to add aroma.

Ice sphere mold Glacio clear sphere: Adding a large Ice sphere or cube is more than just esthetic, although it looks pretty cool to serve a drink to a friend with one of these, it also melts slower and allows for keeping the drink cooled without watering it down quickly and maintaining the taste integrity. Impressive all the way around.

Mixing Spoon: Stirring is one way to mix a cocktail, such as a whiskey based cocktail, gently mixing to maintain a balance of flavor. Using the specialized bartender’s spoon will make it easier, and because they are made with stainless steel or copper it won’t affect the drink’s taste.

Cocktail Picks: Adding garnish to a cocktail is essential for presentation. I like the stainless pick for cocktail cherries.

Old Fashioned Glass (Rocks Glass): Choosing a thick gauge glass will hold up well and offer years of enjoyment.

Butane Torch: Used for burning the wood plank or wood chips to create a smoked cocktail

Cedar Plank: A piece of thin wood used for smoking the rocks glass

Smoking gun & wood chips: This is a specialty smoking cocktail tool and will add flare, atmosphere, aroma into the cocktail and air. Combined this with the cloche (smoking dome)

Cloche Smoking dome (or Smoking Box) – Great display item for your smoked cocktails

We have provided convenient links for these tools. Some of them are affiliate links and we may make a commission if you purchase and others are for your convenience. We always recommend shopping local from small business owners locally whenever possible.