How Bartenders Recommend Keeping a Home Bar
If this is your first time buying a home bar or wondering why you never have the right ingredients to make good staple drinks at home, this video will help you. In it, bartenders from around the world explain exactly what your home bar needs, from spirits to mixers.
If you can’t watch (although it’s only two minutes and worth it), the YouTube video description tells the whole story:
Every home bar needs the essentials, but for the most part, they don’t have to be fancy – you just need to cover the basics. We’ve rounded up some of America’s best bartenders who tell us you should start with basic spirits: one great vodka, one great gin, a bottle of rum (preferably dark and light), and good whiskey or rye. or bourbon. Then you will need small bottles with very simple modifiers: Campari, Triple Sec, Bitters, Sweet and Dry Vermouth. Also stock up on soda, tonic, and plain syrup. Sip on fresh juice, lemons, and limes. You will need fresh ice. For a shaker, you can buy a tin can or just use a stone can. Find a mixing attachment, measuring machines, julep filter, hawthorn filter, and stirrer.
Add glassware and a cocktail book to that and you have a respectable home bar.
Some of the other good tips in the video are – don’t skimp on the quality of the alcohol – you want something that you’re not afraid to mix, but also don’t mind trying to taste it. We’ve already shown you some of these essentials , as well as some of the glassware they mention if you need to continue reading on this topic.
What bartenders need for a home bar | Condescension (YouTube)