Home Bar Equipment

The Essentials Home Bar Equipment.

For a home bar to work properly, you will need the right tools to make mixed drinks. Below we created a guide of the essential home bar equipment to help you set up the perfect bar. Home Bar Equipment Guide: Can Opener - For opening cans of fruit and syrup. Corkscrew - For opening wine and champagne bottles. Cloths - For wiping surfaces and equipment. Cutting Board - For slicing fruit and other garnishes. This should be heavy and laminated. Bar Towels - These are 100% cotton and have sewn edges for durability. Use these along with cloths to keep things clean. Make good use of times where you have no guests to clean bottles and wipe surfaces. Bottle Opener - For opening screw top bottles. Bottle Sealers - For keeping liquors and other bottle contents fresh. Cocktail Shaker - For blending ingredients in cocktails and mixed drinks. Use a short, sharp and snappy shaking technique unless otherwise stated. Always pour the least expensive ingredient into the cocktail shaker first, then if you find you've made a mistake, you've not wasted the expensive liquors. Electric Blender - Many cocktails require a blender to blend the ingredients smoothly together. Useful for drinks with fruit pieces, crushed ice or ice cream etc. Grater - To grate spices like nutmeg and others. Ice Bucket - A metal or insulated ice bucket keeps your ice cold and clean. Ice Tongs and Scoops - Use these to add ice to drinks. Never handle ice with your hands, it's not only unhygienic, but the heat from your hand will begin to melt the ice. Jigger - A measurement tool. Juice Squeezer/Extractor - Needed for getting the most juice out of your fruits. It helps to soak citrus fruit in hot water before squeezing. Bar Spoon - A bar spoon with a long handle and a muddler end will allow you to mix and measure ingredients as well as crush garnishes. Measuring Cups - Normally glass or chrome with incremented measurements imprinted up the side. These are needed for accurate measurements. They usually come with a set of measuring spoons which are needed for the smaller quantities. Mixing Glass - Useful for long drinks where it is required to mix the ingredients without shaking. Sharp Knife - For cutting fruit and garnishes. Strainer - Removes the ice and fruit pulp from juices. This may come with a cocktail shaker.