It’s been a while since it was a good idea to hang out at the bar. Which means, if you’ve been missing the experience, there’s been plenty of time to save all the money you would have spent at the bar, and start buying the gear for your own. Or maybe that’s just me. If you’re also looking to beef up your own home bar, here’s the gear you should look at.
Where To Start: Finding the Right Glasses
You’re going to need something to drink out of, and this is one of the most fun areas to collect a variety of glasses that are just right for the drink you’re making. Some common glasses include the collins glass, coupe glasses, and the double rocks glass, but you can add a variety of glasses to your collection. You might even want a few shot glosses.
Best Whiskey Glasses: Whiskey Peaks
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You can also turn your glasses into a conversation piece if you want to get fancy. For example, these whiskey glasses from Huckberry are molded in the shape of various mountain ranges, including American mountain tops, the Grand Tetons, and a collection of international peaks. Glasses like these not only look great while drinking, but can also be decorative in your home bar when you’re not using them. Huckberry also includes sets with a decanter, which leads us to the next thing you might need.
Best Decanter: Whiskey Peaks Mountain Decanter
Using a decanter to serve your drinks is a handy way to serve drinks like wine or whiskey. A simple decanter lets you separate wine from any sediment that’s accrued at the bottom of the bottle, as well as letting your wine breathe a bit before serving. Much like the glasses you choose, though, your decanter can also be a decorative piece. Huckberry’s Mountain Decanter, for example, holds up to 34oz of whatever drink you want to store but catches the eye even when you don’t.
Best Ice Molds: Glacio Ice Cube Trays
Ice is a key part of many cocktails, but it’s not just to keep drinks cool. For many drinks, the ice is as much part of the aesthetic as the taste. Simple molds can give you those large cube or sphere pieces of ice that full bars always seem to have. Of course, if you really want to get fancy, you can get a crystal clear ice maker, particularly designed to make ice that’s not cloudy like the kind you get from your normal freezer.
Best Cocktail Kit: Bournis Cocktail Shaker Set
If you want to mix a variety of cocktails, you’ll at least want a shaker with a built-in strainer. But for just a little bit more money you can get a whole kit that comes with a jigger, ice tongs, liquor pourers, a muddler, and other assorted small tools you might need for a variety of cocktails.
Best Wine Aerator: Vintorio Wine Aerator Pourer
On top of making wine pour more easily, a wine aerator helps accelerate the oxidation process and make the flavor notes in the wine more pronounced. While it’s not strictly necessary for every wine, those that have high tannin levels will benefit from being aerated before serving. Letting a wine breathe in a decanter can serve this same purpose, but if you don’t have the time, an aerator can perform a similar function.
Best Wine Fridge: Ivation 12-Bottle Wine Cooler
A wine fridge is also a handy upgrade if you drink a lot of wine. It keeps wine at a constant temperature and shields your bottles from UV rays, which can negatively impact the flavor of your wine if stored in direct light for too long. If you want to have a selection of wine available, ready to drink, but don’t want to fill your regular fridge with nothing but wine, a standalone wine fridge is a great option.
Best Beer Tap: Luckeg Draft Beer Tower
If you drink beer on the regular and really want to get fancy with it, you can install your own beer tap. This is much more of a DIY project than most of the other items on this list, but with a beer tap kit and an old mini-fridge, you can build a kegerator of your own, or even install a tap into your home bar.
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