14 Essential Bar Accessories

There are a gazillion bar gadgets out there for absolutely everything you can think of including mixers, blenders, ice machines, various ice trays, special wine racks, mini-fridges, sparkling water makers and even cocktail rimmers for sugar & salt.  Although it's fun, funds are important so stick to this basic list of bar accessories.

1.  Linens.  Cocktail napkins or tea towels make clean-up easy and help guests keep their fingers clean as they enjoy their drink garnishes like cherries, olives and lemon wedges.

2. A good cocktail shaker.  Shakers can be metal or glass, but should include a large opening for ice and a small one for pouring.  For ease of use, try a non-leak, non-drip variety with a removable strainer.

3. Glassware.  This completely depends on what you prefer to drink.  If you're a brandy drinker, than you are likely to own specific brandy glasses but otherwise here are a few of the standards:
Cocktail glasses: solid stemmed to prevent your hand from warming the drink (that's right, you're supposed to hold your drink by the stem!).
Highball glasses: these are great for doubles including Tom Collinses, Mint Juleps and Margaritas.
Old-Fashioned glasses: These are usually shorter than highball glasses and have heavier bottoms to withstand your muddling machinations.  They're also great for straight-drinkers.
Goblets: These can be used for wine, sours, flips and water.

Also worth noting, those versed in the art of drink-making usually stick to clear glasses since colored and ornate ones disguise the sexy good looks of the drink itself.

4. A glass or plastic stirring rod.  A glass rod is standard whenever seltzer is involved since carbonated mixtures may collapse at the touch of metal.

5. A muddler.  These are round-based wooden sticks (which sometimes come in metal & glass, but wooden is more typical) used for mashing sugar, bitters and other added flavors like mint leaves and raspberries.

6. A bottle opener.  There a multitude of options for opening spirits including a good corkscrew, beer-can openers, or combinations of the two.

7. An ice bucket that closes tightly to eliminate frequent trips to the kitchen.

8. A pitcher or tall mixing glass.  Mixing glasses are used to stir Martinis and Manhattans, but you will have to get a circular strainer to hold back the ice while you pour the drink.  Pitchers can be great for large batches of drinks and ones with lids are preferable.

9. A jigger measure.  Jiggers range in a variety of capacities from 3/4 oz. (1/2 jigger) to 1 oz. (called a pony) to 1 1/2 oz. (1 jigger; standard cocktail slug) to 2 oz. (enough for a Collins, fizz or generous highball).

10. An ice-pick for shaving ice.

11. A long bar spoon.  Bar spoons are great for measuring teaspoons of sugar, stirring cocktails and some even serve as muddlers.

12. A paring knife for cutting lemon wedges, etc.

13. A sturdy bag and wooden mallet or an ice crusher for making fine ice.

14. Trays.  If you don't have an official bar, don't fret.  A great silver tray can serve as one on top of your buffet or an end table.  Feel free to load it up with your liquor, bitters, fruit and any necessary gadgets or glasses.  If you really want to go all out, have 2 or three handy - one for passing drinks, one for collecting empties, and the other to designate where things should remain.

6 Drink-Making Tips

pic via here

When it comes to the art of drink-making, I definitely score a D- and am as amateur as they come.  However, it's been my goal lately to infuse a little of the 50's women's hosting skills into my household - from fully supplied guest bedrooms, to all-out brunches, and now a cocktail hour worthy of gathering your gal pals.  The only problem was, I knew almost nothing.  So, I set forth and scavaged through local vintage shops to find hosting & drink-making tips in old books.  Here are 6 secrets to successful drink-making sure to impress your friends at your next dinner party or cocktail hour.

1. Use only the best ingredients, and show them off proudly on your bar.  Forget decanters.  There is so much competition in the alcohol business that they now aim to please us not just through taste, but visually.  The are over 1,000 brands of tequila alone so don't just pick a well-made brand, but a visually stunning one as well.  Also, selecting "the best" whiskey or Scotch can be hard, so find a reliable dealer or research brand names and price-tags.  If you're on a budget, skip using the best whiskey and opt for a moderately-priced one if you're going to make a mixed drink since the flavor will become muddled with the other ingredients.  

2. Use exact, not hit-or-miss measurements.  If it's the 108th time you've poured rum into the same highball glass, then sure you've already visually memorized how much to pour.  Otherwise, use a jigger to carefully measure out your ingredients so you arrive at the result intended by the recipe.  Also, repeated use of the jigger will ensure consistency in taste as your judgement starts to lapse with each new drink.

3. When mixing, shake or stir.  Martinis and Manhattans are stirred in a pitcher of ice in order to make them icy cold, blend their ingredients, and prevent their clouding up which would be the case if they were shaken.  However, everyone remember's James Bond's quote that he prefers his martinis "shaken and not stirred."  It appears to be somewhat of a debate since hardcore bartenders prefer to maintain the clarity of the liquor, but some researchers have found that shaking it releases more antioxidants.  Given that information, feel free to do as you please but the basic rule of thumb is that pure liquors are never shaken unless specifically stated.  And when it comes to seltzer water, never shake or it will go completely flat.

Drink recipes that include sugar, eggs, cream, fruit juice, etc can be shaken since they will be cloudy anyway from their additional ingredients.  Also, when you do choose to shake, shake! Apparently there's a drink called the Ramos Gin Fizz that requires 12 minutes of shaking!  It's absolutely bonkers.

4. Use plenty of ice, and try to always pour your liquor over ice rather than adding the ice to the already-poured liquor.  Nothing is more dissatisfying than a warm drink, and if you're worried about watering your drink down too much, use less soda rather than ice.  For stirred drinks, use ice cubes and for shaker drinks, use cracked/crushed ice.  And make sure you're not pouring icy water into the drink, but rather just ice.

5. Use pre-chilled glasses.  I know, no one has pre-chilled glasses at the ready, but it will show your guests how much thought and consideration goes in to hosting them.  This step may feel like a huge hassle, but the goal is to keep your drinks cold.  And it kind of goes hand-in-hand with the restaurant practice of serving salads on chilled plates.

6. Be just as conscientious when serving a drink as you are when mixing it.  So, pour slowly and smoothly twisting at the end with a sharp uplift in order to prevent dripping.  Also, don't fill glasses so much that they spill over the second you hand one over.  Provide coasters or cocktail napkins, and keep the bar clean - it's easy for things to get dusty when you aren't using your bar regularly.

Lastly, have fun.  Great company supersedes everything.