Do you like preparing drinks at home? Have you ever thought about setting up your own bar at home? A good bar has all the necessary equipment to make drinks of all types, always with the elegance of a true bartender.
To make good cocktail, it’s not enough to have all the ingredients at your disposal. A perfect drink requires correct preparation, which in turn requires specific equipment. The equipment and materials used in the bar make the bartender’s life easier, and are an essential part of a good bar.
In this post, we will present some of this equipment so you know where to start. This list was created together with bartender Thays Paiva, a partner at Kalvelage.
Equipment to set up your bar at home
Cocktail shakers
There are different types, models and sizes of cocktail shakers, but they are all used to make shaken or shaken drinks. For the most part, professional bartenders around the world use the Boston shaker more, due to its practicality, ease of opening and ability to make more than one volumetric measure at a time.
The Boston Cocktail Shaker is made up of two stainless steel glasses, one larger and one smaller (Tin and Mini Tin). Just put the glasses together to beat the mixture and prepare the drink. Some models include weights on their bases, enabling the practice of Flair Bartending.
There is also the classic cocktail shaker, or Cobbler. It is made up of three pieces, and is widely used by Japanese bartenders. One of its pieces comes with an attached sieve.
Macerators
Used to macerate ingredients, especially fresh fruits. As with cocktail shakers, muddlers are made in different models and materials. However, give preference to solid polycarbonate ones, as they do not retain particles and allow for better hygiene after use.
Dosers
Used to measure the quantity of cocktail ingredients. There are a huge number of variants on the market, with and without internal markings. Always use them. No bar makes drinks with random amounts of ingredients. Always have your dispensers on hand to make your work easier. With time and experience, you will be able to mix cocktails with consistency, becoming the official bartender in the family.
Mixing Glass
The Mixing Glass is a container with a spout, usually made of glass or stainless steel, used to prepare stirred cocktails, such as Manhattan and Dry Martini. Just like the previous items, there are a multitude of models and sizes available on the market. Despite this, the most recommended are glass and 700 ml.
Citrus masher
With a very intuitive name, the citrus masher is an important item to have in your bar. There are many cocktails that use citrus fruits, such as lemon and orange, so this is essential equipment. There are manual and electric mashers. The electric version is more expensive, so if it’s not worth it (since this is a home bar, not a professional one), invest in a good manual masher. Always pay attention to cleaning and sanitizing this equipment.
Strainer with spring and support (Hawthorne Strainer)
Used for simple straining of drinks, it allows you to separate large pieces of ice, seeds, fruits and pomace from the remainder that will go into the glass. It comes with a rod, a spring and some support points. The spring can be uncoupled and used inside the shaker to enhance the Dry Shake.
Fine Mesh Strainer
Used in the Double Straining technique, this sieve prevents small particles of ice or fruit from passing into the drink inside the glass. It can be replaced with a small chinois or even another fine stainless steel sieve.
Graters
Borrow smaller, easier-to-carry graters from the kitchen to grate spices like cinnamon, cumaru and lemon peel, for example.
Ballerina spoons
There are many types of ballerina spoons, but give preference to the longer ones. They usually have a 5 ml capacity, but it is important to check when working with them for the first time. At the other end of the spoon, you can find a fruit fork, a disc for crushing lumps of sugar or promoting layers of liquid, a weight for Flair Bartending… there are many options on the market. Choose the ones that best suit your needs.
Peeler (Zester)
Another loan from the kitchen. A good vegetable peeler is enough. It will be useful for removing chips from lemon, orange and other harder fruits.
Knives
It’s always useful to have a good knife. Use the larger ones for cutting fruit and the smaller ones for zest and decorations.
Bottle opener and corkscrew
It is unnecessary to mention its importance within a bar. Used to open beverage bottles, they are essential items.
Cutting boards
Avoid wooden boards, as they facilitate the proliferation of microorganisms. Use polypropylene boards, and whenever necessary, dip them in a hypochlorite solution for disinfection and cleaning.
Grippers and tongs
Using tongs and tongs prevents all items from coming into contact with your hands, which may be dirty with other residue. Furthermore, they make your work at the bar easier.
Siphon
Used to produce foams and sodas. Its mechanism works using carbon dioxide (CO2), and has its own particularities of use, like the ginger foam in the Moscow Mule.
There are really many items, but most of them you certainly already have in your home. So how about starting to set up your own bar today?
