The Ultimate At-Home Bar Essentials Checklist

Creating a home bar is the perfect way to bring sophistication and fun to any gathering, as well as to add a nice little touch to your home. I’ve spent some time perfecting my at-home bar and gathering the necessary home bar essentials. Our list will give you the best tips and recommendations to help you assemble your own.

In this post, you’ll find the ultimate home bar checklist that includes the best liquors to make classic cocktails, mixers, and garnishes to have nearby. We mention the glassware and home bar tools that cannot be missed on your cart.

This is the only home bar checklist you need to have the bar cart of your dreams.

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Basic At Home Bar Essentials

To build the ultimate well-stocked bar, I recommend you start by selecting some home bar must-have liquors. They are the base for most cocktails and can be enjoyed in many different ways.

Home Bar Must-Have Liquor

We always make sure to keep a well-stocked bar with our favorite liquors. Here are our home bar must-have liquors every bar cart needs.

Vodka: Ideal for many classic and modern cocktails.
Gin: Essential for martinis and gin-based cocktails. Empres s Gin is our favorite! They have 3 unique flavors that are perfect to spice up any cocktail! Their flavors include elderflower rose, indigo, and cucumber lemon are perfect for any gin cocktail recipe.
Whiskey: Choose a whiskey you enjoy neat or in cocktails. A good whiskey we recommend is from Westward Whiskey which we use to make all of our whiskey cocktails.
Rum: Great for tropical cocktails like mojitos and daiquiris.
Tequila: Key for margaritas and tequila-based drinks. Reserva de la Familia is our go to for tequila and we make sure we always have a full bottle.
Amaro – Montenegro
Bitters – Select, Agostura

Cocktail Ingredients & Mixers: Bar Essentials List

Now that you have different base options, it’s time to discuss cocktail mixers for your home bar to take your drinks to the next level. Here’s a list of the best at-home cocktail mixers for your bar:

Sodas and tonic water: Cola, ginger ale, and tonic water are perfect options for pairing most spirits.
Juices: I recommend you have orange, cranberry, pineapple, and tomato juice since they add fresh and fruity flavors to cocktails.
Bitters and syrups: They’re used to enhance the flavor of your cocktails, with bitters containing alcohol and herbs and syrups just a characteristic flavor (like the ones used for coffee). I love having orange and chocolate bitters in my at-home bar cart, as well as Angostura and grenadine.

Cocktail Essential Ingredients for Your Home Bar

You can use this section as step 3 of ‘how to create the best cocktails at home’ because we’ll talk about the must-have cocktail essential ingredients every at-home bar cart should have.

Fresh Ingredients

Citrus for zest and acidity, such as lemons, limes, and oranges. Adding a touch of citrus is essential for any spring cocktail recipe.
Vegetables and herbs for garnishes and mixers, with celery and cucumbers being two of my favorite choices. Also, rosemary and basil are good to have on hand as well to add some aromatics to your cocktails. We have a refreshing list of basil cocktail recipes here that are perfect for a summer cocktail party.

Classic Cocktail Garnishes

Maraschino cherries, olives, salt, and sugar are must-haves for classic cocktails at home.

Bar Glassware Essentials For At-Home Cocktails

Glassware makes all the difference in the presentation and experience of our cocktails, which is why I assembled this list of essential bar glasses for your at-home bar cart:

Rocks glasses: Perfect for serving cocktails on the rocks or neat pours of whiskey.
Coupe glasses: A stylish choice for cocktails like martinis or Manhattans that offers a vintage look.
Shot glasses: Ideal for serving measured shots or quick sips of tequila.
Highball glasses: Great for tall, mixed drinks like gin and tonic or whiskey soda.
Pint glasses: Perfect for serving a classic pint of beer or cocktails that need extra volume.
Martini glasses: Iconic for martinis and a variety of other cocktails
Hurricane glasses: Often used for tropical drinks like piña coladas and daiquiris. We love to use these for our chocolatey mudslide recipe, which is one of our favorite cocktails with Kahlua.
Wine glasses: Essential for red, white, and rosé wines; each wine type often has its own ideal shape. Show off your full-bodied wine on Instagram and use our wine captions.
Beer glasses: A variety of beer glasses, such as pilsner and snifter glasses are recommended to enhance specific beer types.
Champagne flutes: Perfect for sparkling wines and cocktails with a bubbly base.
Wine decanter: Used to aerate and serve red wine and enhance its flavor.
Margarita glasses: A must-have for serving margaritas with a salt or sugar rim.

At Home Bar Essential Tools – Every Home Bar Needs This!

Apart from having the right spirits, ingredients, and glassware, you also need some home bar tools for mixing and serving your cocktails. Here’s my ultimate list of must-have bar accessories:

Mixing and Measuring Tools

Boston shaker, French shaker, and cobbler shaker for different mixing styles.
Jiggers, bar spoons, and mixing glasses to help measure and mix ingredients accurately.

Prep Tools

Peeler, juicer, muddler, and citrus press for prepping ingredients and garnishes.

Additional Bar-Cart Essential Tools

Beer opener, corkscrew, ice mold, and wine chiller complete the setup.

Easy Bar Mix Essentials

If you want a quick cocktail without having to prepare it from scratch, consider keeping pre-made cocktail mixers in your bar cart. Currently, I’m obsessed with these two pre-made cocktail mixers:

Margarita mix is essential to whip up an easy margaritas. We just don’t use any brand, our favorite is Agalima.
Bloody Mary mix is handy to make effortless brunch cocktails. Our go-to is an organic brand from Toma.

Tips For Organizing Your Home Bar

Having a well-stocked bar is as good as its organization, which is why in this section we want to give you the tips that worked best for keeping my at-home bar essentials organized.

Group by Category

We love organizing items by type, and this includes placing liquors together, then the mixers, and finally the garnishes. This also makes it easier to find what you need and keeps everything looking cohesive. Arrange things by height, to make every bottle and container easily visible.

Use Trays, Containers, and Shelves

Small trays and containers are perfect for keeping your bar tools, bitters, and garnishes organized. We also love adding some small riser shelves to have more room in our bar cart. Use small jars to hold items like cocktail cherries, olives, and citrus wedges, which keeps garnishes fresh and accessible.

Keep Frequently Used Items Handy

As frequently as we make cocktails we like having our favorite cocktail ingredients and tools handy so that we can easily make them without messing up our organized bar.

Final Words

With this home bar checklist, you’re ready to create a stunning and well-stocked bar cart that’s practical and stylish. As you dive into the world of cocktails and find your favorite mixers, garnishes, and spirits, you’ll be able to create the bar cart of your dreams.

Be sure to use our drinking captions and cocktail captions when you post the cocktails you made on Instagram!

The Ultimate At-Home Bar Essentials Checklist