10 Best Home Bar Essentials in 2022 (Alcohol Expert-Reviewed)

We made our choices for the best home bar essentials with the following considerations in mind:

• Sorting through the basics to find tools that will help you make a variety of drink recipes
  
• Looking for a way to get the best ice
• Picking out some useful drinking glasses
• Extras like garnishes
• The cleaning required for each item

Take a look at our buying guide for detailed explanations of these points.

Here are our 10 best picks for home bar essentials. We made our choices based on the points listed in the buying guide below, as well as reviewer comments when available.

*Please note that these products were chosen after extensive research by mybest writers. The choices are not necessarily affiliated with or recommended by Whiskey Richard unless explicitly stated so.

When asked, mixologists would recommend at least one or all of the following bar essentials, for commercial or residential use. Let’s take a look at these fundamentals and what you should know about each one regarding skill, durability, versatility, and more.

Having a shaker ensures your drinks are mixed well in ice with minimal dilution. There are three main types of shakers: cobbler shakers, Boston shakers, and French shakers.

The cobbler shaker is a three-piece shaker set that is often used by beginners. It consists of a main cup, a built-in strainer, and a cap. The cap can also double as a jigger. These are fairly foolproof to use, but a bit less simple to clean. If you regularly use fruit pulp or herbs, you'll find yourself taking it apart and rinsing the strainer frequently.

A Boston shaker is composed of two cups that have been designed to seal tight when stuck together. They don't have a built-in strainer and are used with a Hawthorne strainer. Usually, one cup is stainless steel and the other a pint glass, but a "tin-on-tin" type, with both cups being metal, is also available.

Boston shakers can take some getting used to, especially in preventing leaks and separating the cups after shaking. These hold more liquid than cobbler shakers, though, and are stackable, making them a common choice for professional bartenders.

A Parisian shaker or French shaker is somewhat of a combination of the other two. It looks like a cobbler shaker minus the strainer. These shakers chill fast, since both pieces are metal, have a pleasant mixing sound, and look fancy.

A regular spoon will not work very well when it comes to mixing liquor. Bar spoons are long, slender, and have a narrow handle that won't get stuck on ice cubes so easily. They can mix your drinks thoroughly if you don’t need them shaken up. 

Bar spoons can also layer your drinks by letting one liquid slide down the spoon. The spiral handle can prevent soda from fizzing too much as its poured down it. 

An American style one has a simple end like a regular spoon, and its usage is limited to measuring and stirring. European spoons have a flat end that can be used for muddling. Japanese bar spoons have a weighted end that makes them easy to stir with for beginners. Some might even have a fork on one end for grabbing garnishes.

A mixing glass looks like a regular glass but with a spout for easy pouring. You use these alongside bar spoons to prepare drinks that require stirring. This way you won't scratch your delicate serving glasses as you stir vigorously. Look for a mixing glass that’s weighted at the bottom, so it stays in place while you work.

For consistency in taste, save the shot glasses for shots, and use a jigger to measure. A jigger is the equivalent of a measuring cup for alcohol. They’re often double-sided and hold a different amount on each end, such as a one- and two-ounce jigger, the quantity most often used for mixed drinks. They may have markings for fractions of ounces, and many come in milliliters, too.

Also commonly sold in bar tool sets are pourers. They can make it easier and neater to pour drip-free. You might want one for each bottle you use frequently, so you don't have to constantly wash and change them.

A Hawthorne strainer, which can be placed on top of a shaker or mixing glass, is commonly used with a Boston shaker. It fits right into the glass. It won't filter out very fine particles such as ground spices or get all the fruit pulp, but it works fine for crushed whole herbs or ice.

If you want to have absolutely smooth drinks, you should look for a fine-mesh strainer. These are often in a small, conical shape, and will filter out even the tiniest particles but aren't suitable for straining out ice cubes.

A muddler is a stick with a blunt or toothed end, or sometimes even double-ended. Its purpose is to crush fruits and bruise herbs to extract their natural juices and flavors into your drink. They come in bamboo, wood, plastic, and metal. Look for one that's long enough to handle comfortably with the vessel you'll be crushing ingredients in.

A handheld citrus press could be helpful if you’re dealing with a lot of lemons and limes. These are usually plastic or metal and allow you to juice half a small citrus fruit. They'll make quick work of it, and also filter out the seeds.

Ice is the most often disregarded ingredient in a drink but could make or break any beverage. The problem with regular ice cubes is that you may end up with a watered-down drink. To prevent this, try specially-designed ice cube trays that yield slow-melting ice and prevent dilution for drinks like whiskey, bourbon or scotch.

Whiskey stones, typically made with natural soapstone, totally prevent over-dilution. They’re reusable and fun, but they won't keep your drink super cold for very long, and they won't chill a drink that's already at room temperature. Other similar options are reusable ice cubes made of steel or plastic.

Whether you prefer margaritas, wine, whiskey, or Japanese sake, you'll enjoy your beverage more in the right glass. For those who like hosting parties, a rule of thumb would be to have a set of each of the following multipurpose glasses as a start.

The coupe glass is perfect for Manhattans, martinis, and champagne. It also works for frozen drinks like daiquiris and margaritas. A tall, sleek and slender Collins or highball glass is another must-have, for your sparkling cocktails with seltzer or soda.

Rocks glasses, or old-fashioned glasses, are for drinks served on ice, or neat (at room temperature.) And of course, you have beer mugs and wine glasses. There are different types of each, suited for different kinds of beer and wine, so how big you want your collection to get is dependent on what you drink the most.

Presentation can be as important as flavor. Get some cocktail picks to keep olives or fruit pieces in place on top of your glass, or try a tool such as a cocktail rimmer to easily get the sugar or salt on your glass rim. Or perhaps you'll want a citrus stripper for fancy ways to decorate a drink with citrus peels.

Want to really impress your guests? A cocktail smoker allows you to make smoke-infused drinks, which not only adds unique flavors, but just looks really amazing, too!

The last thing you want to do after a nice, relaxing drink or a party that ends late is spend a lot of time cleaning up. Many bar tools are dishwasher-safe, especially if they're made of stainless steel. Stemware and delicate crystal are best washed by hand, as are wood and bamboo muddlers. Some metals like copper need special care, so check the manufacturer's instructions.

You might want to avoid sets with cheaply-constructed plastic items, especially if you'll use the tools often; but for infrequent use or outdoor events, where you run a risk of losing them, such semi-disposable options might work just fine.

In addition to reviewing and commenting on our buying guide, Whiskey Richard also took the time to answer a commonly asked question about home bars.

"Consider the workflow involved in making some of your favorite drinks," Whiskey Richard says. "Where will your glasses, ice, and garnishes be located? Will you need to wash empty glasses as your guests finish them? Where is your refrigerator, and where is your freezer? 

After you have a basic idea of how you want to set things up, practice making some drinks before guests come over so you don't keep them waiting too long for their drinks."

Here are some other articles with lots of ideas and advice about what to get for your home bar. Check them out while you sip your drink!

Author: Hana Otsuka

Updated by: Susan Lucier-Ogawa, 6/2/2022

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