Create A Fabulous ‘Home Bar’ You Can Be Proud Of!

Tired of paying sky-high bills at expensive bars & night clubs? Worried that you will loose face over not being able to entertain your guests at a ‘proper’ place? This is an END to all those Bar related Blues. Now more than ever, it is easy, inexpensive and fun to set-up your own personal bar at home. And I don’t mean a few bottles atop a wooden plank! A proper, well stocked, impressive bar. So you can get the Good Times rolling, in style, and without breaking the bank. Stay tuned to know how to set up your Home Bar!

Kaun Sa Bar?

There are a few basic questions one has to address when setting up a home bar. The most critical of these, is what kind of bar you want? This includes primarily 3 considerations. First, how much money are you willing to spend on your bar? There are a host of options in the market. Bars and Bar consoles/counters range from as little as INR 10,000 to INR 5,00,000. So it really boils down to what your budget is. Decide on a figure and hit the shopping trail.

The second question in this process is what style of bar you want. Do you want a typical English Pub kind of bar? Do you want a more modern, Scandinavian, straight lines kind of bar? Do you want a funky retro style bar? Depending on your individual aesthetic and the styling of your home’s interiors, you need to decide what kind of bar.

The third crucial question in this initial series is size! What size bar do you want? Or rather, what size bar fits into your home/living space. Some people are tempted into getting bars that are much too large for their spaces. This becomes counter-productive. If you think that having a large, elaborate bar will be convenient, it’ll only be so if the space you have can easily accommodate it. If however, like most of us, you have a limited amount of space, you’d be wise to go with a medium size tall bar, and maybe have a small wine chiller alongside it.

Set It Up – Get The Basics Right!!

So after having carefully considered the above questions, you’ve bought the bar. That’s the easy bit. Now is the part that (wrongly, as I shall prove), seems like the daunting bit. Setting up the bar. Many of us also subscribe to bars outside home because we don’t want the hassles of dealing with a bar. We assume that its unmanageable. Let me assure you, this is just a case of ignorance being bliss. There isn’t much to it at all. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, it can be loads of fun. If you stick to the following bar essentials, you will have your rocking home bar up and running in no time! basic bar equipment:

• Corkscrew – Find a good one and don’t be stingy here. Sadly, a lot of the corkscrews available in India are very poor quality. I’ve had rather embarrassing moments where the screw has gotten stuck in the wine bottle’s cork. You don’t want that. And if you are willing to spend a tad bit extra, you won’t have to suffer any such casualties!

• Cocktail Shaker – I admit that most of the time, especially for us ‘set’ drinkers with our rums & coke or whisky & soda, we’ll never need a shaker. But remember, the idea is to create a mood, build an atmosphere. So get a fun, cool looking Cocktail Shaker. Just having one and operating it will induce an appetizer-high!

• Can Opener – Invest in a versatile can opener. Again, try and avoid the kinds you get ‘complimentary’ with your soda consignment. A good can opener will be multifunctional, doing its primary duty, and have other utilities to help open Beer bottles etc

• Cutting Board – This is really more of an indulgence. If you are into making fancy fruity drinks, you might want to consider getting one.

• Jigger – The technical term for what is more commonly known as a ‘Peg Measure’. You want to get yourself one of these. After all, the booze ought to be dished out wisely!

• Ice Bucket & Tongs – You wouldn’t want the otherwise snazzy set-up of your bar to be ruined by handing out ice sloppily! So get a nice looking ice bucket & tongs. One can find them in an array of sizes, shapes and materials – steel, wood, whatever you fancy. A neat tip for the ice itself, make the extra effort by making ‘clear-ice’ at home. All that needs for you is to boil the water and cool it, then freeze it. And you’ll have crystal clear restaurant type ice to add a real visual zing to your bar.

• Strainer – Very important tool. You can have the choicest booze and the most exotic mixers. But if your drink ends up with fruity residuals and seeds etc, its a lost cause. Get a strainer to drain out all the unwanted bits of your cocktail, leaving you with pure, alcoholic bliss.

• Bottle Sealers-Pourers – This has 2 big advantages. A bottle sealer lets you keep your wines in storage once opened. You don’t want to have to throw away your expensive graped goodness. Second, though a lot of booze now comes with ‘pilferage proof’ caps, these only ensure that the alcohol inside the bottle can not be tampered with. If you get a Bottle Pourer, no matter how drunk or out-of-sorts you are, the bottle will only give out a limited quantity of alcohol each time you use it. Think of it like the slim spout that’s fitted onto ketchup bottles to avoid excess outflow

• Coasters, Toothpicks, Swivel Sticks – Insignificant as these items may seem, sometimes its small inexpensive things like these that make all the difference. Invest in a few sets of funky, cheeky coasters. These are available in a bevy of styles, and range from arty & sophisticated to funny & kitsch. Similarly, Swivel Sticks can be found in a wide variety of colors, styles and materials. The best kinds are the fancy plastic umbrella types that are great for stirring, plus serve the function of garnishing your cocktail. Lastly, for those niggling bits that get stuck in your mouth, be it the ‘kebabs’ you are serving or the Carpaccio & Cheese, always have a set of good quality tooth picks at the bar.

• Hammer & Towels – Don’t worry.. the Hammer is not to pound your over-drunk guests with. Its to crush rock-ice before you put into the blender. As for towels, when serving drinks, you will need to have loads of paper towels/tissues handy. They serve not only as wipes for people drinking, but also as coasters when you run out of your fancy ones!

• Mixing Essentials – Though this category is wide open and there’s really no end to it (depending on the kind of drinks you fancy), some good basics to keep at your bar are sugar, salt, pepper, nutmeg, Tabasco sauce, bitters & lemon juice. Also keep a good Lemon Squeezer handy to add that professional touch!

To Top It Off…

Now you’re thinking that i’ve told you everything but not addressed the 2 main issues. The booze and the glasses. To be honest, I’m not going to address these aspects! Remember I said setting up your bar is all about fun? Now this is the real fun part. A part where you ought to go a bit crazy, a bit wild. Experiment.. get out there and see what’s on offer, and get things that catch your fancy. Sure, there are rules galore about alcohol and glasses. But then, there should be no rules. They are there, only to be broken. Hit your local wine shop and try out things. Don’t go for the usual tried & tested. Be a bit adventurous.

Similarly for glasses, of course you can buy the standard prescribed goblets. But really, this is where your individuality should shine. Seek out and get funky unconventional glasses. Peculiar, unique glasses will go a long way in expressing your own style statement, and make entertaining guests at your home bar, that much more fun! The most important tip I can give you with regard to booze & glasses, is share your experiences. Among your social circle and group of friends, discuss each others’ experiences with a specific kind of alcohol, or a novelty store where you spotted a truly stand-alone bunch of glasses.

Bottoms Up!!

The bottom line is this… no matter how much cash you splash out on your bar, it will be an investment. At the end of the day, half the reason one goes to a bar, is to seek a certain ‘atmosphere’. A specific ambience. Sure one can mix drinks at home, nevertheless, we trot along to the nearest Pub and pay four times for the same drinks. With a bar at home, you’re more than half-way into creating that atmosphere (you subconsciously seek outside). Throw in some music, dim the lights, and you are all set for Bar-Madness, right in your living room!!

[Kartik Bajoria, a regular contributor, runs his own creative agency called BOLD & is also involved in Films & Music as a force of habit!]

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