Build Your Bar

A more focused gift guide for the season

In lieu of a general gift guide this year I wanted to work within some guardrails: building the home bar.

My entire career is practically built on alcohol: restaurants and cocktail mixers don’t make much of a business without the booze.

It’s a wonder, then, that I don’t drink more at home. I’m just as happy on an average evening with this non-alcoholic beer or a special highball made with one of my favorite alcohol-free ingredients.

Notwithstanding my own appetites (or lack thereof, when it comes to boozing) I do appreciate a great home bar, and I pride myself on having quite a deep stock of liquor and tools at the ready for any would be guest to our home. Having a great home bar is just another opportunity to be a great host. Throw in great music, dim lighting, lots of candles, and fresh flowers if you’ve got the budget - and you’re almost there.

All that considered, I wanted to provide a bit of a primer for building own home bar. These are a few of my “essentials” and my trusted resources for building an elegant, versatile collection - basically, everything but the booze.

Drinks Tray

To start, you need to find a great drinks tray where you can collect your tools alongside your choicest and most used bottles. My favorites come from The Lacquer Company - they’ve collaborated with a number of great designers over the years, and I love the color they bring to the whole affair.

If you’re looking for something classic you can’t go wrong with pewter, but your best bet is to take to Etsy and Ebay and peruse “vintage drink trays.”