For some people, when impromptu guests stop by, they are not stressed because their home bar is stocked and ready to go. Whether your home bar is an actual built-in bar, or perhaps an armoire-turned-home-bar, a bar cart that can easily be rolled from room to room, or maybe it just means an area in the kitchen cupboard where the liquor bottles live, wherever your home bar may reside, having one can help you make entertaining easy for any guests that come your way.
Here are some of the tips to enable you be the best host at any point in time.
•Always Have a Few Staple Liquors on Hand
It’s important to remember that you need not have a selection of liquors rivalling your neighbourhood watering hole. With a combination of these key-based spirits and a couple of mixers, you’ll be able to make any guest happy. Along with the most common spirits, it’s a good idea to have handy a couple of bottles of both red and white wine as well as a sparkling option.
• Vodka: Try it in these Cranberry-Jalapeno Martinis and refreshing cosmopolitans.
•Light rum: Stock up on light rum so you can mix one up at any given time.
•Dark rum: Having dark rum is especially important around the holidays.
•Bourbon: It’s essential in beverages like the Bourbon Slush and Cranberry Bourbon.
•Gin: A traditional Tom Collins can go from springy to wintry with a splash of grenadine or Campari to turn it red.
•Keep track of your bar tools and glassware
A thoughtfully stocked bar includes the tools to tackle all kinds of cocktails, from the simplest to most sophisticated. Common items include an ice bucket, bar spoon, muddler, jigger (for measuring shots), a cocktail shaker and strainer. And don’t forget wine and beer bottle openers; keep some in your home bar. If you’ll be making a variety of cocktails, it’s nice to have a combination of short, tall and stemmed glasses. For wine, consider basic stemmed glasses suitable for white or red wine rather than two separate sets.