Home Bar Must-Haves

Next up, cocktail shakers! These home bar must-haves are just as ubiquitous as jiggers and are perfect for giving mixed drinks that harmonized flavor profile. Bartenders toss in liquor, ice, mixers, and other ingredients before giving them all a rapid shake. It's the perfect way to quickly mix ingredients together, and adding ice to the mixture as you shake it ensures that the beverage is ready to drink right when you pour it. Other pros of the shaker? The ice in the cocktail shakes up and melts gently as you shake for an even distribution, all while just the action of mixing brings extra oxygen and aeration into the equation. The final result is a beverage that's unbeatable. Keep in mind that there are multiple types of cocktail shakers, so find one that's easy to use when you're starting out, like the Oggi Classic Cocktail shaker in stainless steel.

When you're making drinks at home, the humble strainer might be easy to overlook. That is, until you find chunks of unwanted citrus pulp floating in your beverages. That's why strainers are home bar must-haves. These aren't like pasta strainers: these metallic strainers work in tandem with a cocktail shaker or mixing glass, helping you keep any unwanted ingredients inside the shaker as you pour the beverage out through the sieve and into your beautiful glassware.

Often overlooked is the mixing glass, a cousin of the cocktail shaker. Think of the classic James Bond quote: instead of shaken, here, we stir. Many beverages rely on this method, from the classic Old Fashioned to the Manhattan. When stirring, home bartenders can layer ingredients together with less aeration and dilution. The classic rule is that if your cocktail only contains alcoholic ingredients, you should use a mixing glass to stir it. Plus, it's fun to see the ingredients swirl around in the glass. We love the Fortessa Crafthouse Signature mixing set; it comes with glasses as well as a twisted, elongated cocktail spoon and a strainer, too.

While you might not immediately think of a citrus press as a necessity, citrus fruits make an impact in all kinds of cocktails and mocktails, like the Mojito mentioned above. To make sure you get all of the juice from every lime, lemon, orange and even grapefruit, you'll want a proper citrus press. And there's a broad range of prices within this category, all because there are so many ways to squeeze a citrus. But to do it efficiently, it's going to cost more. Whether you choose a budget hand-held pick like this one by Chef-N or an impressive electric model by Smeg that can tackle large citruses like grapefruit in large amounts, small-batch juicers/citrus presses are home bar must-haves.

While not everyone loves colorful, fruity beverages, a juicer might be a small kitchen appliance you'll want when cocktail hour rolls around. Juicers are perfect for crafting sangrias, mimosas and punches, as well as healthy beverages you'll appreciate the morning after a long night. Get the most out of your fruits and veggies with these juicers and make delicious drinks everyone at your parties will love. Juicers are definitely great options for budding mixologists who love hosting gatherings where guests can all share the drink of the day (or the night). A good pick for those looking for something budget-friendly is The Juice Fountain Cold by Breville. It makes over two liters of juice in one sitting. But if you want a model that gives you better nutrition from your juice, opt for a masticating juicer instead. These are more flexible than the Smeg models above which focus on citrus.

While these home bar must-haves are items you should have in any kitchen, you'll likely want a different one for your mixology needs than what you'd use to carve a turkey. When choosing your bar cutting board, look for a few factors, like a non-slip grip and a smaller size that's appropriate for garnishes and citruses. Next, consider the material of these home bar must-haves. Some prefer beautiful wood, like acacia or walnut or even bamboo, but real wood boards almost always need to be washed by hand. If you'd rather just toss your board in the dishwasher at the end of the day, look for something dishwasher safe, like this Epicurean wood composite board. You'll need a good knife to match your board, so make sure you pick a slicer to match the job. Culinary aficionados and mixologists alike will tell you that you need different knives for different purposes, but you should have a knife that can tackle delicate tasks like slicing fruits and herbs, like a thin, narrow utility knife. We suggest a 4- 6" blade: not too big, not too small, and easy to maneuver with, like this Victorinox utility knife.

This post is about home bar must-haves, but it's a good idea to have wine must-haves on hand as well. Whether you prefer white wines or red blends, you'll need a corkscrew that can tackle multiple tasks. This one by Rabbit is a classic, with both a foil cutter and a corkscrew included. It's easy to use, has satisfying action and, even better, easily folds away for quick storage when necessary. But if you tend to have trouble uncorking, there are lots of electric wine openers that make uncorking easier. It's all about whether you'd rather have the authentic experience of uncorking yourself or prefer an electric version, like this wine opener by Rabbit.

Ice is more important than you might think it is, especially when it comes to crafting beverages. Too much melted ice can quickly dilute your perfectly poured whiskey. That's why so many choose to chill their drinks with spherical ice instead. Spherical ice melts slower than classic ice cubes, and one large ice sphere can cool a single beverage (and it looks pretty cool, too). There are a few different methods for making these ice spheres, like using ice sphere molds. We recommend this pair by Tovolo with a leak-free silicone cap, each budget-friendly sphere ice mold stacks on top of the other to preserve freezer space. But if you're looking for a more extravagant way to make spherical ice, Monogram makes an extreme ice press that's perfect for showing off.

If you're making mixed drinks for a crowd, an ice sphere or two probably won't cut it. That's when you'll have to resort to classic ice, or even better, an ice maker, like the GE Profile Opal 2.0. Nugget ice naturally absorbs the flavor of whatever drink it's added to, making it a lovely, chewable addition to beverages like sangria or even individual drinks.