We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Food News and Trends Product Reviews and Buying Guides All the Bar Essentials You Need To Build a Well-Stocked Home Bar Your one-stop shop for liquors, mixers, tools, and more. By Melanie Fincher Melanie Fincher Melanie Fincher is a Birmingham, Alabama–based food writer who covers everything from cooking techniques to gadget reviews. She has nearly 7 years experience writing news and lifestyle content. Allrecipes' editorial guidelines Updated on March 20, 2024 Photo: Greg Dupree/Meredith Maintaining a well-stocked bar can be an expensive endeavor. The good news is that spirits will last indefinitely if stored correctly, so you can build your collection gradually without any worry of spoilage. We'll show you how to stock your bar at home, including a variety of spirits, mixers, garnishes, tools, glassware, and even storage options. It's important to note that something is a "bar essential" only insofar as you use it. This list of essentials can be added to or subtracted from depending on how you plan to use your home bar. Consider some of your favorite, most-enjoyed cocktails, write down the ingredients and tools they require, and go from there. Bar Toolkit The number of bar tools and gadgets on the market is endless. Luckily, you can handle a majority of home bartending tasks with just a handful of tools, and we're willing to bet you already have quite a few in your kitchen right now. 1. Bottle Openers and Corkscrews Chances are you've already got one, but a bottle opener is necessary for opening glass bottles of beer and various mixers. Many wine openers can also be used to open beer, and options range from your simple corkscrew to a do-it-all, electric wine opener. Best Bottle Opener: OXO Stainless Steel Bottle and Can Opener, $12; amazon.com Best Corkscrew: Chef Craft Waiters Corkscrew, $6; amazon.com or walmart.com Best Corkscrew and Bottle Opener Duo: Beneno Corkscrew Wine Bottle Opener, $15; amazon.com Best Electric Wine Opener: Oster Cordless Electric Wine Bottle Opener with Foil Cutter, $25; amazon.com or target.com 2. Jiggers A jigger is basically a mini measuring cup that helps you achieve exact measurements for your cocktails. A standard jigger is double-sided, with one side holding 1.5 ounces on its large side (the equivalent of one shot) and 0.75 to 1 ounces on its small side (or what's known as the pony shot). But you'll also find Japanese-style jiggers, which are longer and skinnier, with one side typically measuring 2 ounces and the other measuring 1 ounce. You can even find literal mini measuring cups that some argue are much easier to read than traditional, double-sided jiggers. But at the end of the day, you really just need one. Best Standard Jigger: OXO Steel Double Jigger $12; amazon.com Best Japanese Jigger: Homestia Double Cocktail Japanese Jigger, $10; amazon.com Best Measuring Cup Jigger: OXO Steel Angled Measuring Jigger, $10; amazon.com Best Jigger Set: Tezzorio Set of 3 Stainless Steel Double Jiggers, $14; amazon.com 3. Shakers and Strainers A stainless steel cocktail shaker is the key to refreshingly chilled, shaken drinks. It can come in two forms: Boston-style and cobbler. The former is basically a metal tin that fits tightly over a pint glass so that it doesn't spill on you while you shake. Most professional bartenders use Boston-style because they're faster to use and easy to clean. But for at-home use, you may prefer to go with a cobbler, which is a one-piece shaker with a built-in strainer, eliminating the need for extra parts. If you're using a Boston-style shaker, you'll need to use a Hawthorne strainer to prevent ice or any other solid ingredients from dropping into your glass. When you strain from a mixing glass, you'll need to use what's known as a Julep strainer. Some folks might choose to purchase a fine mesh strainer (sieve) to strain out ultra-fine ingredients like pulp. Best Boston-Style Cocktail Shaker: Cresimo Professional Cocktail Shaker, $10; amazon.com Best Cobbler Cocktail Shaker: Etens Cocktail Shaker, $10; amazon.com Best Hawthorne Strainer: Cocktail Kingdom Koriko Hawthorne Strainer, $25; amazon.com Best Julep Strainer: HIC Kitchen Julep Bar Strainer, $14; amazon.com Best Fine Mesh Strainer/Sieve: OXO Steel Fine Mesh Cocktail Strainer, $12; amazon.com Best Cocktail Strainer Set: Koviti 3-Piece Stainless Steel Cocktail Strainer Set, $18; amazon.com 4. Mixing Glasses and Spoons A mixing glass is a designated glass for stirring cocktail ingredients. You can use another glass (like a pint glass) for this purpose, but a mixing glass can be an elegant and functional addition to any home bar. Bar spoons are made with long handles specifically for stirring a mixed drink from the bottom of the glass to the top without splashing. You'll find some have smooth handles, which add extra weight, while others have textured, spiraled handles for easy grip. Best Mixing Glass: Hiware Professional 24-Ounce Cocktail Mixing Glass, $16; amazon.com Best Bar Spoon: A Bar Above Heavyweight Bar Spoons (Set of 2), $18; amazon.com 5. Ice Makers, Molds, and Buckets Ice plays a crucial role in every cocktail you make. Skip the cloudy, odor-holding freezer ice, and instead invest in a few different ice molds and makers for craft cocktails. Spirit-forward drinks (like a Manhattan or an old fashioned) are best served with large cubes and spheres because these take longer to melt, preventing the drink from diluting too quickly. For your tiki drinks, mint juleps, or other drinks meant to be served in warmer climates, go with crushed or pebbled ice. This will not only keep the drink cool, but the sheer quantity of ice can help dilute the heavy syrups typically used in these drinks. And finally, standard, one-inch-by-one-inch cubes are what you'll use for everything else. Even for drinks that aren't typically served with ice, standard ice cubes are excellent for shaking. Having a designated ice bucket and scoop is always handy for easy access when making cocktails or chilling wine. Best Large Cube Ice Mold: Kitch Large Cube Silicone Ice Tray, $9; amazon.com or walmart.com Best Spherical Ice Mold: Tovolo Sphere Ice Molds, $12; amazon.com Best Ice Mold Set: Ticent Ice Cube Trays (Set of 2), $10; amazon.com Best Pebble Ice Maker: GE Opal Nugget Ice Maker, $530; amazon.com Best Standard Ice Mold: Ozera 2-Pack Silicone Ice Cube Tray, $10; amazon.com Best Ice Bucket and Scoop: Oggi Double-Wall Insulated Lid & Ice Scoop Ice Bucket, $30; amazon.com 6. Juicers, Cutting Boards, and Peelers For fresh ingredients like juice, zest, or slices of fruit, there are a handful of tools you can purchase to help with prep work. Freshly squeezed citrus fruits are always going to be superior to their bottled counterparts, so we'd recommend having a handheld juicer on hand for easy juicing that gets the most juice from your fruit. You'll also need to have a couple of small cutting boards on hand for prepping ingredients like herbs for muddling or citrus fruits for garnishes. For peeling citrus fruits and other ingredients for garnishes, a simple paring knife or vegetable peeler will do the trick. Best Handheld Citrus Juicer: Chef'n FreshForce Citrus Juicer, $21; amazon.com or walmart.com Best Mini Plastic Cutting Board: San Jamar Saf-T-Grip Plastic Cutting Board, $11; amazon.com Best Mini Bamboo Cutting Board: Brite Concepts Bamboo Cutting Board, $6; amazon.com Best Paring Knife: Henckels Classic Razor-Sharp 4-Inch Paring Knife, $24; amazon.com Best Vegetable Peeler: Kuhn Rikon, Original 4-Inch Swiss Peeler, $9; amazon.com or walmart.com We Tried Every Internet Hack for Juicing a Lemon and Found a Clear Winner Glassware It's tempting to buy a different type of glass to go with each accompanying cocktail (like margarita glasses or martini glasses), but having two to three different sized glasses on hand will work for nearly any cocktail you could ever want to make. Plus, elegant cocktail glasses look stunning in a bar cart or cabinet. 1. Coupe Glasses This multi-tasking cocktail glass will replace your champagne flutes, martini glasses, and margarita glasses. Their curved rim makes them less prone to spills than your typical martini glass. Best Coupe Glasses: Libbey Signature Kentfield Coupe Cocktail Glasses (Set of 4), $39; amazon.com or walmart.com 2. Collins Glasses These tall, skinny, straight glasses hold a lot of liquid, making them excellent for drinks with an abundance of ice and mixer, like gin and tonics—and, of course, Tom Collins. Best Collins Glasses: LEMONSODA Premium Highball Glass Set, $25; amazon.com 3. Old Fashioned or Rocks Glasses Named for its signature drink, the old-fashioned glass (also called a rocks glass) is a short tumbler that's best for serving spirits neat or on the rocks, but it also works for some mixed drinks. We'd suggest buying a double rocks glass, which is slightly larger than a single, making it more versatile. Best Rocks Glasses: LUXU Whiskey Glasses, $22; amazon.com Bar Carts and Cabinets Without a built-in home bar, you'll need somewhere to proudly store and display your growing liquor and bar collection. You don't have to drop thousands of dollars—you can find stylish, minimalistic bar carts for less than $100. Best Overall Bar Cart: VASAGLE 3-Tier Kitchen Serving Bar Cart, $59; amazon.com Best Bar Cart for Small Spaces: Novogratz Helix Bar Cart, $45; amazon.com, walmart.com, or wayfair.com Best Overall Bar Cabinet: FATORRI Industrial Wine Bar Cabinet, $230; amazon.com Best Bar Cabinet for Small Spaces: Boahaus Modern Mini Bar, $135; walmart.com Best Corner Bar Cabinet: Home Source Corner Bar Unit, $249; amazon.com Essential Spirits It's easy to get overwhelmed with the variety of liquors on the market, but rest assured, if you have these key ones, you're set up to make most standard cocktails. And there's no need to splurge on top-shelf spirits for your collection (although you certainly can if that's your preference). In fact, plenty of bartenders don't use top-shelf liquor when crafting cocktails. 1. Gin For classic gin cocktails like gin and tonics, Tom Collins, and of course, the original martini, gin is certainly an essential behind the bar. Best Overall Gin: Tanqueray London Dry Gin, $26; drizly.com or saucey.com Best Budget Gin: Gordon's London Dry Gin, $11; saucey.com or drizly.com Best Top-Shelf Gin: The Botanist Islay Dry Gin, $29; saucey.com or drizly.com or Gray Whale Gin, $36; drizly.com or saucey.com 2. Rum Light rum (also known as white rum) is going to be the base of all sorts of tropical drinks like daiquiris, mojitos, pina coladas, mai tais, and more. Dark rum has been aged in oak barrels, unlike white rum, which is aged for a shorter amount of time in steel barrels. Dark rum can work in place of light rum, but note that it will bring a stronger, molasses-like flavor to these cocktails. Buy a smaller, secondary bottle of dark rum for use in bold cocktails like the Dark 'n' Stormy. Best Overall Light Rum: Bacardi Superior White Rum, $15; drizly.com or saucey.com Best Overall Dark Rum: Gosling's Black Seal Rum, $25; drizly.com or saucey.com 3. Tequila Keep a large, inexpensive bottle of unaged blanco, or "silver" tequila, on hand for use in tequila sunrises, margaritas, and other tequila-based cocktails. Tequila reposado, or "gold" tequila, is aged for a minimum of two months and up to 364 days, giving it a smooth, sweeter taste that's great for shots. Premium brands of añejo tequila, which is aged between one and three years, are better for sipping. Best Overall Tequila Blanco (Silver): Teremana Blanco Tequila, $38; drizly.com or Olmeca Altos Tequila Plata, $29; drizly.com or saucey.com Best Overall Tequila Reposado (Gold): Hornitos Reposado Tequila, $22; saucey.com or drizly.com Best Tequila for Sipping: Don Julio Añejo Tequila, $52; saucey.com or drizly.com The Best Margarita Machines for Happy Hour and Beyond 4. Vodka This is a versatile spirit, so don't be afraid to buy the 1.75-liter bottle. Use it in vodka martinis, vodka Collins, sea breeze, Cape Cod, vodka & tonic, white Russians, screwdrivers, etc. Best Overall Vodka: Tito's Handmade Vodka, $18; saucey.com or drizly.com Best Budget Vodka: Kirkland Signature American Vodka, $15; drizly.com Best Top-Shelf Vodka: Belvedere Vodka, $22; saucey.com or drizly.com 5. Whiskey Whiskey is an entire classification of liquor; it can refer to Bourbon, Scotch, Tennessee, Rye, Irish, Japanese, and more. Each has its own flavor profile and uses, but we recommend starting with Bourbon and/or Tennessee whiskey, as well as Rye. This will set you up for most cocktails. Bourbon Whiskey: Used in Manhattans and old fashioned cocktails. Best Overall Bourbon: Maker's Mark Bourbon Whiskey, $24; saucey.com or drizly.com Best Budget Bourbon: Four Roses Bourbon, $33; drizly.com or saucey.com Best Top-Shelf Bourbon: Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon, $52; reservebar.com or drizly.com Blended Scotch: For drinking on the rocks, or mixing in Rob Roys (Scotch Manhattans). Best Overall Blended Scotch: Johnnie Walker Black Label Blended Scotch Whisky, $32; saucey.com or drizly.com Best Budget Blended Scotch: The Famous Grouse Blended Scotch Whiskey, $18; drizly.com and saucey.com Single Malt Scotch: For sipping neat (without ice). There are many to try, with smoky, peaty, and caramel overtones. Experiment as your budget will allow. Best Overall Single Malt Scotch: Lagavulin 16 Year, $82; saucey.com or drizly.com Best Budget Single Malt Scotch: The Glenlivet 12 Year, $61; drizly.com or reservebar.com Tennessee, Rye, Irish, or Japanese Whiskey: Enjoyed on the rocks or in whiskey sours and hot toddies. Best Overall Tennessee Whiskey: Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey, $20; saucey.com or drizly.com Best Top-Shelf Tennessee Whiskey: Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Whiskey, $57; drizly.com or saucey.com Best Rye Whiskey: Bulleit Rye, $25; saucey.com or drizly.com Best Irish Whiskey: Jameson Irish Whiskey, $24; saucey.com or drizly.com Best Japanese Whiskey: Suntory Toki, $32; saucey.com or drizly.com 6. Liqueurs With so many to choose from, this is an area where you can let your personal taste be your guide. You may want to buy liqueurs that you enjoy drinking and for cooking: orange liqueur, coffee liqueur, and Irish cream are delicious in chocolate desserts. And of course, vermouth is essential for martinis (dry), and Manhattans (sweet). Best Overall Sweet Vermouth: Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth, $37; drizly.com or saucey.com Best Budget Sweet Vermouth: Dolin Rouge Vermouth, $18; drizly.com or saucey.com Best Overall Dry Vermouth: Dolin Dry Vermouth, $18; drizly.com or saucey.com Best Budget Dry Vermouth: Martini & Rossi Extra Dry Vermouth, $13; drizly.com or saucey.com Best Amaretto: Lazzaroni Amaretto, $23; drizly.com Best Coffee Liqueur: Kahlua Rum and Coffee Liqueur, $18; saucey.com or drizly.com Best Irish Cream Liqueur: Baileys Irish Cream Original, $21; saucey.com or drizly.com Best Orange Liqueur: Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge Orange Liqueur, $32; saucey.com or drizly.com Essential Mixers Mixers are just as essential as spirits, since most standard cocktails are going to require at least one (more likely two). Having some of the more popular mixers on hand will ensure that you always have what you need to make your favorite libations. 1. Carbonated Mixers These include tonic water, club soda, and flavored sodas like ginger beer (for Moscow mules), ginger ale, cola, etc. Not only are these popular mixers for cocktails, but it's also nice to have some on hand for non-alcoholic drinks. Best Tonic Water: Fever-Tree Premium Indian Tonic Water (Pack of 24), $34; amazon.com Best Club Soda: Fever-Tree Premium Club Soda (Pack of 8), $29; amazon.com Best Budget Club Soda: Schweppes Club Soda (1 Liter), $2; walmart.com Best Ginger Beer: Q-Mixer Ginger Beer, (Pack of 24), $20; amazon.com The 8 Best Soda Makers, Tested by Allrecipes 2. Bitters Used in Manhattans and other cocktails, bitters are spirits infused with botanicals meant to balance out cocktails containing sweet and/or sour flavors. Best Bitters: Angostura Aromatic Bitters, $8; amazon.com Best Bitters Variety Set: Hella Cocktail Co. Cocktail Bitters Variety Pack, $38; amazon.com 3. Grenadine This pomegranate-colored (and, traditionally, flavored) syrup is used in Shirley Temples, tequila sunrises, and layered drinks. Best Grenadine: Liber & Co. Real Grenadine, $19; amazon.com Best Budget Grenadine: Barsmith Grenadine, $9; amazon.com 4. Juice Orange juice, cranberry juice, tomato juice, and all forms of citrus juice are common ingredients in mixed drinks. Sweetened lime juice is usually available in the mixer aisle with grenadine. Best Sweetened Lime Juice: Rose's Sweetened Lime Juice, $4; walmart.com 5. Sweet and Sour Mix Sweet and sour mix is a staple behind any bar. It's usually made with a mixture of lemon juice, lime juice, sugar, and water. Use it to make classic cocktails like whiskey sours, amaretto sours, and, of course, margaritas. Best Sweet and Sour Mix: Collins Sweet and Sour Mix, $12; amazon.com 6. Simple Syrup Simple syrup, as the name might suggest, is simple enough to make yourself with only two ingredients: sugar and water. You can even go as far as to infuse it with berries or herbs. But if you prefer the convenience of premade simple syrup, you can find it in most grocery stores. Best Store-Bought Simple Syrup: Stirrings Pure Cane Simple Syrup Cocktail Mixer, $9; amazon.com Essential Garnishes Though you may be tempted to skimp on garnishes, don't. Part of the fun of preparing and investing time and money into a great cocktail is the presentation. Plus, depending on the type of garnish, they can also add flavor to the mix. Keep a collection of olives (for martinis), citrus fruits and/or peels, and maraschino or cocktail cherries on hand for all your favorite drinks. You can find these ingredients at any grocery store, but specialty retailers also make them with cocktail drinkers in mind. Best Cocktail Olives: Divina Castelvetrano Pitted Olives, $10; amazon.com Best Cocktail Cherries: Luxardo Maraschino Cherries, $22; amazon.com Why Take Our Word For It? Melanie Fincher is a food writer and editor for Allrecipes. An avid home cook and food journalist with experience writing news and lifestyle content, Melanie has spent the last three years working exclusively in food media. Her work can also be found in Food & Wine, MyRecipes, and Better Homes & Gardens. Your Guide to Essential Cocktail Glassware Updated by Allrecipes Editorial Team Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit