Bar Cart Bliss: Tips & Tricks
Prepare for your next party!
Love Entertaining Guests During Parties?
Cocktail lovers rejoice! This blog is dedicated to you, someone who loves hosting fancy dinner parties while sipping on delicious seasonal or classic cocktails and mingling with friends and family. But before festivities can begin, it’s important to have an organized serving area that allows you to create cocktails for guests in a flash, preparing whatever unique concoction request arrives as the evening proceeds.
I’m sure as a certified or aspiring drink enthusiast, you understand the importance of having the proper tools and ingredients on hand to serve as the foundation of your hosting duties. In this article we’ll dive-deep to learn about all the necessary essentials for your bar cart to support your next party. Whether you're looking to stock your home bar with classic cocktail ingredients and old-school tools or wanting everything to be new and fresh—this blog has you covered with tips & tricks to nail your next time hosting a party.
A bar cart is a great way to elevate any dining area, and it can be a real time-saver when it comes to stocking and serving drinks. To get the most out of your cart, start by deciding on your favorite drinks and cocktails that you want to serve for your guests. Make sure the items you choose fit comfortably inside the cart—it should hold at minimum twelve standard bottles. Make use of a sturdy base to keep everything in place and if you're looking to add some extra flair, create labels or use magnets to track which drink is up next for guests.
Adding barware tools and accessories is one of the best ways to organize, prepare and increase efficiency while shaking up the night preparing cocktails for guests. Ensure your tools and glassware are ready to assist the bartending process with both functional, yet stylish solutions—bottles, tall and short glasses, cocktail shooters, spoons for gently mixing, shaker sets, coasters and beyond. Grab what you need without having to search through your cabinets and pantry by placing directly on your cart in an organized fashion that follows the flow of the cocktail creation process. Furthermore, accessories can help you create a more stylish appearance for your bar cart when used in conjunction with complementary pieces of home decor and extra accents. Why not add a few accessories to your cart and see how they provide function and style!
When it comes to cocktails, there's nothing more frustrating than trying to find the right ingredients and bar tools while guests are waiting. It’s equally as frustrating to be the guest on the other side of the fence. It's important to have cocktail mixers and additives that work with your drink recipes. To make your bar cart even more efficient, prepare, cut and gather all ingredients prior to beginning the process of serving guests—you’ll save time and skip the hassle in the long-run walking to-and-from the fridge.
For hosting large parties with ample varieties of cocktails and an assortment of drinks, one way to make it easy to find what you're looking for by type of drink and mixer is to organize bottles according to their unique type. For example, group liquor bottles, wine bottles, mixers, and juices next to their respective pairings. We recommend alphabetizing bottles by product titles or even sorting based on use-case during the cocktail creation process. It'll be easier to grab what you're searching for without fuss and you'll never have to go hunting for a specific bottle again when a guest asks you if you have a particular alcohol-type or mixer option.
When finalizing the preparation of your bar cart, one of the best space-saving tricks is to stack bottles vertically instead of horizontally, especially if you’re tight on surface area. This will save you room across your shelving tiers in your bar cart and maximize remaining surface space available. Be sure to leave designated sections for all necessary tools and ingredients that you anticipate you’ll need ahead of time to keep yourself from requiring an extra piece of furniture when finalizing cart preparation.
Last but not least, if you want to come over-prepared and make things extra-easy on yourself as well as your guests, we recommend putting together a drink menu ahead of time. This allows guests to have predetermined options available for review while they’re deciding what cocktail sounds good as their drink of choice for the evening. Not only will this save you time by simplifying your tasks as the bartender, but it also allows you to gather a relative number of forecasted ingredients required for purchase based on estimated drinks consumed per person on average that will be in attendance. If you’re really detail-oriented, you can even use an online drink estimator and calculator tool designed specifically for hosting parties.
If we still have your attention, you should be well-qualified for hosting your next party with our bar cart tips presented. By following the tips in this blog, you’ll turn your bar cart into a working bartender station that’s both functional and stylish for any cocktail party. So, what are you waiting for? Start organizing your bar cart layout for your next party, today!
