Tools and Equipment For Your Home Bar

I've never been a big drinker, but I've always wanted to take a bartending class. It sounds like home and I had images of Tom Cruise in the movie Cocktail running through my head. Now I have a friend who is a bartender and who can teach me all the tricks, beginning with the types of tools and equipment you use in a bar.

Many a cocktail calls for fresh fruit as a garnish. So you will need a small, sharp bar knife for slicing your fruit; a cutting board; strawberry huller to remove those pesky stems and hulls from strawberries; zester for lemon, lime, and orange peel; and a muddler which is a device that mashes springs of mint of berries into pulp so they lie at the bottom of a glass. Don't forget cocktail sticks for your fruit garnishes. If you plan on making your drinks with fresh fruit juice, make sure you have a juicer.

For opening beer you will need a sturdy bottle opener and a corkscrew to open wine bottles.

To mix your drinks, it's good to have on hand a blender, barspoon--a small bowl with a handle at one end used to layer drinks such as a Buttery Nipple--mixing glasses, shaker, and a double ended pont-jigger--measuring device used for pouring liqueur--and stirrers. You'll also need an ice bucket with tongs, a dash pourer to add dashes of bitters (such as Aperol or Campari) to a drink, grater so you can dust a drink with chocolate or nutmeg, and salt and pepper grinders to add spice to drinks such as Bloody Marys. Have plain straws on hand also, short ones for small glasses and longer ones for highballs and goblets.

Equip your home bar with these supplies and you'll be well on your way to tending your bar at home.