How to Set Up Your Home Bar
Tips for Setting Up Your Home Bar.
What to consider to setup your home bar so that it works for you.
There’s No Standard Way to Setup a Home Bar
The most important point is to make sure that it works for you (and looks great for your guests).
When I first set up my home bar at the Grand One Lounge, I did some research to see if there is an industry standard method for bar setup. This included some research into how to arrange your liquor, spirits, bitters and so on behind you on the display shelf (if you have one for your bar).
The quick answer is that there is no definitive way to arrange your bottles or setup your bar top. The only common answer for retail bars is to set it up such that it offers the most efficient way to serve your guests. (Be sure to read my post on how to create a home bar)
At the highest level, the strategy is the same. You want to make it easy on yourself to create cocktails, mix drinks and grab a cold beer for your guests. A lot will depend on the kind of space you have available to you on your bar top, below the bar and behind the bar (behind you when you're serving).
A Home Bar is Different than a Retail Bar
Retail bars typically have a few things that you won't likely have or need in your home bar. For example, a speed rail (or speed well) is the stainless steel rack you see right in front of the bartender attached to their work area (the lower bar area behind the main bar top). For most bars, this where they keep they keep their well liquors (well liquors are the brands they use when customers call for a drink without naming their liquor preference, for example a vodka tonic versus Grey Goose and tonic). These are typically the least expensive brands.
If you're like me, you won't need a speed rail and you probably won't want to keep any well liquor at all. Call liquors (the main name brands that you know, like Jack Daniels, Absolut Vodka, Tanqueray Gin etc.) are what you'll probably stock, along with a few top shelf bottles of premium liquor. Top shelf brands are the ones that grace the display shelves behind you. (If you're like me, as time goes by your relative percentage of top shelf liquors will start to grow, but that's another story).
So the best ways to arrange bottles in the home bar is really whatever works best for you. For me, it's a combination of what looks good behind the bar and what I use most often. I have space at eye level behind the bar (my version of the top shelf at the Grand One Lounge), but then I also have storage below that in a small shelf unit, like a bookcase style. I don't necessarily separate top shelf brands from call brands, but rather I organize the bottles by size and general type of spirit. So that it looks aesthetically appealing and I know where everything is. The Grand One Lounge has space in all areas for two rows of bottles, so I am to put taller bottles in the back and shorter bottles up front.
How to Manage Wine Bottles in the Home Bar
For wine bottles and beer it's a different story. I have a fridge below the bar, which is where I keep chilled white wine, beer, pop/soda, sparkling water, still water bottles and so on. Red wine I keep down below and to the side, where I have additional storage space. This is also where keep my glassware. I also have a dedicated wine fridge to chill certain wine bottles to precise temperatures.
How to Organize Your Bartop Workspace
On the bartop itself is where I mix drinks, open beer bottles and so on.
This is also where I keep bar tools and accessories for making drinks, along with coasters, cocktail napkins, garnish skewers and similar items. My bar is a wet bar so it has a small sink, which comes in handy. Next to the sink are a few small knives, scissors and other items I use for things like garnishes. I also have a few pads and pens for writing things down as required.
I don't have any beer taps in my bar, because I'm not a fan of draught beer. So I don't lose any space that way. But if you love draught beer and want to incorporate taps and kegs into your bar, which will impact your available space. Just something to bear in mind.
A Bar Setup that Works for You
So all in all, best way to set up your bar is the way that works for you. Don't get too hung up on any rules that you may read about. After all, you want your bar to be welcoming and look great for your guests and function well for you.
It took me awhile to really come to what is close to the final set-up for my bar (it's not all the way there, but it's close). I fumbled around several times when serving guests and not having what I needed exactly when I needed it. So don't feel like you have to nail it on your first try. Each time you have guests over and you're actively working behind the bar, you'll get a better sense of how you may want to reorganize or add things you're missing to make your bar function more efficiently. Use your note pads or bartender's journal to keep track of things you might want to change or try, so you don't forget later.