How to Stock Your Bar for a Party
Hosting an event or party is stressful enough. From the menu to the guest list and so much more, your to do list is packed full of things to accomplish. So, I’m here to help.
First, let’s start with my three cardinal rules.
Rule #1: Keep. It. Simple. There’s no need to get bogged down by having each and every guest’s absolute favorite drink.
What I’ve learned, is that the vast majority of people will drink what is available.
RULE #2: Know your guests. There’s no need to stock every type of alcohol, garnish, & liqueur if the majority of guests are beer drinkers!
Below I will be laying out what a basic bar set up will look like, so if you don’t know what your guests drink, don’t fret!
Rule #3: Keep in mind the season. There’s No need to stock ingredients for drinks that are typically only Requested in summer if you’re throwing an event in January!
Most people aren’t ordering a margarita on the rocks when it’s -2 degrees in December! Save money and skip it!
I’ll talk about these rules more as we go. First, let’s get to it.
01. Liquors
This is where Rule #1 and #2 will help save on your budget. Rule #1 - no need to get two types of vodkas because one guest like’s Tito’s Vodka and the other Absolut. One Vodka is plenty. Your guests are at a party! I’ve found they are more than happy to find an alternative. Rule #2 - If you don’t have any Whiskey drinkers, just skip it! If you don’t know, again, the vast majority of guests will just find an alternative.
If you want to have a fully stocked bar - here is what I recommend with my preferred brand that I feel . Of course, a lot of this is regional. In some parts of the country, Jim Beam is the most popular Whiskey, in others, Maker’s Mark, as an example.
Vodka (Tito’s), tequila (legado repasado), American Whiskey (jack daniel’s), bourbon (Maker’s mark), gin (Tanqueray), spiced rum (captain morgan), light rum (bacardi), Brandy (E&J) Shooter option (fireball or rumchatta)
A couple notes here:
Tequila is something to not cheap out on, unless you want your guests to have massive hangovers. Make sure it is 100% blue agave.
You don’t necessarily need three types of rums. However, this is one liquor that you may want to stock more than one variety. If you’re going with just two - I would do a light and a spiced.
There are so many different types of whiskeys - Irish, Scotch, Bourbon, Tennessee. You don’t need to break the bank with all of them. I recommend doing an American Whiskey for mixers (like a Jack Daniels), If you have guests that like to drink on the rocks, a bourbon (Maker’s Mark) and a scotch (Macallan will do the trick!
Brandy is definitely a regional addition to the list. My home state of Wisconsin reportedly consumes 90% of the worldwide brandy!
money-saving tip: only offer signature cocktails to limit the amount of items you need.
Offering mixed drinks of your choice will limit the amount of liquor, mixers, and garnishes you will need to stock. I recommend one light refreshing cocktail, one with some bite, and one sweet or dessert type.
Now add in the extras:
sweet Vermouth (martini & rossi),dry vermouth (dolin dry), Orange Liqueur (Triple Sec), Sweet Liqueur (Kahlua) Seasonal (Rumple Mintz Peppermint), Spiced liqueur (campari), schnapps (peach or apple)
If you’re wondering how much liquor you are going to need, a good rule of thumb is:
Two drinks per guest for the first hour and one drink per hour for every hour after that (i always increase this by 20-25%).
Of course, this is where rule #2 (know your guests) comes in handy, if your guests like to indulge, you may want to up that number.
02. Garnishes and Flavors
Again, back to the cardinal rules. There’s no need to stock every flavor, every garnish, every-everything here. Stick to the basics.
for garnishes: Lemons & Limes (twists and slices), marachino Cherries, olives, and Oranges,
This is where Rule #3 is essential. If it’s winter, you may want to keep cinnamon sticks or nutmeg for Brandy Alexanders. In Summer add in Cucumber (Cucumber Coolers) or Mint (Mint Juleps or Mojitos) or fresh berries (Gin Refreshers).
For Flavors: Bitters, Hot Sauce (Tabasco), Worcestershire Sauce, Pickle Juice, Horseradish, Sugar, Simple Syrup (Rose’s or 1:1 sugar boiled in water), Sour Mix, and Grenadine.
03. Mixers and N/A Beverages
This is one area I recommend smaller size bottles. While you may get more with a 2L bottle, you may end up pouring half of it out. I recommend cans or small bottles whenever possible.
Juices: Lemonade, Orange, Cranberry, & Pineapple
Sodas and Carbonation: Diet and Regular Cola, Diet and Regular White Soda, Ginger-Ale, Tonic, Club Soda and Seltzer
If you want to fully stock your, bar, there’s quite a few things that go into this. I’ll break it down into categories to make it easier.
04. Beer and Wine
Keeping with our cardinal rules, keep the beer selection simple. What I’ve learned is that beer drinkers will be willing to find an alternative if you don’t have their top choice.
I recommend having a Light Beer (Miller Lite, Coors Light), regular beer (Miller, Budweiser, Coors), and then 2-3 Craft Beers. For Craft Beers, a safe bet is an IPA (Dogfishhead), Dark Beer (Porter - Sierra Nevada Porter or Stout - Guinness ) and a Pale Ale (Sierra Nevada).
For most events one red option and one white option of wine is sufficient. For red I would recommend a cabernet sauvignon and for white a chardonnay. If you are hosting a cocktail or dinner party, you may want to have more than one option of these.
A general rule of thumb is 40% red wine and 60% white wine and one bottle per two guests.
but again this will depend on the type of event, time of year, and your guests.
05. The Tools
Having the right tools will not only make your job as host bartender easier, but it’s also an opportunity to show off your personal style. Here are some of my favorite bar tools.
Bar Spoon - A bar spoon is going to make the bartender’s job much easier…and less sticky. A long spoon allows you to mix the liquor at the very bottom of a pint glass, rather than a regular dining spoon (which would be too short to reach the bottom!) This particular one has a muddler on the end, but I like a separate muddler for a better grip and more effective muddling.
Wood Mudddler - A wooden muddler is used to mash spices, fruits and herbs to release their flavor, often used to mash mint for mojitos.
Cocktail Shaker - If you’re mixing any type of cocktail, you will definitely want a cocktail shaker to completely mix all of the ingredients together. Plus, shaking the cocktail gives the proper dilution of water from the melting ice compared with simply mixing.
Drink Dispenser - If you like to entertain, owning a good drink dispenser is a must. I recommend not going with the budget dispenser, they often drip and the spouts have a shorter lifespan.
Wing Glass Markers - There’s nothing worse than not knowing which wine glass is whose. These wiener dog wine markers are absolutely adorable and my favorite new find of this post; I am ordering now! If you want to be able to mark any type of glass, I highly recommend these glass pens that easily wipe away with a damp cloth.
Wine Decanter - A wine decanter is not only a gorgeous way to serve wine, it also serves an important purpose. This decanter aerates the wine to bring out the full body taste and aromas and also has a strainer to remove micro-sediments and impurities from your wine.
Wine Aerator - I receied an aerator as a gift a few years ago and was a total skeptic. Who needs another gadget, right? Well I can proudly saw I’m a true believer! Aerators open up the wine to bring a fuller flavor and enhanced aroma. This is especially important for higher end wines.
Drink Bucket - Depending on the size of your event, this is a sleek way to store your drinks. For larger events, chill your white wine on ice, for smaller events, you may use it as a cooler for beer.
Bar Tool Set - If you don’t want to buy some of the items individually, this gorgeous bar tool set also comes with a hanging display which can sit out on your bar. The set includes: a 1 and 2 ounce jigger cups, strainer, bar spoon and a bottle opener.
Bar Book - You may be an expert in all things cocktails, but if you’re like me, there’s a long list of drinks I would be clueless at making (it’s the drinking the drinks I’m a pro at!) Does anyone actually know what’s in a Manhattan? This book has over 1,000 recipes, so no matter what your guests request, it’s bound to be in here. Plus, this hardcover book is beautiful to keep out on your bar.
Sphere Ice Trays - If you have a lot of “on the rocks” drinkers at your party, you will definitely want a sphere ice cube tray. Sphere’s have less surface area than a cube of the same volume, so less melting and watering down your drink. These will really enhance your guests cocktail experience at your event.
Garnish Bowls - Whether you will be manning the bar, or your guests are pouring their own drinks, put out a few bowls for your garnishes. If you have a traditional bar set up, you may prefer a traditional garnish caddy, but if you have a cocktail station set up, these are the perfect size (and can be re-used as a normal serving tray).
Personalized Bar Napkins Personalized napkins are a (surprisingly) budget friendly way to add a little zsa-zsa to your party. The gold foil and scripted font gives these a high-end look at a budget price.
Liquor Pourer - This is my husband’s favorite little gadget for behind the bar, and for $1.95 each, how can you say no?! Whether you or your guests are pouring the drinks, a liquor pourer makes mess-free pouring a breeze!
Jigger - The perfectly poured cocktail is possible, and a jigger will help you get there. Jiggers are especially helpful for the more complicated cocktails that require specific amounts of many different ingredients.
Wine Opener - I love this Rabbit opener! The beautiful navy and gold version also comes with a wine preserver. If you’re looking for just the original Rabbit Wine Opener you can find it here.
Garnish Bar Tool Set - If you’re going to offer garnishes at your event, this bar tool set is a gorgeous addition to the top of your bar. Along with the board, it includes a peeler (for a rind peel), channel knife (for garnish twist), and bar knife (for wedges).
Ice Bucket - for larger events, I recommend having a separate cooler of ice, so you don’t need to be constantly refilling a small bucket.
Bottle Opener - Okay this is terribly obvious, but you definitely don’t want to forget it.
06. Ice
Ice is it’s own section. Because it’s that important. And because you do not want to run out. We invested in a stand alone ice maker last year, and it was the one of the better decisions we made. We have the Euhomy Ice Maker from Amazon, it’s not huge but it’s a good stop-gap if we run out!
Generally, it is recommended to have between 1-2 lbs of ice per person, depending on the type of event you are having.
Another product that will take your cocktail game to the next level are sphere ice cubes. A sphere has a higher surface area compared to a cube of the same volume. So, there’s less ice exposed to the warmer liquid which means a slower melt and less watering down and dilution of your guest’s Maclarren On The Rocks). This silicone sphere ice tray is gives ice cubes perfect for any standard lowball glass.
07. Glassware
In general, you don’t need a specific glass for every type of cocktail. For example, there are 24 different types of glasses for just beers (yes, that number includes a Boot for all of you Germans out there). So get the basics and skip the rest. If you really want to go above and beyond, here’s what I recommend:
Lowball (aka Single rocks), Double Old Fashioned, Pint, Highball, red wine, white wine, champagne Flute, margariTa, Shot, beer, tasting, martini, copper mug, Cooler, and specialty (Whiskey, Snifter, Hurricane etc.)
However, if you don’t want to get that specific, stick with a Highball, Lowball, White Wine, and Shot, pretty much everything can fit into just those.
Although I recommend getting a matching set of glasses (for example, match your red and wine glasses and pint and low ball glasses), below are some different options for you to check out!
12 oz. lowball | specialty - cocktail | margarita | specialty - whiskey | white wine | martini | copper mug | flute | 1.5 oz. shot glass | specialty - brandy | coupe cocktail | 12 oz. highball | 16 oz. double old fashioned | 18 oz. cooler | 8 oz. tasting | beer glass set | 16 oz. pint | red wine
Now, go have fun you party animal you!
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