Home Bar Ideas: How to Entertain in Style

A well-stocked home bar has the power to elevate any social gathering into a special celebration, from serving a refreshing aperitif to welcome friends to a dinner party, to a sharing a nightcap with family at the end of an evening. The possibilities for your home bar are endless.

Modern home mini bar ideas

Whether you’re carving out an area of your house, curating a bar cart, or making use of a nook in your living room, what you use to feature your home bar bottles, ingredients and tools sets the bar (literally) for occasions to come.

Bar cabinet ideas

A bar cabinet gives you the perfect opportunity to display your bottle collection in a feature piece of furniture. Look for a mixture of surfaces, shelves, tucked away cupboards and glass-fronted displays in your bar cabinet so you can choose exactly what items to display, and what delights to hide within.

Bar shelf and DIY wall bar ideas

Recreate the wonder of staring up at your favourite bar’s well-stocked shelves at home with a bar shelf or wall bar. This is an easy option to DIY or alternatively, look for a custom option with clever design features. We recommend including space to hang your stemmed glasses to create a sophisticated and space saving look.

Living room bar ideas

There’s nothing better than a stylish bar cart perfectly positioned in the middle of a special celebration with loved ones in your living room. When thinking about where to place your bar cart, we recommend to keep bottles away from direct sunlight and radiators to avoid fluctuations in temperature, as this may cause your spirits to deteriorate quicker over time.

Bar room ideas

If you’re lucky enough to have a whole room dedicated to your home bar, then you can play around with the above elements to create a thoughtfully designed space for entertaining. Add in a home bar counter and stools for your guests to create a welcoming space to invite conversation over cocktails.

Essential cocktail spirits: the base spirit

Brugal 1888 home bar cart with glasware and cocktail shaker

The key to a superior nearly neat cocktail such as a Negroni, Manhattan or Old Fashioned is starting with an excellent base spirit. When beginning to put together your home bar, trying to stock everything all at once can feel overwhelming. Instead, focus on finding a quality, versatile spirit like Brugal 1888 – a sipping rum that you can elevate further with just a few key ingredients. As you add spirits to your home bar, stocking a good bottle of whiskey, bourbon and tequila will mean you are well prepared for most requests for a variety of sipping cocktails. Then, step up your spirits with some high-quality vodka and gin.

It is this quality of the liquid that really shines through with our varied cocktail recipes that you can easily replicate using your home bar. They highlight the flavour profile of double cask aged Brugal 1888, and offer a twist on the classic short cocktails that you can rediscover at home. Select a few recipes to stock the ingredients for and practise when starting off, before expanding your expertise.

Setting up your home bar equipment

Sourcing the basic bar equipment will open a range of possibilities for you when creating cocktails. This is the essential bar equipment required for our Brugal 1888 classic cocktails and the staples of a good home bar.

- Mixing spoon

- Mixing jug

- Double-sided jigger

- Large ice cube mould

- Large ice sphere mould

- Fine bar strainer

- Glassware

If you want to level up on the basics, then a sharp vegetable peeler will elevate your cocktails by producing beautiful twists you can use as a garnish. A hand juicer is also a great addition, meaning you can add a splash of citrus easily to any serve.

bartender pouring Brugal 1888 rum cocktail

Glassware for your home bar

Using the right glass when crafting cocktails is very important to make the most of aroma and flavour. You don’t need to buy every type of glass – these key ones will put you in good stead for our Brugal 1888 nearly neat cocktails. We always recommend chilling your glassware to deliver the best serves.

Nick and Nora – named after characters in The Thin Man by author Dashiell Hammett, this glass evokes the glamorous 1930s cocktail culture enjoyed by the fictional couple. It can be used for any drink served in a Coupe such as a Manhattan with a twist.
Rocks – a hardy, thicker version of the Old Fashioned glass that is also suited to drinks that require vigorous muddling or stirring in the glass. Use for Negroni recipes like a Negroni Dominicana or Jungle Negroni.
Old Fashioned – a glass with a thick, heavy base and a flat, round rim for Old Fashioned cocktails as the name suggests, and straight spirits too.

The need to know about ice cubes and spheres

As a general rule, if there is ice in the glass then the cocktail can be made in the glass. If there isn’t ice required when serving, the cocktail should be made using a mixing jug with ice, before being strained and decanted into the glassware. If you’re wondering how you should drink rum, then we recommend using really large cubes or spheres for nearly neat serves. This extends the time the ice takes to melt which means the dilution is lower, allowing you to sip and savour the complex flavours of Brugal 1888.

If you’re entertaining, remember to prepare your ice in plenty of time. You can transfer your ice cubes or spheres into a sealed bag in your freezer if you require more than a tray when stocking up for a larger gathering.

A photo of a bottle of Brugal rum and a glass of rum with an ice ball

Enjoy your home bar

Once you’ve set up your home bar, the possibilities for expansion are endless. Enjoy welcoming your friends and family to share the rewards with you. With a great foundation to build on you will have a cocktail option to suit every occasion and taste.

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rum old fashioned with brugal bottle and coconut ice spheres

Home Bar Ideas: How to Entertain in Style