The Best Bar Accessories That Guarantee Great At-home Cocktails

It’s one thing to have a section of your kitchen that’s become a catch-all to half-open bottles of wine and another thing to have a proper home bar. If you’ve been interested in starting or maintaining a home bar for your own household, you’ve come to the right place. We’re here to talk the best bar accessories to accent your home bar with both aesthetics and utility in mind.

Related: More home decor we’re loving in 2021

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Once you’ve set up the bar cart of your dreams, there are on a few accessories, in addition to your glassware of course, that you’ll need in order to craft beautiful at-home cocktails. The vessels in which you stir or shake your drinks are where it all begins.

Shakers + Mixing Glasses

Consider the different types of shakers when stocking your bar cart accessories. If you’re a bit more experienced, weighted stackable shaker tins may be for you. Looking for something with less spill risk and that’s a bit easier to handle? A cobbler shaker with a lid and a filter is your best bet.

Hatch Mixing Glass

To buy: crateandbarrel.com, $10

Fenton Graphite Cocktail Shaker

To buy: crateandbarrel.com, $25

Stainless Steel Boston Shaker Tins

To buy: crateandbarrel.com, $20

Mae Champagne Gold Cocktail Shaker

To buy: cb2.com, $25

Tom Dixon Plum Cocktail Shaker

To buy: shophorne.com, $180

Bar Tools

A bar tool set is the ideal way to go about getting almost everything you need, knowing they’re designed to function best together. This also creates a uniform look when displaying bar tools on your home bar. In short, you’ll need:

  • A strainer for shaken cocktails
  • A long-handled bar spoon for stirring
  • A jigger for measuring
  • A muddler
  • A bottle opener

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UP NEXT

Some of these tools are often combined or optimized as sets as well — it’s possible to find bar spoons with muddlers on one end or shaker tins that come with a strainer of their own.

Related: More of the best kitchen tools of 2020

Tongs and containers for ice cubes and, of course, trays for your preferred ice shape and size are one of those home bar tool collections that don’t go missed once you get your hands on one. Some bar tool sets come with tongs totally worth displaying, too, but if they don’t, an ice bucket and tong set are just what you need to keep trips to the freezer (or worse, runs to the grocery store) to a minimum.

These are our favorite bar basics for crafting perfect cocktails and keeping your bar cart aesthetic at its best.

Bar Tool Kit + Ice Bucket

To buy: crateandbarrel.com, $90

Bar Tool Kit + Shaker Tins

To buy: food52.com, $100

Harrison Classic Standing Metal Bar Tool Set

To buy: potterybarn.com, $69

Williams Sonoma Gunmetal Bar Set

To buy: williams-sonoma.com, $90

Project 62 5pc Bar Set + Stand

To buy: target.com, $30

West Elm Deck Out Your Bar Bundle

To buy: westelm.com, $219

Serving Tools

One of the parts of a home bar that can truly set it apart from the rest is the presence of unique serving tools. These can simply elevate the drink experience itself or prove invaluable when it comes to getting your drinks from your bar to your serving area.

From a multi-beverage decanter that will house both your Aperol spritz and table wine to stylish whiskey presenter, these serving tools are as useful as they are beautiful when displayed.

Mater Double Bottle Display Decanter

To buy: shophorne.com, $190

Gentner Design Rare Whiskey Presenter Set

To buy: shophorne.com, $570

Getting Creative

This is where the real fun begins, especially if you’re no novice to making cocktails at home (or even if you’re looking for a different approach to the classic tools). From in-glass ice molds for the perfect sip of whiskey every time to liquor-infusion kits, these are our favorite unique tools for crafting drinks at home.

Teroforma Liquor Infusion Ultimate Bottling & Bar Kit

To buy: food52.com, $65

Whiskey Barrel Wood Block Smoked Set

To buy: etsy.com, $69

Corkcicle Whiskey Wedge

To buy: amazon.com, $25

Kendall Cornish is an e-commerce editor at Travel + Leisure. She’s never lived anywhere longer than three years, but currently resides in Brooklyn with her cat and beloved Dyson vacuum. You can follow her on Instagram at @kendall.cornish.

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