Home Bar Liquor Cabinets
Buy the best home bar liquor cabinets selected and recommended by interior designers. By Chloe Hughes.
A Home Bar Liquor Cabinet is an asset for any part of the home. An exquisite corner piece or a stand-alone cabinet dresses the home and accentuates delicate decorative pieces. Finding a cabinet with excellent storage and functional countertops can be tricky but thankfully there is a range of majestic designs to suit all homes and styles.
Home Bar Liquor Cabinets
Buying Guide
Chloe Hughes
Interior Design Expert
Chloe is a highly-regarded expert in all things vintage and antique. She’s excited to share her vast knowledge with readers and clients wishing to infuse their homes with a mixture of old-time warmth and modern comfort. In addition to her design work, Chloe regularly volunteers at her local community center, teaching DIY projects to adults and kids.
To safely store your alcoholic drinks at home, consider keeping them in a lockable bottle compartment or a home bar liquor cabinet with safety locks. This way, underage children and random people won’t be able to access your liquor collection when you’re not there.
Make sure your liquor cabinet is placed in a shaded area, away from direct sunlight. Not only will the liquor lose its color when exposed to UV rays, but it’ll also change in flavor as a result of a sped-up oxidation process. Storing your spirits at room temperature (55–60 °F) will preserve them for much longer.
Another thing to keep in mind is that whiskey bottles are best stored vertically rather than on their sides. This will prevent the cork from seeping into the alcohol which will deteriorate its strength and aroma.
The home bar liquor cabinet essentials - aside from liquor, of course! - come down to the tools you need to make your favorite cocktails, as well as an array of beautiful glasses to drink out of.
If you’d like to ensure that you have the right type of glasses for the drinks you plan on making, finding a pair (or four of each) of highball glasses, martini glasses, wine glasses, and old-fashioned tumblers will outfit your liquor cabinet nicely. Add to that a shaker for mixed drinks, a small measuring cup or tool to make the more delicate cocktails, and a long mixing spoon and you should be set to go. However, if your liquor cabinet is a long way away from your kitchen, it can be a nice touch for parties and the like to add an ice bucket so everything you need to have a great drink is truly on hand.
To achieve a highly organized and accessible home bar liquor cabinet, the first thing you should do is remove all the bottles and accessories from the inside. Next, make an alcohol inventory, and arrange the bottles in the cabinet by brand, spirit, and flavor. For example, pair all your whiskeys, rums, and brown liquor together, different types of vodkas and gins, and even your spirit mixers. This way, when you access your home bar liquor cabinet, you’ll be able to head straight to a specific section to find the spirit you want.
You could also keep a copy of your inventory and tape it to the back of your liquor cabinet so guests can see what is readily available, as well as maintaining the organized layout. To ensure your cabinet stays organized, once you use a bottle, always return it to the same spot inside.
Store mixing tools, such as muddlers and stirrers, in small containers, and keep any cocktail shakers and glasses stored upside down to prevent dust contamination.