The Bar Cart

Well-styled bar carts have had plenty of moments through the years on social media; beautiful bottles and elaborate glassware all placed perfectly on trays or carts or countertops. But a bar cart, when you reside in a studio apartment, has to be more than just an attractive design element. With limited space, it has to be practical. 

All Images by Kirsten Valentini

First and foremost, my bar cart houses my liquor bottles. I stock my bar with things I drink, with a bottle or two I don’t drink but my guests might. For me, that means gin, vodka, whiskey, tequila (blanco because I find it more popular and reposado because it’s what I like). I also have Chambord, absinthe, dry vermouth, grapefruit bitters and Aperol to mix the cocktails I like. You will not get a Manhattan or a Negroni in my house at the moment. 

Second, I have bar tools on my bar cart. I consider the following essential: a jigger, a strainer, a shaker, a bar spoon and a bottle opener. I also keep out a mixing glass and collection of straws (metal and paper) as well as cocktail stirrers and picks. Not featured on my bar cart is my Boston shaker and a muddler because they’re not pretty and live hidden away in my cabinet. 

Third, my ice buckets live on my bar cart, simply because I have no other place for them and they’re pretty enough to live out in the open. 

Lastly, I keep a small selection of items out for aesthetic reasons only. Marble coasters, a small silver dish, some cocktail napkins, cocktail books and a little lamp, which casts the tiniest bit of light and is wildly impractical. 

In addition to the unpretty tools hidden in my cabinet, I do not leave mixers or garnishes on my bar cart, nor do I leave glassware out either. Glassware stays in my cabinets and mixers and garnishes in my fridge. As an extension of my bar cart essentials, I try to keep olives, cocktail onions, maraschino cherries, Rose’s lime juice, grenadine, lemons, limes and club soda in my fridge. Unopened tonic water stays in the cabinet. A complete review of necessary glassware requires its own post.