Build a Home Bar

Having your own bar at home is always a hit for the parties. It is the dream of many, the reality of few. Building your own home bar isn't an impossible task. The basic necessities are simply a high table, a full liquor cabinet and a kegerator. It is helpful to set up your bar in an area which has running water and a drain, in case you wish to expand with a sink in the future.

It is important that the positioning of your home bar is ergonomically sound. The bar can be in the living room or the basement, but it should be easy for the bartender to reach all the accessories: pint glasses, shot glasses, towels, kegerator taps, and liquor cabinet without moving much. There should also be plenty of room for people to "belly up to the bar". The kegerator should be to the side of the bartender's position, and the liquor cabinet elevated above the high table behind the bartender. This leaves room for a sink in the back as well as space for cases of beer and even a mini fridge under the bar's high table. This also encloses the bar so that there is only one entrance, which is located opposite where the kegerator caps the bar end.

Whether you or a friend is the carpenter, the building of the actual bar should take no more than a weekend. A sturdy wooden frame with some nice finishing on top and along the sides of the top works fine, and rounded corners can substitute for padding on the home bar's guest side. Bar stools or high chairs are always nice, but can be added later - before that happens, a foot rail should be installed to keep the finish on the front of the bar in good shape. The foot bar prevents scuffs and scrapes from happening to the lower finish and baseboard. An antique cabinet or chest of drawers can be used as a basis for the home bar if one wishes only a small bar.

The best home bars I have seen are those of speakeasies. These houses seem normal enough in the outside, but in the basement or garage lays a richly decorated den of pleasures. The hosts of these places make and sell only their own home made brews and liqueurs - from beer to mead to liquor - including the infamous drink Absinthe, which seems to be a great deal of their business. Such bars have been known to host private events as well as the occasional and regular showing of home brewed delights. The best thing I have liked about these home bars are the hours of operation - they usually open at 2:30 AM, when all other bars are well past closed.

In two speakeasies I saw there was a 2-3 gallon antique glass water dispenser with a brass faucet. This touch added marvelously to the feel of the place, added a sense of freshness and purity to the evening. There was also a sink installed behind the bar with drying rack and from the kegerator dual taps containing both mead and porter. The option of having dual taps on one's kegerator is very useful, and allows for a variety of brews to be served freshly and on-tap. If you are going whole hog, triple tap kegerators and kits are available. This allows for a pale, dark, and "other" kind of brew to be available all at once, ensuring that your home bar is ready for the preferences of all of your guests.
The addition of a bar in your home will doubtless increase your popularity among friends and peers.

There is little that is more satisfying a hobby than being able to present to friends as host a fabulous evening of sampling brews and mixed drinks at your home bar, and word will spread quickly that a gathering at your house is sure to be enjoyable.