When starting out with your home bar, there are a few basic tools you should have. There are a multitude of different tools out there and a couple different varieties of particular tools, but to start out, the following list should be enough to get you started. Fortunately, the bare necessities won’t set you back too much and they really come in handy. For old-fashioned in-store shopping (which I actually prefer) I found the most success at Total Wine, if there is one near you, where you can get a basic starter set for about $25. While the state ABC stores in VA do not carry accessories, your local private liquor store in a different state may have a selection. Of course, Amazon.com has the greatest variety of everything for online shoppers and you can easily find any of these items.
Shaker
A shaker is just what it sounds like. You add your liquors and other ingredients together and shake the hell out of them to mix them evenly. There are a couple different kinds, but the Boston shaker is the simplest. This consists of a simple metal cup and a mixing glass (typically a standard pint glass which you probably already have).
Jigger
When mixing drinks, you’ll need to measure allotments in fluid ounces, ranging from ¼ oz up to 2oz. Getting a good Jigger (mine is an OXO brand) with all of the ounce increments on it is a must. You can also use measuring spoons, but you’ll have to convert teaspoons and tablespoons to ounces, and that’s a lot of math (we’re not but humble pirates, Ms. Swan)
Bar Spoon
Bar spoons are unique in their design compared to your typical kitchen variety. Bar spoons are considerably longer to facilitate mixing in tall glasses (like a Collins) and the shaft of the spoon has a spiral shape to facilitate twirling and mixing.
Strainer
A drink may be mixed with ice or whole citrus elements, but you don’t always want those particles in your final product. For a clean and smooth finish needed for many drinks, a strainer is key to have in addition to your shaker. The Hawthorne strainer is a good all-around version that works with most glass sizes.
Muddler
A muddler is a tool used to mash citrus, mint, and similar elements to release their flavor into the drink. Some are made of wood and are smooth on the bottom, like the one pictured. You can also find pricier versions that are heavier with teeth on the bottom. Similar to the bar spoon, it’s a unique tool that you can’t easily replace with other more common kitchen elements.
Corkscrew
Wine was a staple in the 17th and 18th centuries as one of the few beverages that could survive long voyages. You should be prepared to serve wine at any home bar, but a pirate-themed bar especially. A good multi-tool that has a corkscrew, a bottle opener, and a small knife (for removing the wrapping over the wine bottle neck) is a very useful item. I find that a corkscrew with a double joint is easier and leads to fewer complications (like broken corks). For the whimsical stereotype pirate in all of us, the neat pirate themed multi-tool made by Suck Uk pictured above is easily found online. I do have this one at my bar. It doesn’t have a double-joint corkscrew, but it’s still super-fun and has several features.
Tongs
Ice is a big part of bar drinks, even for drinks not served on ice, but only chilled while mixed (using your shaker and strainer). You may grab ice from the freezer with your hands for yourself, but remember, you’ll be serving drinks to other people some of the time. You may use your hands to serve yourself food at dinner, but do you do that with guests? Of course not. That’s when you dust off the serving spoons. Use some class and use tongs to fetch ice for your drinks. It’ll look more like you know what you’re doing.
Bar Towel
The best friend of any bartender’s back pocket. Mixing liquids can be messy and of course there are potential spills to consider from your patrons, so having a dedicated towel to clean up and keep things dry is a good idea. The bar cart that I built has a towel ring mounted on one side just for the bar towel.