Level up Your Dinner Party Shenanigans by Creating the Perfect Bar Cart at Home

Level up Your Dinner Party Shenanigans by Creating the Perfect Bar Cart at Home
Contributor: Alex Kidman
At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

`If you’re a fan of making delicious cocktails at home, you might’ve considered investing in a bar cart. They’re impressive to look at, they’re fun and they probably make your drinks taste better, too (we think). Below, we’re going to show you the best bar cart essentials in Australia to get the party started.

Any decently-stocked home bar will include a variety of liquor that can be used as the base of another drink, whether you prefer a drink based on Vodka, Gin, Scotch, Tequila… or even a cocktail. Mixers to add to those drinks can amplify your drink and taste choices, as well as make it simpler to keep friends and family sufficiently and happily lubricated.

On that note, if you’ve found yourself on this yarn and you don’t actually have a bar cart yet. It might be handy to procure one before reading ahead. Some of our faves are this $169.99 Ihomdec Rolling Serving Buffet Cart that features two tiers for all your liquor needs and this gorgeous (but pricey) $487.32 LVB Cocktail Cart that has a classy little built-in wine rack. If you’re all about simplicity, this $69.98 Four-Tier Rolling Utility Cart will also do the trick as well. 

Now that we’ve sorted that one out, here’s how to deliver your next drink in style with this selection of essential gadgets for your home cocktail cart. Bottoms up!

Getting the drinks right

bar cart australia

If you’re looking to create the best home bar cart in Australia, you don’t want your guests to simply be taking swigs from a bottle like a bunch of pirates. This means getting hold of the essential tools of the trade for mixing and preparing drinks so you can grab them off your cocktail cart as and when you need them.

Your first tool of the trade is a corkscrew because you’re not going to get too far without one. It doesn’t have to cost all that much – this $16.99 Ipow Corkscrew would do the trick for countless bottles.

A cocktail shaker is a must, but you don’t have to spend a fortune on a fancy one if you don’t want to. A simple two-piece Boston style shaker set, like this $35.33 Southern 94 one can do the job nicely.

If your drink includes shaken parts you don’t want to actually imbibe, you’ll need a cocktail strainer, like this $25.02 Fine Mesh Cocktail Strainer.

Part of the fun of creating cocktails is in the names of the tools involved. Got ingredients you need to smash down into place? What you need is a muddler, like this simple $8.95 Avanti Wooden Muddler. There’s just something so darned satisfying about the word Muddler when you’re talking about alcoholic drinks.

Citrus is a key ingredient in oh so many tasty cocktails, and providing freshly squeezed citrus can give your drinks that extra kick of flavour. No, not out of a bottle that has “freshly squeezed” on the side! From using fresh ingredients and a citrus squeezer, like this one for $29.47.

Ice, Ice Baby

cocktails at home

Ice is key to any bar and for more than just one reason. It can be stacked up into an ice bucket to keep your wine cold or shaken or stirred into a drink to subtly change not only the temperature but also the flavour of a drink.

To get that happening, you’ll need ice cube trays. While it’s tempting to go with some kind of novelty tray – I am indeed guilty of owning a Space Invaders Ice Cube tray, for example — what you really should opt for instead is a set that can cover simple square and ball-shaped ice for most cocktail use, like this $16.99 Sunset Whiskey Co 2-piece Ice Cube set.

Pour me another one: Glasses

cocktail cart

Your choice of glass will naturally depend on the drinks you’re preparing. For a fancy cocktail, you want a showier glass, like this $24.95 set of six Symphony Brim Cocktail Glasses.

For shaken bar cart cocktails, get yourself a set of coupe glasses, like this $63.65 four-piece Luigi Bormioli Sublime Coupe Glass Set.

Serving your drinks on the rocks? You’ll need a heavier set of glasses, like this $17.97 Luxu six Pack of Premium Scotch glasses. Your other option there would be a set of highball glasses, such as this $40 Luigi Bormioli Bach Hi Ball six-piece set.

If you’re making drinks for a group, then a serving tray can add that last bit of bar style to your home cocktails. There are plenty of styles to choose from, such as this $89.58 Le’raze Mirrored Tray or this $60.28 Houseables Tray. Once you’ve had a few, it may be tempting to use an old shoe as a drinking vessel, but… yeah… and by yeah, I mean… don’t.

Oh, and finally, we have to put on the dreaded hat of maturity here and point out that while having a cocktail (or five) is all in good fun, you should still drink responsibly. Moderate drinking might be OK for your health – but excessive drinking most definitely isn’t. Once you’ve stocked up on these, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll have the best bar cart in Australia, nay, the world.

Editor’s note: Descriptions and features are as taken from manufacturer/seller claims and user reviews on Amazon.


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At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

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