What do you really need for your home bar?

Search for “starting a home bar” and you’ll find lists of thirty items. In practice, you’ll use five. Here’s what you actually need — and what you can safely skip.

The tools: five essentials

1. A shaker

The most important piece. Two options: the Boston shaker (two tins that you tap together) and the cobbler (three parts, with a built-in strainer). The Boston is faster, holds more and leaks less; the cobbler is easier for beginners because the strainer is already built in. Both work perfectly well.

2. A jigger

The measuring cup. Cocktails are all about ratios, and free-pouring almost always goes wrong — usually with too much alcohol. A Japanese 25/50 ml jigger with measurement markings on the inside covers pretty much everything.

3. A strainer

The strainer that holds back the ice when pouring. The hawthorn strainer with a spring is the standard. If you use a cobbler shaker, you can skip this at first.

4. A bar spoon

Thirty centimetres long, with a twisted handle. For stirring, layering and reaching deep into a bottle. An ordinary teaspoon is too short and too clumsy.

5. A muddler

For mint, lime and sugar: Mojitos, Caipirinhas and Old Fashioneds. Only necessary if you actually make those drinks — but then it’s essential.

If you want to get it right in one go: our Speakeasy cocktail set contains the first four (Boston shaker, hawthorn strainer, bar spoon and Japanese jigger) and is available in stainless steel, copper, black and gold.

The glasses: three types

You don’t need a cupboard full of different shapes. These three will cover almost every classic:

• A tumbler or rocks glass (25–35 cl) for anything served over ice: Old Fashioneds, Negronis and neat whisky.
• A highball glass or can-shaped glass (40–47 cl) for gin and tonic, Mojitos, Cuba Libres and anything with plenty of ice and bubbles. The 47 cl Arcoroc Plain Can is our best-selling size here.
• A coupe or cocktail glass (15–25 cl) for anything served without ice: Daiquiris, Martinis and Espresso Martinis.

Does a spritz glass add anything? In summer, yes — its spacious bowl lets you fit plenty of ice without diluting the drink.

What you don’t need (yet)

• A fine-mesh strainer — only once mint leaves and ice shards really start to bother you.
• Ice moulds for large cubes — one of the cheapest upgrades you can make, but not a starting requirement.
• A cocktail smoker, soda siphon or bitters bottles — fun stuff, but that’s phase two.
• Twenty types of liqueur — start with gin, white rum, whisky, vodka, a vermouth and a bitter liqueur. A surprisingly large proportion of the classics come from these.

What you should pay attention to

Buy stainless steel, not thin tin. A good shaker feels heavy, seals tightly and lasts for years; cheap ones start leaking or get stuck. And check whether your glasses are dishwasher-safe — hand-washing is romantic until you’ve spent four evenings in a row doing it.

Finished setting up? Continue with shaking or stirring and the right proportions.