Few things have the capacity to create more excitement, yet also more potential stress, than a party based in your own home. There are many ways in which you can help to ensure that a party runs smoothly (like choosing the right drinks, food and music for starters) but you should also keep in mind one of the most overlooked necessities for entertaining guests: having the right bar supplies in your home.

Barware comes in a variety of different types and is available to suit all budgets. Because of this, there are a range of useful home bar accessories available to the enthusiastic party host. These can be simple or elaborate depending on the budget or inclination of the host or hostess. There is no need of course, for a house to be decked out like a wine bar in order to give the required ambiance to a party – not that that wouldn’t be awesome – but you still need to make a point of having some basic tools of the trade.

Bottle Openers
The first item you should consider is a bottle opener. Even though there are many styles of bottle openers, a simple 3 in 1 corkscrew and bottle opener should suit you just fine. These all purpose openers are equipped with a corkscrew as well as a short lever to quickly pry the cap off a beer bottle and you can pick them up on the cheap. If you want to add a more permanent fixture to your house, you install a wall mounted wine bottle opener (in a handy place close to the bar of course). Not only will a wall mount opener give your guests a show when you open a bottle of wine, it can also be a great conversation starter. If you know you’re primarily going to be serving beer for your friends (and thusly opening a lot of beer bottles), you might want to pick up a speed opener in stead. Speed openers are built for one thing and one thing only: quickly opening beer bottles with the greatest of ease. Another great feature of these specialized openers is that they are particularly easy on the hands. Bottle openers can be as simple or as complex as you want depending on your taste, but as long as they get the job done it doesn’t really matter what they look like.

Cocktail Shakers
Another basic piece of barware that is considered a must have is a cocktail shaker. Whether or not you enjoy mixed drinks yourself, you should have at least a simple 30 ounce shaker and a pint glass on hand so you can mix drinks for your guests. It might not seem like much, but your guests will enjoy the extra care and attention given to them and will certainly think better of you for it. Cocktail shakers come in a variety of sizes and configurations. The most common is a simple shaker tin (basically a large metal cup). You use the shaker tin by pouring in the ingredients for your drink recipe (ice, alcohol, mixers, etc), covering it with a standard pint glass and shaking your drink. Then, depending on the recipe, you might have to strain the drink into your serving glass using a wire cocktail strainer. Some cocktail shakers have a built in cap and strainer which saves you the trouble of having to purchase a separate strainer. These 3 piece cocktail shakers are extremely handy and come in various sizes to save you some effort when mixing large amounts of the same drink. The largest three piece cocktail shaker on the market right now is the Jumbo 48 oz cocktail shaker. Not only can you use it to mix about 4 drinks at once, but it is sure to get more than a few comments from your guests.

Pour Spouts
If you regularly throw big parties where many different kinds of liquor drinks will be served, you might want to invest in a set of Spill Stop metal pour spouts. These spouts are the same kind you’ve seen professional bartenders use every time you’ve gone to a bar. Pour spouts make it easy to achieve a smooth, spill free pour from the bottle into the glass or shaker. Usually, you would pour your liquor into a shot glass to measure out what you need according to the drink recipe you’re making. Seasoned professionals learn over time how to pour out the quantities they need by counting as they pour. However, if you’d like to make pouring even easier, you can pick up a set of measured pour spouts. These spouts have a tiny ball bearing inside the spout which precisely measure how much alcohol flows out of the bottle. They come in different sizes ranging from 1/2 ounce measured pours to 1 1/2 ounce measured pours and are available in a variety of different colors, ensuring that you can find a size and color combination that matches your taste and decor. If you’re concerned about dust settling into your open pour spout tops over time, you can always pick up a set of detachable dust caps for your measured pour spouts. As you can imagine, they easily clip onto the end of a measured pour spout and seal the opening, preventing dust or insects from entering the bottle.

Other Helpful Bar Accessories
Hard to categorize, but just as important for a successful party, are the multitude of other helpful accessories you can find for your home bar. One such item that is always a hit at gatherings is a margarita salt rimmer. This is the device you commonly see at the bar that is typically used to apply salt to margarita glasses, and for applying sugar to mojito and appletini glasses. This accessory makes it easy to prepare your guest’s glasses, allowing you to wet the rim on a sponge (typically soaked in lime juice) and dip the glass into a tray of salt or sugar. Chances are you will have a guest who enjoys this style of drink and being able to offer them a professionally salt or sugar rimmed glass will make their day. Nobody expects to get that kind of service when they’re not at a bar, so being able to offer it to a guest will set your hosting skills apart from the pack. While on the topic of rimming glasses with sugar and salt, it should be noted that there are different kinds of sugars and salts with which to rim your glasses, depending on what kind of drink your guest is having.

The most common kind of rimming salt out there is lime flavored blue margarita salt. The lime flavoring complements the drink’s sweetness and the blue color adds a nice contrast to the yellow-orange of the margarita. Most of all though, it will delight your guests. It’s also absolutely fine to offer plain salt. It is recommended, however not to use fine grain table salt as it lacks character. It’s better to opt for using coarse sea salt in stead for its superior presentation and extra mineral content. If you will be serving mojitos (white rum, muddled mint leaves, lime juice and soda water), then you might consider serving them with some Lime flavored mojito rimming sugar. This rimming sugar has been specially formulated to enhance the appearance and flavor of your mojito, balancing tart with sweet. Lastly, and especially for those who enjoy apple martinis (vodka, apple schnapps and apple juice) is a Lime flavored apple martini rimming sugar. Like the mojito sugar, this sugar has also been specially developed to enhance the look and flavor of the appletini and makes a great impression on fans of the drink. Of course, you can use regular sugar to rim your mojito or appletini glasses, but it’s better to try to find a coarse sugar that will offer a different texture than refined table sugar. Raw sugar (or Turbinado) has larger crystals that make it more unusual and alluring to the imbiber, and it’s easy to find in stores.

Bar Supply Kits
Now that you have a good understanding of the basic bar supplies that every home entertainer should have on hand, you’re probably wondering how much of a hassle it will be to find them all for a decent price. You can find specially made kits that have several different kinds of bar supplies all in one convenient package right here at SuperiorSportsBar.com. We offer seven different bar kits that have the most commonly requested accessories all put together and discounted in order to help those who are just starting to get their barware collection established. Our most comprehensive barware set is our 15 Piece Bartender Tote Set (pictured) which has everything from pour spouts, shaker tins, and a 3 in 1 bottle opener to a stirring spoon, wire strainer, measuring jigger and a carrying case. If you are just starting your barware collection, the bartender’s set will get you up and running in great style. If you’re only looking for a few items here and there, you might like to look into our other kits. We have a particularly helpful 3 piece cocktail shaker bar set that comes with a 30 oz shaker tin, a wire cocktail strainer and a silk screened pint glass that has several common drink recipes printed on it for quick reference.

Barware is, of course, only the basis of a successful party but it is a sound foundation on which to build. And, once you have the basics down, you’ll be able to relax and let your party unfold naturally at its own pace.