Since Anne and I moved into our apartment in Philly two and a half years ago, we’ve made an effort to put together a small bar cart with some essential components for making cocktails. It’s been an ongoing project, and has really evolved over the past few years. We’ve received some bar cart items as gifts and others we’ve purchased together. Today I’d like to take you on a tour of our little bar! Have you ever put together a bar cart? What are some of your go-to items?

The inspiration for this bar came when we first saw the cart in IKEA. (You can find if for sale online here.) I love that it sits on four casters, and can fit just about anywhere. For now, it works perfectly next to our sofa. Below you’ll see how we’ve divided the three levels into loose categories.

Spirits, Liqueurs, & Bitters

Spirits:

• Clyde May’s Alabama-Style Whiskey
• Journeyman Distillery’s Red Arrow Vodka (pure Michigan!)
• Camarena 100% Agave Tequila

Liqueurs:

• Triple Sec
• Peach-Flavored Brandy (delicious in sangria)

Bitters:

• Dram’s Citrus Medica
• Bittermilk No. 4: New Orleans-Style Old Fashioned Rouge

This limited selection allows us to enjoy whiskey sours, Moscow mules, greyhounds, and margaritas, to name a few go-tos.

Tools & Books

Tools:

• Shaker
• Strainer
• Jigger
• Muddler
• Stirrer, fork, garnish knife
• Bottle and wine openers
• Citrus juicer
• Decorative straws

Books:

• Shake, by Eric Prum and Josh Williams
• The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create The World’s Great Drinks, by Amy Stewart
• Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist, by Tim Federle
• The Art of Vintage Cocktails, by Stephanie Rosenbaum

Glassware & Mugs

The bottom shelf holds a few different types of drinking vessels for various drinks. We use stemmed wine glasses, stemless flutes, and rocks glasses for almost all of our drinks — and we recently welcomed two copper Moscow mule mugs into our collection. They’re settling in quite nicely!

In The Kitchen

We keep a lot of bar items in the refrigerator, too!  Citrus, cherries, olives, seltzer, and ginger beer are great ingredients and garnishes for many a cocktail.

We love using this cart for hosting our friends and family. It undergoes changes as we learn more about cocktails and become inspired by drinks we enjoy out. While the supplies for a bar cart are somewhat limitless, we have found that our cart is a perfect mixture of essential and supplementary ingredients.

Next week, I am excited to host another guest blogger on Scissors & Sage. I won’t spoil it, but she is going to be sharing a delicious cocktail recipe with us! Cheers to a happy week!