Three Current Trends to Consider for Your Home Bar
How to Keep Your Home Bar Current with what’s Happening in the Spirits Industry
One of the best things about having a home bar is that it can be a great place not only for you to practice your bar craft, but also to enjoy when entertaining guests. I believe that part of the fun of having a thoughtful and well appointed home bar is to treat it as if it were a retail bar destination when serving friends, family and other guests. That's exactly what I do at the Grand One Lounge.
You don’t have to play into every trend that hits the alcohol and spirits industry; however, keeping on top of the latest bar trends can help you consider if and how you want to incorporate these into your own home bar. This is what can help to elevate your bar experience for everyone you serve and for you as host and barkeep.
The Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. tracks market trends in the spirits industry and several of the current trends can be applied to the home bar. Not only will this add an extra element of presence for your guests, it will elevate the overall impression and ambiance of your home bar in ways that many home bartenders might not consider.
Three Trends to Consider for Your Home Bar
Here are three current trends that you can consider for your home bar to ensure you're on the leading edge of both guest experience and trends in the spirits industry.
Trend: Classic Cocktails are Making a Comeback
The trend towards simple classic cocktails is continuing. This means drinks with only a few ingredients, but that are prepared with fresh and premium ingredients (including the spirits, mixers and garnishes). You can make your cocktails your own by adding your own unique twist or spin on the final product.
You don't need to master the entire world of classic cocktails. Instead, select two or three that you like personally or that you think your guests may like and practice preparing those until you can masterfully create them on demand. This will also mean you only need to keep on hand the fresh ingredients for those few classics. Since the home bar is not a retail establishment serving hundreds daily, you won't have every conceivable fresh ingredient always on hand. This approach allows you to do that for your specialty cocktails (which you can change seasonally or occasionally).
Trend: Spirit-Free Non-Alcoholic Craft Cocktails
One of the biggest industry trends that is only just getting started is serving refined non-alcoholic drinks and complex cocktails. Gone are the days of only offering water, sparkling water, juice or pop/soda to your guests who want a non-alcoholic option.
Instead, consider adding one or two unique non-alcoholic cocktail offerings as part of what you have on-hand at your home bar. There is a growing number of spiritless products available and the quality is getting better and better.
For the classic cocktails approach I noted above, you can follow the same approach here. Test out a few non-alcoholic cocktails and settle on one or two options that you can serve with confidence. This way you can keep those ingredients on hand so you’re always ready to go. This will impress your guests who prefer a alcohol-free option and ensure that your home bar is fully on trend with what is happening in the industry — and to be inclusive to all who will enjoy your home bar.
Remember: Non-alcoholic drinks aren’t only for non-drinkers. They can also be a great option for those who want to slow down the pace of their cocktail consumption, but who still want to have and enjoy a nice drink instead of a water bottle.
Wild Agave Nectar.
Trend: Reducing the Sugar
Another big trend (that goes far beyond the world of cocktails) is finding ways to reduce sugar in just about everything you serve.
To that end, there is a big trend towards finding ways to reduce sugar (or to incorporate alternate sweeteners — presumably healthier options — such as agave syrup) in your drinks and cocktails. This has inspired bartenders to expand the taste profile of cocktail offerings with a focus on drinks that are sour, savory or umami based, instead of always having a sweet profile or including simple syrup. Considering how this may work for you and your home bar is another way to be on-trend for your guests.
Keeping Your Skills Sharp
Incorporating some or all of these bar trends into your home bar will make for both a memorable guest experience and help to elevate your bar skills and cocktail awareness as well. It’s a great way to continue to challenge yourself while adding an extra element of service for your home bar guests.
By Mike Belobradic
Wine, Spirits and Beer Virtuoso
Grand One Lounge