the essential bar cart

About 3 years ago my mother brought me this adorable little yellow cart she had found at a school estate sale - she is a thrift hound.

For a long time, ever since we got it actually, our teeny-tiny dish washer has been sitting on top of it with various storage baskets on the other 2 shelves.

I have always wanted to create a bar cart out of it but up until now I didn't have anything else so oddly shaped to fit the dishwasher!! So this weekend I moved the coffee bar to the laundry nook,  the cart to the dinning room, and a rolling cart from outside to the coffee nook. Haha. There was a lot of mess + chaos+ frustrated husband comments this weekend. Yay! But now we have a cute bar cart...and guess what? The hubby loves it!

So here is what I believe you need for the perfect bar cart!

{Alcohol, mixers, & bar tools on top}
{Glassware in the middle}
{Cocktail party supplies on bottom}

There are some 2 shelved carts out there but I really like having that nice middle shelf as well for glassware so I don't have to hop into the kitchen to find cups when mixing drinks!

 Here she is loaded up and ready for after dinner drinks!!
I have been collecting decanters to put the booze into so it looks more MadMen esque but so far I have only found two that I fell in love with that weren't moldy on the inside. : (

The book we get most of our recipes from called The Ultimate Bar Book which you can purchase on Amazon HERE

We were gifted the 5 piece Twig bar tool for our wedding or Christmas? from World Market and we love it! It is so classy lookin' and has all the little tools we need from a jigger, to a bottle opener and a small knife for citrus and garnishes. To make it more visually appealing I added a small metal basket for the mixed drink add-ins. I don't keep them on the bar at all times, but at a cocktail party or if friends are over for drinks I also have a small bowl for lemons and limes.

The middle section is for glassware. We were also gifted these neat old school "dewey decimal system" drawers from a friend for one of my bridal showers. I love how the classes fit perfectly in them and I can slide out the drawers when I need a cup!

The bottom shelf is basically just cocktail party storage - cocktail napkins, small appetizer plates, etc. The glass jars just, again, give a different visually appealing element.

We love our little bar cart and can't wait to have friends over this week to try it out!

Here is my {small} list of what you need to stock a bar cart:

Spirits:

1. Bourbon
2. Tequila
3. Rum
4. Gin
5. Vodka
6. Scotch (optional)

Mix-ins:

1. Club Soda & Tonic water
2. Bitters
3. Dry Vermouth
4. Sweet & Sour
5. Simple Syrup
6. Grenadine

Garnishes:

1. Lemons & Limes
2. Maraschino cherries
3. Olives (the spanish green olives for Martinis!) 
4. Mint 

Of course this list is not exhaustive it just covers the drinks we make over here at the Horton household most often! Stay tuned for a retro 50's drink coming up!