Having a well-equipped and well-stocked bar in your house means you can entertain friends, celebrate milestones, and serve up delicious cocktails – all without leaving home. But if you want to level up your libations from basic beer and wine to more sophisticated cocktails, you'll need a few pieces of key barware and home bar accessories.

From drink preparation tools to shakers to proper glassware, here are our picks for the best home bar essentials that'll turn you into a top-notch mixologist.

1. Prep Your Ingredients: Aura Hammered Copper Bar Tools Set

Strainers, and jiggers, and openers, oh my! You'll need some of the key tools (and more) featured in this bat tool set to mix up everything from mojitos to Manhattans. Not only is it functional, but the copper and silver set is elegant and will look marvelous atop your bar. Contents include must-haves for a home bar like an ice bucket with stand and tongs, bottle opener, cocktail strainer, jigger and bar knife.

2. Mix it Up: Prep & Savour Cocktail Shaker

The best cocktail shakers house icy drinks well, make it easy to measure, and have ample room to mix up a couple of servings at once. This classic, simple heavy-duty stainless steel pick with strainer top will serve your home bar well for years to come. Even better? It costs less than a cocktail you'd order at most bars.

3. Uncork the Fun: Kalorik 2-in-1 Stainless Steel Wine Opener & Preserver

If yours is a wine-guzzling crowd, you'll want to invest in a good quality wine opener. What makes the Kalorik 2-in-1 wine opener and preserver such a smart buy is that it's rechargeable, cordless, and opens up to 30 bottles in seconds on a single charge. Plus, on the rare occasion that you don't finish the bottle (hey, it happens), you can vacuum seal it so it's just as fresh the next time.

4. Pour On the Swank: Draper Personalized 24 oz. Whiskey Decanter

The quickest way to class up your home bar is by displaying your favorite whiskey or brandy in an elegant decanter, like this personalized whiskey decanter. The refined, curved crystal detail and glass stopper, along with etched monogram, makes for a great gift for your favorite at-home bartender – even if it's yourself.

5. Raise a Glass (or Two!): Wayfair Basics® 36-Piece Assorted Glassware Set

While there is a time and place for the infamous red Solo cup, drinks always taste (and look) better when they're served in the right glasses. Champagne should be in a flute, for example, and red and white wine should have their own vessels. This 36-piece assorted glassware set (12 each of champagne flutes, red wine glasses and white wine glasses) can start off your collection at a very reasonable price point. They're even dishwasher-safe!

6. Create the Perfect Blend: Taco Tuesday 64 oz. Margarita & Slush Maker With Easy-Flow Spout

Some occasions (like every Taco Tuesday) call for frozen blended drinks, so having a good quality, ice-crushing blender handy for your home bar puts you one step closer to “Margaritaville." This powerful, ice-crushing appliance lets you blend up enough daiquiris for a small group, and features blending options to control how smooth or slushy your drinks will be. Also a plus: the spout and drip tray allows for mess-free serving.

7. Fun on the Rocks: Newair Countertop Ice Maker

If you don't have the space for a freezer near your home bar, a countertop ice maker is the next best thing to make sure “on the rocks" orders can be easily fulfilled. This one from Newair makes up to 50 pounds of ice in a day, and allows you to choose from three different bullet-shaped ice sizes.

8. Keep It Cool: Newair 126-Can Freestanding Beverage Fridge

If space allows, having a small freestanding refrigerator alongside your bar is a godsend. You can keep bottled and canned beverages frosty and even stash your fresh fruits and veggies for mixed drinks. They come in a variety of sizes, capacities, and price points, but check out this 126-can capacity model from Newair. It has seven thermostat settings, adjustable shelving and interior lighting.

9. Extras

No room for a full bar? Even if you don't have a full bar set up in your house, you can still create a zone in your kitchen, den, basement or even garage for mixing up some cocktails like a pro. Try these smaller space-friendly home bar essentials.

Want to keep adding on even more home bar essentials?

Written by Dawn Papandrea

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