6 Things You Need to Recreate the Full Bar Experience at Home

Because we effectively can’t (and shouldn’t!) go to bars for the foreseeable future, we need to equip ourselves with all of the right tools to do it ourselves. To make it easy for you, we recently launched Kitchn Essentials, Bar Edition. We worked with a panel of experts to come up with a list of the best beers, wines, spirits, and more for our home bars. The last category we added? Bar carts and various small appliances. We almost didn’t include it, but then we figured, if there’s ever a year when you need a countertop pebble ice machine, it’s 2020. Let’s take a look.

This elegant cart and its classic mid-century design got some serious love from our experts and it’s easy to see why. It’s so beautiful, “you’ll find yourself wanting to take it door to door for some neighborly martini orders,” Jordan Hughes (aka High-Proof Preacher) says. Umm, roll it on over here, please?

Buy: Mid-Century Bar Cart, $299 at West Elm

We first fell for this cart when we learned that it made the ultimate home for the Instant Pot. Then we started thinking of other uses for it and, clearly, it makes a cute budget-friendly bar cart.

Buy: Made by Design Round Utility Cart, $35 at Target

Look, this isn’t the cheapest blender out there, but our experts agreed that you have to go for the gold if you want the best texture and consistency for any and all blended drinks. They actually begged: Learn from their mistakes and save yourself from buying all the wrong blenders — just get the Vitamix right out of the gate.

Buy: Vitamix E310, $349 at Vitamix

No wine cellar in your basement? No problem! This mini fridge can hold up to 18 bottles and can be tucked into a corner or under a counter. It has a temperature range between 41°F and 64°F, a double-paned glass door that protects bottles from UV light, and comes in under $200.

Buy: Ivation 18-Bottle Wine and Beverage Cooler, $182.99 at The Home Depot

Missing draft beer these days? Get a keg of your favorite beer and set it up in this Kegerator. Other options of this quality will cost you more than $500, but this one leaves around $100 in the budget for more beer.

Buy: Insignia Kegerator, $449.99 at Best Buy

While King Cube Ice Trays get most of the glory, there’s also a time and place for nugget ice. Like, when you’re making mint juleps or rum and Cokes. “This machine makes a pound of crunchy ice an hour!” Kitchn contributor Dana McMahan says. “Yay for no more gas station runs to pick up ice.”

Buy: GE Opal Nugget Countertop Ice Maker, $465.99