If you’ve been following me for a while on Instagram or this blog, or just know me in person, then you know I love me some alcohol (responsibly, of course) and that I love a good cocktail. We’re coming up on a year of #ThirstyThursdays at home, and this occasion has gotten me thinking: What are we missing? What cocktails should we try next? And, if you’re thinking of amping up your at-home bar, maybe this will help.

Quick recap: #ThirstyThursday started as a way for me to have a guaranteed adult night of enjoyment because I thought that I would go stir crazy on maternity leave. Before giving birth, I thought it would be something we could easily do at home and give me something to look forward to. Plus, it works as a hashtag! Over the course of the past year, Daniel has generally made us a cocktail, but sometimes we have just had something simple, like a beer or glass of wine, whiskey or rum. To read up on some of our favorites, see here.

A beautiful tray on a credenza or console, a bar cart or trolley, or a cabinet all can make great home bars, depending on how stocked you plan to keep a bar. We had a bar cart for years but recently put it in storage in favor of a cabinet as part of our very minimal child-proofing (see here for more).

Once you have the spot for the bar, then it’s time to stock it up. This story tells you all about the bar tools to set up your bar. For bar cart tools, we have something similar to this one.

In terms of glassware, just to start, according to this article, all you need is a short glass, a tall glass, and a stem. And this article lists out the main alcohols you should consider starting out with, as well as bitters.

We have a set of six glasses (unless we broke one) of vintage martini, cordial and high ball glasses, as well as low ball glasses, red and white wine glasses, champagne flutes and plenty of shot glasses. We also always have stocked bourbon, gin, rum, tequila, sweet and dry vermouth, and vodka (even though we kind of hate vodka), as well as bitters. The fun part of #ThirstyThursdays has been adding to our collection as we decide what cocktails to make each week, so we also have a number of other alcohols and liqueurs.

The one thing that we’ve really wanted and still haven’t gotten are basic coupe glasses. But I think I’m into these from CB2.

So I’m not quite sure yet what we’re making tonight, but I hope it’s celebratory, thanks to this special occasion.

If you have any favorite cocktails or must-haves for your home bar, let me know! I’d love to add to our rotation.

Cheers!