Barina Craft | Bars Inn Your Home

When Its Time To Relax Nothing Says Fun Quite Like This Home Bar

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:38:53 -0400

Don’t worry… You haven’t just entered the home of the Defective Detective Adrian Monk. Although this bar and its collection of scotch whisky has that feel with its sorted and sanitized bottle arrangement.

Not even room for a splash of color to distract from the serious business of orderly perfection in this home bar. An all ivory-white and caramel-brown interior design scheme ties absolutely everything together from the bar stools and the book covers to the whisky bottles and their packaging containers.

However, the bar itself, which is actually more of a portable counter-height furniture stand, brings silver legs into the mix to highlight the chandelier, lamp bases and handle pull accents. A nice sterile looking touch to the plain decor.

So when it’s time to relax, nothing says fun quite like a fancy folding table and a back bar symmetrically stocked with scotch that’s just for show.

(Photo: the aestate via shelterness)

Horse's Neck Cocktail Celebrates Cinco de Mayo Kentucky Derby

Tue, 01 May 2012 16:00:49 -0400

Since the Kentucky Derby is always the first Saturday in May and Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for the “fifth of May” it stands to reason these two events would fall on the same day every seven years. How are you going celebrate them both?

If your home is host to a Kentucky Derby party you can’t go wrong mixing up some Mint Juleps to drink along with the chocolate bourbon balls a.k.a. southern truffles you set on the bar top for snacks. Paying homage to Cinco de Mayo with a themed combination might include a spicy margarita paired with some roasted pumpkin seeds a.k.a. pepitas.

But, is there a common bond between the social soiree and the folk festival that could be used to tie everything together? What kind of party animal would enjoy both occasions?

With the Run for the Roses a race for three year old thoroughbreds, the Kentucky Derby animal is obviously a horse of course. What is less apparent is how this relates to Cinco de Mayo.

This holiday is not Mexican Independence Day ( which is actually September 16th ), Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexico’s victory over France in the battle of Puebla in 1862. The tie in hinges around the important role of the Mexican cavalry who decimated the French horsemen which helped the army to achieve a nearly impossible triumph overall while being outnumbered over 3 to 2.

If that seems like a stretch, don’t worry about it. The horse’s neck cocktail certainly honors the spirit of Derby Day and since Cinco de Mayo has evolved into just an excuse to drink, cheers to the thoroughbred tipple.

This libation has the bartender take artistic liberty with the lemon peel garnish and gives the drink its name. Done correctly, a long twist of the yellow citrus is shaped to resemble a horse head & neck looking over the rim into the glass.

Horse’s Neck Cocktail Recipe & Shaping Instructions:

1 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey
5 oz ginger ale
1 lemon peel spiral garnish

Start preparing this drink with an extra long spiral of lemon peel and an empty highball or collins glass. Place the garnish in the bottom curling up and around the sides of the glass while leaving enough to hang over the rim. Shape into a horse’s neck and head and fill with ice down the middle of the spiral citrus twist. Add the bourbon and top with ginger ale to complete the cocktail.

So, let your home bar set the stage for a combination celebration by serving up Horse’s Neck cocktails when the Kentucky Derby runs on Cinco de Mayo along with some southern food with roots even farther south.

Reclaimed Wine Barrels Help "Stave The Planet" As Oak Flooring

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 19:03:00 -0400

Environmentally friendly products and the reuse of materials is a great way to help save the planet and celebrate Earth Day. As it relates to home bars, bourbon barrels are reused many times as illustrated by this chart for example.

In the spirit of Earth Day, a different drink container is highlighted as the focus. Also a barrel, the reclaimed wood in the form of oak wine barrel staves and heads is a perfect complement to your home’s wine cellar or bar as hardwood flooring.

“Fontenay offers three different styles of wood for its range of products. The Cooperage collection is made using barrel ends and features printed numerals and other coopers marks, which add character to the wood. The Wine Infusion line is made from the interior of the barrels, with staining from the wine altering the coloration. The Stave line has marks from the metal banding which wrapped the barrels, giving the wood a distinctive patterning.” ~ inhabitat

The circular wine cellar above shows how the recycled barrel wood is an elegant solution and ideal match to applications for your home bar and cellar designs. Accented with brick and other hardwoods, as well as surrounded by your collection of fine wines, the floor really makes a bold statement.

Classic Wooden Boats | Nautical Inspiration To Home Bars & Yachts

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 22:37:00 -0400

Barina Craft’s home bar furniture is nautically inspired by the grace and elegance of classic wooden boats and so is this new age yacht.

Dark walnut stained covering boards accent the mahogany striped deck on this modern speed boat which pays homage to classic wooden runabouts from the top down. To the waterline that is.

Below is a technologically advanced fiberglass hull that rides smooth and stays dry without the time consuming and costly maintenance. Now that is cool.

(Photo via Where Is The Cool?)

Black Velvet Champagne Cocktail Tops Off Saint Patrick's Day Beer

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:28:00 -0400

The combination of an Irish stout and a Brut champagne make the Black Velvet beer cocktail sound like a pairing of heavyweight prize fighters ready for a Saint Patrick’s Day brawl. Unlike oil and water however, its a match made in heaven not in the ring.

Brewing over with sparkling wine could make some consider the Black Velvet to actually be a champagne cocktail in disguise, while others argue that without any liquor the Black Velvet is a mixed up drink undeserving of either classification.

Regardless, this opulent drink adds a rich layer of luxury to the legendary Irish beer by topping it off with champagne or sparkling wine. A great way to mix it up behind your home’s bar when hosting your St. Patrick’s Day party.

Black Velvet Cocktail Recipe:

5 oz dark stout beer
1 1/2 oz Brut champagne

Start by chilling all the ingredients and the barware. Slowly pour beer into a tall glass or champagne flute. Add sparkling wine carefully over the back of a spoon so it does not mix with the beer. This will form separate layers due to the density differences much like the Red, White & Blue Pousse-cafe drinks listed for another holiday with some of the same celebration type atmosphere as Saint Patrick’s Day does.

Hip Hip Hooray! Good Cheer & Gangway For The Dr. Seuss Beer Tray

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 01:07:26 -0500

What better way to serve up a shot of humor at your home bar than with this Dr. Seuss beer tray. Born March 2, 1904 into a family of brewers, it seems appropriate Theodor Seuss Geisel would design the artwork for this bartender’s serving platter and other classic pub items for Narragansett Brewing in the 1940s to continue the tradition in his own unique way.

Best known for the collection of children’s books he authored, several of which were also made into animated movies. The most famous may have been The Grinch Who Stole Christmas from his mountain top man cave by capturing and then returning the holiday spirits of Whoville.

Although these bar gear designs were done long before he became a household fixture, his signature style is clearly there. This “Gangway For Gansett!” beer serving tray was one of many cartoon illustrations used on items for Rhode Island’s Narragansett Brewing Company’s marketing and advertising campaigns.

While this Dr. Seuss drinks tray along with a Chief Gansett beer coaster and other bar related items may not command as high a price as vintage barware like the manhattan cocktail set, they are highly collectible and a lot of fun. Keep your eye out at auctions and online so you can serve up some laughs at home with your own memorable bar ware collection.

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” ~ Dr. Seuss

Saddle Up Your Bar Stools For A Home On The Range

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:46:00 -0500

Authentic leather saddle seating takes this design well beyond the western saloon style home bar with stand up service only. Surrounded by rustic elements including exposed timber frame construction, you don’t just belly up to the bar in this home.

Its one foot in the stirrup, up and over with your leg and onto the stool horse. Of course the ranch hands won’t be tending cattle on this range. They’ll be eating cookie’s chow at the breakfast bar more than likely.

While the peninsula layout tipped with a wine rack shelving and overhead cabinets for glasses and barware would make for a nice setup, its hard to believe wetting your whistle with an ice cold beer would be worth the saddle sores. The nostalgic look of these bar stools definitely adds a wow factor though.

If you do decide to showcase saddles in your home so guests know that this isn’t your first rodeo, tell the barkeep at this saloon to mix up a Cowboy Cocktail ( 1.5 oz. bourbon whiskey with 1 tbsp. light cream. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. ) and have a belly laugh while listening to your “Are you a real cowboy?” joke from Plato & a Platypus walk into a bar.

(Photo: nashville state of mind - saddle bar stools)

Home Bar Cart Sports Dashing Design | Brass Accents Smoky Walnut

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:51:56 -0500

“Anthropologie has just released my pride and joy. Two months of development produced the Beresford Bar Cart which was inspired from the “Mad Men” era. Made from american black walnut, solid brass fittings and smoked glass, this unit ships flat pack. Conceived through sketches, foamcore full scale mockups and roughly modeled prototypes into production specifications and wallah!” ~ off the grid studios

Sight unseen, describing the combination of a clean modern design featuring walnut and smoke colored glass tied together with curved corners and brass handles makes this rolling bar cart sound like an aerodynamic sports car with tinted windows, hardwood accented dashboard and brass gauges. Not meant to be parked outside though, this traveling trolley is right at home being wheeled from room to room entertaining guests as a mini bar.

Swedish Chef At Home In Kitchen Not Behind A Bar With Champagne

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:40:22 -0500

Maybe the Swedish Chef should leave popping the corks on the “bubbly, bubbly” Champagne bottles and tending bar this New Year’s Eve to one of the French muppets in Le Muppet Show. Safer to stay home in the kitchen and mix up a classic Scandinavian mulled wine recipe like this one for Norwegian Gløgg. “Börk, börk, börk!”

(Source: The Muppet Show. Swedish Chef - Champagne [episode 523] via SwedishChefVideos)

Burlesque Feathers Wrap Champagne Flutes Revealing Hint Of Glass

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:40:00 -0500

Your home’s New Year’s Eve party may not be risque enough to make the bartender blush, but then again who knows? However, a burlesque theme is another matter.

The show is all about the illusion and tease, these feathered champagne flutes look like they came packaged inside burlesque queen Dita Von Teese’s hidden boudoir bar to secretly reveal very little. Perfect glassware to disquise a champagne cocktail surprise and hint at what might be in store.

Will have to wait to bring these bar ware boas home next year though as information is still unknown. Contact Barina Craft to stem the mystery of these glasses design source to be revealed for all to see.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(Photo: wander lust)

Grinch Makes Home In Man Cave .. Tries To Bar Whoville Christmas

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:07:05 -0500

You might need a home bar makeover ( and an attitude adjustment ) if you’ve become the grinch who stole Christmas by hanging out by yourself in the man cave.

(1966 retro photo via: Grinch Who Actually Likes Christmas)

Creme Brulee | Six Geese A Laying Egg White Christmas Cocktails

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:29:28 -0500

Half of the 12 Days of Christmas song symbolically references birds of a feather in the lyrics: (7) swans a swimming, (6) geese a laying, (4) calling birds, (3) French hens, (2) turtle doves and (1) partridge in a pear tree. Pictured above is a photo of a creme brulee cocktail featuring eggs in the drink ingredients as part of a clever interpretation on the creations those six geese are supposedly laying via the cocktails examiner.

Traditionally Crème Brûlée a.k.a burnt cream is a rich dessert composed of a vanilla flavored custard base layered with brown carmelized sugar on top. Duplicating those flavors in a cocktail makes for a tasty Christmas holiday drink using frothy egg whites and matches the word play theme. Here’s the basic recipe ..

Creme Brulee Cocktail Ingredients:

1 oz vanilla infused vodka
1 oz hazelnut liqueur
1 oz egg white, heavy cream or half & half

Pour all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake thoroughly and strain into a brown sugar rimmed martini glass. Many recipes also call for one part of butterscotch schnapps in addition to those shown above.

A variation of this drink which includes orange liqueur is included in the article’s full list of six geese a laying egg cocktails. Of course as a seventh alternative, the always popular eggnog is the classic Christmas cocktail featuring eggs.

Note: this site focuses on home bars. Some procedures should only be performed by professionals in properly equipped bars and restaurants. DO NOT follow creme brulee cocktail instructions which recommend “carefully blasting the sugar on the rim of a heat tolerant glass until brown with a kitchen torch” or other unsafe nonsense inside your home. Safety first when it comes to using your bar. Please remember to designate a driver or call a taxi afterwards for guests who need a ride home as well.

Rustic Bar Resorts To Standing Room Only In Mountain Lodge Home

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:55:05 -0500

The outside of most homes reveals nothing about what you can expect to find inside. Not so with this 10,000 square foot rustic house outside Toronto, Ontario.

This western style Canadian residence features an exterior built from reclaimed wood planks and natural fieldstone. Its eye catching external architecture accurately reflects a large part of the interior which uses timber frame construction showcasing open wooden beams.

The standing room only bar pictured above is right at home in the hunting lodge / mountain ski resort atmosphere of leather furniture seating arranged around the fireplace. The distressed wood and stone accents carry the rustic interior design right on inside from the outdoors.

No bar stools are planned into this entertaining layout. Note how the foot rest railing is mounted to the bar’s front face. Most home bars have regularly spaced cantilever mountings that are usually also supported from the floor when using tubular style rails.

However, the forward barrier on this western saloon incorporates a recessed pocket along most of its length. This allows the brass rail to be fix mounted at both ends without additional exposed hardware and provides an access space for knees and lower legs when resting your feet on the bar railing.

(Source: digs digs via modus operandi)

Klein Bottle Shapes The Glassware On Your Back Bar

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:03:06 -0500

Having the Klein bottle opener on hand looks like your hipster barback stocked up on some cool bartending gadgets. Having a liquor filled glass Klein bottle displayed on your home’s back bar makes it look like you’re a surreal art collector.

At least until you start trying to explain the theory and mathematical principles behind the shape. Don’t try to make sense, just skip straight to the nonsense. That’s what bars are made for.

(Photo: futbolmadechic)

What to Drink & Eat | Pairing Food, Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee ..

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:03:12 -0500

What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea - Even Water - Based on Expert Advice from America’s Best Sommeliers. Whew! Kind of makes you thirsty already.

While this book’s deliciously descriptive title is quite a mouthful in itself, it does seem appropriate for the extensive amount of food and drink pairing information contained within the pages. This encyclopedia of recommendations for matching beverages to cuisine has been best described as:

“A new book that will soon be considered the bible of food and beverage pairing.” ~ Paul Tanguay, sake expert, Sushi Samba
“The most exciting and comprehensive guide to wine pairing that I have ever seen.” ~ Eric Ripert, chef owner, Le Bernardin
“The world’s greatest book on the subject.” ~ Robert Whitley, wine columnist, Copley News Service
“Genius.” ~ Seanan Forbes, Chicago Sun-Times Blog

Numerous awards accompanied the accolades as well. Recognized in 2006 for both the Georges Duboeuf “Wine Book of the Year” and the Gourmand World Cookbook Award and again in 2007 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals who awarded What to Drink with What You Eat with the “Best Book on Wine, Beer or Spirits” and the “Book of the Year” titles.

The addition of “must have” for home bar owners should be included as well. While the attention to adult beverages sometimes overshadows everything else, home bars are an investment in entertaining. Having complementary cuisine alongside is the way to truly enjoy both, rather than treating food and drink as separate items.

What to Drink with What You Eat covers in detail over 1500 pairing categories. Wine, beer, spirits and a wide variety of alcoholic elixirs along with coffee, tea, juice and even water are expertly paired with near every food grouping imaginable.

The gift that keeps on giving for party planning. Your ideas as the host can be started from either direction and paired to match in reverse so to speak. What to Eat with What you Drink is a mirror image section in the guide book which allows matching foods to the beverages you’ve chosen.

Not sure where to start? Sometimes just flipping through the pictures and the pages will spark your creativity. Order here.

Roasted Pumpkin Cocktail Makes The Thanksgiving Turkey Tipsy

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 12:58:00 -0500

Did this cocktail get named the Tipsy Turkey because of the fall flavor of roasted pumpkin common during the Thanksgiving holidays? Was “Wild Turkey” the bourbon of choice when pouring the whiskey in this drink’s recipe? Or, maybe the moniker was inspired by both the harvest and the holiday’s symbolic bird.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving to enjoy this potent pumpkin punch, but you will need to prepare in advance. Allow an hour to roast the pumpkin flesh plus some extra time to cool down depending on how you do it.

Since there is a pretty good chance you’ll be roasting pumpkins from Halloween through Christmas, why not plan to use the “take home” at your bar as ingredients in a seasonal cocktail recipe. A libation of leftovers of sorts.

Tipsy Turkey Pumpkin Roast Recipe:

1 oz vodka
1 oz bourbon whiskey
3/4 oz maple syrup
3/4 oz lemon juice
4 cubes roasted pumpkin

Pumpkin Preparation - if you have leftover squash skip straight to mixing the drink, else: Cut a small pie pumpkin in half. Scoop out all the seeds and set aside. Add a 1/4 inch layer of water to a baking pan. Place the pumpkin halves cut side down into the water and bake at 350 degrees F for 45-60 minutes or until tender. Let cool and cut into cubes.

Creating The Cocktail - muddle the roasted pumpkin cubes along with the maple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Add the vodka, bourbon and lemon juice. Shake thoroughly. Double strain using a fine sieve or cheesecloth as second strainer. Pour over ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with a pinch or stick of cinnamon.

With both vodka and bourbon this is a pretty stiff sip of squash and if you’re starting from scratch, it would be sacrilegious not to make pepitas ( little seeds of squash ). Here’s an easy recipe showing how to make roasted pumpkin seeds which can be baked at the same time and are the perfect pairing as bar snacks.

Happy Holidays At Your Home.

(Source: Demetrios Saites at The Fat Radish via FoodieBytes)

A Cornucopia Of Thanksgiving Turkey Cartoons Cry Fowl

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:23:00 -0500

Sesame street Thanksgiving with Bert, Ernie, the Count, the Grinch, Cookie Monster and Elmo feasting their eyes on Big Bird.

Snoopy and Woodstock dress in pilgrim outfits in preparation for Thanksgiving feast with turkey setting the table at the dog house.

Bugs Bunny, Sylvester, Tweety Bird, Daffy Duck and the Tasmanian Devil are Looney Tunes over the Thanksgiving turkey.

Homer and Marge struggle to bring the turkey to the Simpsons table only to discover a Thanksgiving food fight started by Bart.

“Y’know, even for being covered with dirt and hair, this turkey really isn’t half bad.” ~ Dolly of the Family Circus

If this cornucopia of comic families comes close to home when you’re entertaining, you may be craving a cocktail later. Happy Thanksgiving!

Apple Jack Rose | Gangsters Favorite Thanksgiving Cocktail

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:39:00 -0500

Want a drink with ties to the mob, Thanksgiving and the historical heights of home bars? Then the “Jack Rose” may be the Thanksgiving tipple to tribute the times along with the twist you’re looking for.

Popular during the 1920s and again thru the 1950s, both home bar heydays, the Jack Rose was listed as one of six basic cocktails in David Embury’s 1948 bartending book The Fine Art Of Mixing Drinks. The five other essentials included were the Daiquiri, Manhattan, Martini, Old Fashioned and the Sidecar.

Applejack is what gives this tipple its Thanksgiving theme. Apple brandy a.k.a applejack dates back to colonial times as a very popular drink with the pilgrims and is still produced by Laird’s, the nation’s oldest distillery, who have been making it since the 1600s.

The tie in with criminal gangsters may be questionable at best, but here are some of the arguments. It all has to do with the name of the cocktail itself. As you can imagine, tall tales abound as to the origin which may or may not actually be true.

Perhaps the most popular and definitely the most interesting theory involves a small time New York gangster known as Bald Jack Rose. The hat wearing hit man was accused of shooting Herman Rosenthal in a 1912 murder case which was considered the trial of the century at the time.

He became a stool pigeon as the star witness for the prosecutor exposing the corruption connection between police and organized crime. Famous and freed after his testimony, his favorite drink of applejack, lime juice and grenadine was dubbed the Jack Rose, which some claim he actually named himself to capitalize on his fame while in the catering business afterwards. The end.

Not so fast, here’s a quick rundown on some of the other naming theories:

a) Jack Rose is simply a shortened abbreviation of apple jack and the rose color of the cocktail from the pomegranate juice.

b) “We had always assumed the Jack Rose’s moniker was derived from its color, but some suggest it was named for the French general Jean-François Jacqueminot, for whom the rose is also named.” ~ Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century

c) An ancestor of the Laird family named Jack created it at the Colt’s Neck Inn in New Jersey, which was originally owned by the applejack distillers. This one is absolutely false according to Lisa Laird-Dunn, a nine generation descendent.

There are a couple more stories floating around crediting bartenders in both Jersey City and Newark, New Jersey bars as the drink’s inventors, but with historians seemingly unable to agree, here are the ingredients to this simply delicious cocktail.

Jack Rose Cocktail Recipe:

2 oz Laird’s Applejack ( apple brandy )
1 oz lime juice
1/2 oz grenadine ( pomegranate syrup )

Add ice and all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake thoroughly and strain into a chilled stemmed glass. Garnish with slice of lime.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Want Your Wine Cellar To House Your Home Bar In Woodworking

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:40:00 -0500

When individually separate but complementary home bars and wine cellars aren’t quite enough, there is always the wine cellar big enough that you can house your entire home bar inside. Its standing room only at the island and counter bars scattered throughout as well as seating at a wine tasting table and chairs tucked into the end of one of the nooks.

Except for the huge selection of wines and the hardware, this home’s wine cellar is all wood from floor to ceiling and everything in between. Just an amazing amount of moulding and woodworking detail has been added into just about every feature. The grand scale of this cavernous space is the equivalent of several wine storage rooms combined.

Along with rack storage capacity for what appears to be thousands of wine bottles, there is also a variety of shelving units and display areas to mix things up. One of the larger bar tops holds a complete set of silver bartending tools with a shaker, strainers, muddler, spoons and more on a matching serving tray. Look like a taste test in this cellar involves occasionally sampling more than just the wine.

(Photos via now defunct: furtherstates.tumblr.com/post/12431562798)

Hints For The Home Bar | Fleischmann's Mixer's Manual Then & Now

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:03:33 -0500

“Hints For The Home Bar” is a small section of the Fleischmann’s Mixer’s Manual circa 1939 - 1970. The earliest in this series of bartending pamphlets was actually called “Recipes by Fleischmann’s for Dry and Sloe Gin Cocktails & Mixed Drinks” which appears to have been first printed following the end of prohibition.

Several different cover designs and updated content were included in these home bar manuals over the years. Most notable is the inclusion of expanded drinks sections with cocktail recipes covering whiskey, scotch and vodka along with gin a few canapes as well.

Home bars are enjoying a renaissance as popular entertaining options and the 1950s was the height of one of their numerous heydays. So, has the recommended advice changed through history?

Home Bar Hints .. Then & ( Now ):

Correct Measurement - Have a jigger ( 1 1/2 oz. ) or a measuring glass on hand. A dash is equal to seven or eight drops. The quantities mentioned in the recipes refer to one drink except where otherwise specified. From them you can easily calculate the amounts to use for mixing any number of drinks.
( Historically, a dash still does not appear to be defined anywhere with an official standard unit of measurement. Seven or eight drops may be a smidgeon too much but its close enough in a pinch. )
Type Of Sugar - Always use fine granulated sugar to avoid caking and to assure thorough dilution. Do not use confectioners’ sugar.
Ice In Cocktails - Do not allow a shakerful to stand too long with ice — for drinks go flat from excessive dilution.
When To Shake - Shake all cocktails that contain fruit juices. Others should be stirred. ( Remains a widely adhered to rule of thumb. However, Agent 007 a.k.a James Bond liked his martinis “shaken, not stirred”. Shaking makes a cocktail frothy by adding tons of bubbles and may mix the liquids more thoroughly depending on the stir. This change to the drink’s texture is purely a matter of personal taste, not a requirement. Have it your way! )
Preparing Fruits - Be sure to slice or squeeze fruit just prior to use. If left to stand, fruit and fruit juices go stale, even under refrigeration.
Keep Glassware Right Side Up - Otherwise soap fumes, which are liable to be retained after washing may easily ruin a drink’s flavor. ( Soap made from fat has been largely replaced by synthetic detergents and cleaning agents. While a thorough rinse is still necessary, this is less of a problem than it once was. )
Mixing Ingredients - To insure satisfaction, follow recipes exactly. ( Good advice for a party to avoid surprises. Somebody has to do the elixir experimentation though. )

While the home bar itself will probably continue to experience an ebb and flow of popularity, along with specific interior design styles and cocktail trends, the bartending tips seem to remain timeless ( mostly ).