The Ultimate Bar

No matter how stocked a bar may be, if it doesn't have alcohol it's not really a bar. What's the use of a cocktail shaker, martini glass, and toothpick if there's no vodka? Having one bottle is a must, but if your budget allows for more purchase a variety of types. Select one high-end bottle for sipping on the rocks, one for mixing vodka heavy cocktails like martinis and cosmopolitans, and one lower- end for Bloody Marys and Red Bull Vodkas. Supplement the collection with flavored vodkas — vanilla, citrus, and berry are my faves — that are popular in mixology. Lastly, a nice bottle of organic vodka is a special way to treat eco-conscious guests. Take a look at some of my selections below.

You may think that drink stirrers are totally unnecessary - after all, you could simply use a spoon - but no self respecting mixmaster's bar is without a unique set of drink stirrers that perfectly reflect their personality. Also known as swizzle sticks, these fun little stirrers come in just about every color, shape, and material. Glass, plastic, metal, colorful, eclectic, cute - find one that suits your style as a hostess. I like to have a set for everyday use and then supplement those with stirrers that match the theme of a specific party. Scroll through the ones I've found, or tell us about your favorites in the comments below!

Any knowledgeable bartender knows that the best cocktails are made with real, fresh citrus juice. Countless recipes call for just squeezed lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit juices. I would love to tell you that I have a sleek, efficient, electric juicer, but the truth is I have an old fashioned metal one - like the juicer at right. It's reliable, gets the job done and is only annoying when I want to make lemonade (at which point I enlist elbow grease from the nearest guy). A citrus reamer works well when mixing drinks in a cocktail shaker, but it doesn't protect against seeds falling directly into your drink. If you've got a big bar and do a lot of entertaining, splurge on a chic standing juicer. To check out some different juicers, scroll through below.

This weekend when I made the sangria and clerico for a welcome back party, I realized the importance and the invaluable use of a nice, good sized pitcher. To avoid spending way too much time behind the bar, I prefer to make a few batches of one specialty cocktail in advance. The concoction can sit in the fridge until the guests arrive, when it is then placed on the bar next to the serving glasses. For intimate dinner parties fill the pitcher with cool water and lemon slices or fill with flowers and use as a centerpiece. I've assembled a bunch of my favorite pitchers below, scroll through until you find the one perfect for you.

When I was a camarera (bartender in Spanish) at En Boga (in Cordoba Spain) we had the cutest little cocktail napkins with the En Boga (in vogue) logo. When a new customer approached the bar, a clean napkin had to be placed in front of them before asking, que te pongo (what can I get you)? Often overlooked, the cocktail napkin adds a polished touch to the presentation, especially when handing off your drink to a guest. Oh and did I mention they are 100% practical and actually serve the function of acting as a coaster, a plate, or a finger cleaner? Without cocktail napkins, your bar is incomplete. Cocktail napkins come in almost every color and pattern, so you can find the one that best suits your needs as a hostess. For summer - and margaritas! - I love these brightly striped cocktail napkins. A pack of 20 is the reasonable price of just $4.75, so buy two packs.

For a few more styles read more

To me this one is a no brainer. My favorite cocktail is a vodka martini, so chic little martini glasses are never far from my reach. I like the classic, sleek look of the triangular yet functional glass. A complete bar will have martini glasses because you can serve tons of different drinks in them, not just the gin or vodka martini. They also make great presentation for layered desserts and puddings. I personally prefer the good old fashioned glass like the one from Crate & Barrel ($8.95) pictured at left. However if you are looking for an exotic martini glass, read more

You may be wondering why I'm writing about something so seemingly trivial as toothpicks, but think about it, toothpicks are essential to a bartender. More importantly, toothpicks are a crucial component to my favorite cocktail, the vodka Classic Martini. The olives float chicly on the side of the angular glass. Without toothpicks the martini is incomplete. Vital to creating cool, stylish garnishes, your bar is not complete until you have a small box of toothpicks. Toothpicks come in about a million varieties and it's fun if you are hosting a party to get a set that go along with your theme. However for everyday use, plain old wooden toothpicks work fine as long as you have a sleek little toothpick holder. I love this silver one by Target that runs for the moderate price of $9.80.

For more picks, read more

Sure you can rush to the refrigerator's automatic ice maker or open the freezer and grab a tray of cubes, but come on, aren't ice buckets the height of chic when it comes to cocktailology? The supreme entertainer will have an ice bucket ready and waiting, with tongs nearby whenever guests need a refill. The tongs are as important as the ice bucket, one can not exist without the other. If you think about the way a professional bartender works, the ice is always in a nearby and easily accessible location. Often an overlooked ingredient in a cocktail, ice is essential to chilling drinks and is as necessary as the alcohol itself. While there are many novelty ice buckets out there, I prefer to keep things simple and classic to minimize the clutter on my bar counter space. This clear glass ice bucket comes with a beautiful crystal encrusted set of tongs. When it's not filled with ice fill it with fresh flowers to add elegance to your bar! It's even a steal, on sale for only $9.99.

Two more ice buckets so read more

Like sweet & sour mix, I always have a small bottle of simple syrup in my refrigerator because it is essential to making creative cocktails at home. As crucial as the cocktail shaker, simple syrup is merely a mixture of sugar that has been dissolved into water. The solution is cooked over low heat until clear and then boiled for a minute or so. It's an important ingredient in many drinks (like Hurricanes) because it is used to sweeten the mixture. Plain sugar, when added to an icy cocktail shaker with hard liquor, does not dissolve well into the liquids. However if the sugar is in liquid form, as it is in a simple syrup (sometimes called a sugar syrup), the drink will be smoothly and lightly sweetened. To make a simple syrup takes no time at all and you can easily infuse it with fresh herbs or fruits. For the recipe that will last for up to a month in the fridge, read more

The most important tool for the home mixologist is the cocktail shaker. If you buy only one accessory for your bar, buy this essential utensil. Cocktail shakers serve to effectively combine the elements of a drink and quickly chill the mixture before it is poured into a glass. There are two types of cocktail shakers the cobbler and the Boston. The cobbler, like the sleek shaker at left ($10.00), is the classic 3 part shaker that consists of a metal tumbler, a snug fitting lid, and a small cap that fits over the lid and covers the strainer that is built into the lid. This is most commonly used when entertaining at home. The Boston shaker, commonly found behind professional bars, has two parts: a larger metal mixing tumbler and a smaller glass tumbler that fits together to form a sealed container. A few more shakers so read more