shop your bar essentials
You’ll Need a Glass for That
Look at your drink list for the party and decide which glassware styles you will need.
9 Oz. Stemless Champagne Flute
If you're serving Champagne or other bubbly, these glasses are great and everyone loves them. They're cute and compact, but still feel worthy of some bubbly.
12 Oz. Stemless Wine
If you're interested in doing a wine specific glass, we love these stemless wine glasses.
Offering these for wine and the 12 Oz rocks glasses together will have you fully covered. In the event you run out of one style or the other, either cup can easily be pivoted to work for both.
9 Oz. Clear with Gold Stripes
This cup is a great size for red, white and rosé wines, especially if you're not wanting to do heavy pours. It allows for a 7 oz. pour. Many people are used to a 7 to 9 oz. pour for wine, even though the textbook standard is a 5 oz. glass.
It can also be used for cocktails served on the rocks, but it can be a tight fit if the cocktail involves a few ingredients. If you're serving basic cocktails like vodka + soda, these will work just fine.
12 Oz. Clear with Gold Rim
This cup is a great size for cocktails served on the rocks, even the more involved cocktail recipes. It even allows room for garnishes, if you're getting creative.
The 12 oz. is also a size that will work for wines, as long as you don't mind having a little bit of room left.
16 Oz. Cocktail
These are a great, generous cup for cocktails on the rocks. They allow room for plenty of ice, ingredients and garnishes with room to slosh around.
These also work very well for beer, but we don’t recommend them for wine. Even with a heavy wine pour at 9 ounces, you would still have 7 ounces left empty.
You Can Call Me Bev Nap
Beverage napkins, aka cocktail napkins, are the tiny, often forgotten essential of the stocked bar.
2 Ply White Cocktail Napkins
These are the one-size-fits-all cocktail napkin. A simple, white 2 ply cocktail napkin will fit any occasion + any design aesthetic, so these are our #1 go-to.
3 Ply White Cocktail Napkins
These 3 Ply cocktail napkins are just as versatile as the 2 Ply White, but the slightly heavier weight makes them feel luxe. They typically cost a bit more but sometimes it’s worth it.
Gold Foil Cocktail Napkins
Cocktail napkins are also a great place to add some color or sparkle to your event for a relatively low cost. These are 3 Ply + have a versatile gold foil dot pattern. There are so many options out there, and it’s fun to look around to find the one that’s right for your look + feel.
Once you have the liquid part of your beverage bar covered, you have a few more essentials to tackle before your bar is fully stocked and ready to go. Regardless of whether your get-together is for breakfast, lunch or dinner, the essential elements remain the same:
Ice for drinks and chilling juice, water and tea
Proper glassware for the drinks you are serving
Cocktail napkins
We’ve rounded up our tried and true go-to’s below.
