THE PERFECT HOST
Megan Corrigan , lead bartender at River Bar , shares her ideas for building out the practical elements of your bar cart . Though there are countless possibilities , these items will ensure that you can create the classics on your own .
GLASSWARE
COUPE – can double as a martini glass and is the perfect vessel for Champagne-based cocktails .
COLLINS ( or high ball ) – primarily used for long-drinks and highballs , such as Tom Collins , vodka soda and any cocktail with a nonalcoholic lengthener such as soda or ginger ale .
ROCKS ( or lowball ) – used for spirit-forward cocktails that might be served on the rocks , such as a Manhattan . This glass is also a perfect vessel for drinking spirits either neat ( no ice ) or over a large 2-inch ice cube .
CHAMPAGNE FLUTE – used for cocktails like the French 75 , a cocktail featuring gin , lemon , sugar and sparkling wine . This glass is also the standard for a Champagne cocktail with a Cognac base .
COURTESY OF FOUND BY MAJA , PHOTOGRAPHY : GUILLERMO GUSILS LEON
" Found by Maja " creates an eclectic style that fuses elegance with refined yet exotic details .
T he bar cart is one of the prettiest , and most practical , tools for home entertaining . A stylish piece of home décor or a sentimental nod to the past , a bar cart immediately evokes a celebratory feeling . Of course , it is meant to be used , so adding this piece to your home requires a bit of advance planning and consideration . Gina Ciancio , interior designer , blogger and owner of Style Curator , explains that while a bar cart is a great way to set the scene for entertaining , it can also be a beautiful focal point in a room , styled with other decor , such as a stack of books and candle . She suggests highlighting the cart with a wall light above or a table lamp on the cart itself and positioning the cart under a piece of art to catch a guest ’ s eye and anchor it in the space . The cart can also be used as a side table in a living area , a dessert station in a dining room or an elegant way to display dinnerware in a kitchen .
“ Start by thinking where you ’ ll keep the bar cart , as this will dictate size and whether or not it will be a multifunctional piece that you may use for other things in that zone of your home as well ,” considers Ciancio . “ Also , will it be a bar cart you have out on display all the time or only when the party gets started ? When you understand where and how you ’ ll use the bar cart , you can get a sense of your requirements .”
TOOLS
MUST-HAVE TOOLS – Crafthouse by Fortessa collection , which was designed by a world champion bartender and covers all of your home bar needs in one — from your shaker and mixing glass to bar spoons , knife and peeler . “ Even things like the ice bucket , jigger and ice scoop are beautifully made . The ice scoop is the only one I ' ve ever seen that has slots and holes in the bottom of it to drain the liquid off of the ice as you ' re pouring so you don ' t get watered down cocktails ,” notes Corrigan .
CLASSIC COCKTAIL BOOK – “ I ' ve been doing this for 20 years now , and I don ' t know every cocktail . Nobody does . Having an at-home reference right in front of you on the bar cart is a great way to make sure that you can easily reference recipes when you need to .” A few suggestions include :
• “ The Bar Book : Elements of Cocktail Technique ” by Jeffrey Morgenthaler
• “ Cocktail Codex ” by Alex Day , Nick Fauchald and David Kaplan
• “ Regarding Cocktails ” by Sasha Petraske and Georgette Moger-Petraske
• “ The Craft of the Cocktail ” by Dale DeGroff
SPRING / SUMMER 2023 | SEA ISLAND LIFE 57