How to Set Up a Bar.

Shake, stir, blend and mix… bar tending is more than just throwing together a few different ingredients and then hoping for the best.

You need to be prepared, have a basic knowledge of the ingredients that you are using and have your bar well stocked and organized.  On board a super yacht you will be limited by the space you have, however  I have put together a list of the bare essentials which you will need to be successful in cocktail making:

The details below are essential to setting up any bar:

A cocktail shaker	Knives	Jiggers
Plates	Citrus juice squeezer	Straws
Ice cream scoop	Mixing Glasses	Cocktail pricks
Can opener/s	Zester	Corkscrew/s
A Bar Spoon/s	Mellon Baller	Bar Strainer
Ice tongs	Containers for sliced fruit garnishes	Garnishes
Umbrellas	Swizzle sticks	Cherries
fresh fruit	Pepper	Sea salt
Ice bucket/s	Blender machine	Ice maker
Nut Meg	Bottle opener/s	Ice crusher/ wooden hammer

Another helpful tip is to plan ahead a little with your ice. Unless your ice machines can cope with the workload required to produce enough ice for ice for your:

• Ice buckets
• Smoothies
• Chefs’ requirements
• Soft drink demands,

Then I would make sure you have some bagged ice in the freezer.Especially in Greece and more remote places where you just can’t nip ashore and buy some. There really is nothing worse to find that you have run out of ice half way through the service.

I would recommend two x  750 ml bottles of the standard list below. Obviously this will vary depending on your budget, and storage limitations, however with these minimum drinks on board you will generally have every situation covered until you have an opportunity to re-provision.

Red Wine: Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon	White Wine: Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnayay Chablis	Champagne: Rose Brut
Port: Taylor’s Dow’s 2007 Vintage	Rose: Les domaines OTT Sancerre Rosé Le Mont, Loire	Desert wine: Château Haut Bernasse Le Clos Monbazillac NV Yalumba Museum Muscat Barossa (half bottle)
Garnishes: Lemon twists Angostura bitters Lime and lemon wedges Salt and pepper Maraschino cherries Superfine sugar Olives Tabasco sauce Orange slices Worcestershire sauce	Soft drink and juice: Orange Juice. Cranberry Juice Pineapple juice. Apple Juice Tomato Juice Coca-Cola – diet and regular Lemonade or seven up Mineral water Club soda Ginger ale Tonic Water	Various Liqueurs: Irish cream Coffee liqueurs Grand Marnier Triple sec Sambuca Cointreau White crème de menthe Galliano
Vodka: Beluga Gold Line Absolut vodka Grey Goose	Whiskey and Bourbon: Highland Park Jefferson’s Macallan	Tequila: Gran Patron Burdeos Anejo Tequila Jose Cuervo
Gin: Bombay Sapphire Hendricks Gin	Cognac and Brandy: Hennessy XO Cognac Martell Cognac	Beer: Lager Ale