2011 has come to a whimpering end and it is time to look forward to an unpredictable, exciting and hopefully prosperous 2012. The onset of the new year really gets me thinking of cleaning and organizing. One of the biggest areas of my home (and my life) is the home bar and getting that organized is one of my top priorities.

The pictures above are the most visible portion of my home bar. The first picture was taken inside the kitchen looking into the living room. You can see the bottles on the bar top (more on those in a bit), the stemware holders above the counter and various tools strewn about. The second photo is of a bookshelf in my living room.

The first thing I recommend when organizing and cleaning your home bar is to keep a list all your bottles. This could be done on paper, on a computer, or, like I do, in a note-taking/to-do app on my iPhone. However you decide to do it, make sure it is backed up or saved in case something happens. There is nothing worse than typing in 250 bottles only for the computer gods to treat it as a sacrificial lamb for their nourishment and eat the file forcing you to begin all over again. Not that that ever happened to me . . .

As you are writing everything down, look at what categories in which your spirits fall. Put the gins together, the bourbons together, the rums together, etc etc etc. If you have something you absolutely hate, toss it in the bin or give it away to a friend who will enjoy it. If you have a bottle that you love that has a very small amount, make yourself a cocktail to enjoy while organizing. The goal is to streamline as much as possible with minimum waste.

Give some thought on how you want your home bar organized. If you spend any time on a bar stool at a craft cocktail bar, you will notice the bartender’s movements are very precise. They have their mis en place and tools within arms reach. Many base spirits, syrups and bitters are also within arms reach of their station. You can easily do the same thing at home.

Look at the first picture above. When I make drinks for my guests, my station, if you will, is to the right of the sink. This is what is directly in front of me.

From left to right you can see paper towels, cocktail napkins, bar spoons, garnish picks, stirrers, mixing glasses, jiggers and mixing tins. On the wall directly to my left are strainers, bottle opener, conical strainer, muddlers and the wall o’ bitters.

Behind me and to the right is the refrigerator/freezer containing my syrups, vermouths and ice. All the tools I need are within arms reach.

I also suggest giving a thought on how you store your bottles. In my setup, the bar top contains all base spirits. (See, told you I’d come back to it.) Liqueurs and modifying spirits are kept in the cabinets above the stemware holders. The bookcase from the second picture hold less-used spirits and extra bottles of base spirits.

My bitters collection was a special consideration. I have over forty different types of bitters and the collection continues to grow. [Shameless Plug: If you make bitters and would like to send me a bottle, I'd be more than happy to add them to my collection. Maybe you'll even get a bottle of my Barrel Aged Mountain Moonshine bitters in return. Just shoot me an email.] Ahem . . . so where was I? Ah yes, the Wall o’ Bitters! Because the bitters were taking up so much counter space, I moved them on the wall. Some relatively cheap Elfa shelving and that was it. It has turned out to be a great way to use underutilized space and keep the bitters organized and within reach.

Now I haven’t really mentioned cleaning. As you organize, dust off your bottles; wash any sugar residue off the necks; dust and wash the bar top and shelves; wash your stemware. It doesn’t take a lot of effort and makes your home bar look great.

So that is how my home bar is setup. How about yours? Do you have any bar organization tips or tricks? If so, let us know in the comments.

Cheers!