The Best Cocktail Accessories for Your Vintage Bar Cart
Updated: Apr. 27, 2024
Love the flair of vintage drinks? Get all the cocktail accessories you need to outfit your home bar or bar cart in perfectly retro style.
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Cut Glass Barware
Etched and cut glass was all the rage in the midcentury. Give your home bar the Mad Men treatment with cut glass old fashioned and highball glasses—perfect for serving these classic cocktails.
Mixing Pitcher
Not all cocktails need to be jostled in a shaker. A mixing pitcher is just what you need to stir together classic drinks like a Negroni or Boulevardier.
Bar Spoon
Don’t stir up your favorite drinks with just any ol’ utensil. You’ll want a long-handled spoon to do the job of incorporating all the ingredients (especially in tall Collins glasses or a pitcher). We love this one from Crate & Barrel—turn it over and it’s a muddler perfect for smashing mint leaves for your mojito.
Coupe Glasses
Before flutes became more popular, you’d see champagne served up in coupe glasses like these. They still remain the glass of choice, though, for retro cocktails like the Aviation and Gimlet.
Spirit Decanter
Think back to the bar at your grandparents’ house or the cocktail parties of yore. Chances are that some of your favorite tipples were poured right out of an elegant decanter. You can do the same with vintage-style etched decanters for your spirit of choice.
Cocktail Picks
Want an olive with your martini? A cherry for your Manhattan? A whole barrage of garnishes with your Bloody Mary? Skewer them on these elegant and reusable cocktail picks.
Soda Siphon
Think of the soda siphon as the original SodaStream. This old-fashioned gadget uses small CO2 cartridges to create club soda and sparkling water right at your home bar. When it’s not in use, it still looks elegant alongside your decanters and stemware.
Bamboo Bar Tool Set
Keep all your cocktail accessories at the ready with this handy bar set and stand. The bamboo styling is the perfect nod to ’50s-era tiki drinks but looks great with any decor. While we love the spoon, bottle opener and strainer, the MVP of this kit is the measuring jigger. Vintage cocktails have just a few ingredients, so measuring carefully is key.
Cocktail Shaker
When it comes to cocktail accessories, you can’t forget about the classic cocktail shaker. This is a must for a James Bond-style martini, Golden Cadillac and many more drinks.
Ice Bucket with Tongs
Have ice at the ready for your next old fashioned with an ice bucket at your bar station. This gold-tone bucket with tongs has the perfect vintage vibe that suits eras from the ’50s onward (it would even work in a modern kitchen!).
Metal Coasters
Back in the day metal coasters—particularly monogrammed ones—were a big trend in people’s home bars. You can get the same style today (and have them customized). These coasters look super smart with any bar setup.
Ice Crusher
Crushed ice is a must for tiki drinks (all the rage in the 1950s). This countertop ice crusher is modeled after retro models. You’ll need a little elbow grease to get this working, but it makes your Mai Tai taste all the sweeter.
Retro-Inspired Glasses
When it comes to old-fashioned cocktails, we encourage you to use Grandpa’s collection whenever possible. However, having a durable acrylic set of glasses is perfect for serving up summery drinks outside or around the pool (places where you definitely don’t want glass to shatter). These acrylic cups fit the bill and look straight out of the ’60s.
Luxardo Maraschino Cherries
Before neon red maraschinos existed, there was only one name in cocktail cherries: Luxardo. If you haven’t tried these, you are in for a treat. Luxardo cherries are more tart than their brightly-colored counterparts and come in a dark syrup that’s just as tasty as the cherries themselves. Use them to garnish your favorite classic cocktail.
Bar Cart
Need a place to store all your cocktail accessories? A smart bar cart will do the trick. We love this one in brass, but you can find more amazing picks from our lists of Amazon bar carts and carts to fit any style.
Originally Published: October 02, 2020
