How to build a bar cart and drink like an adult

A bottle of Talisker 10 Year Old single malt whiskey next to its box

If you’re ready to put sharehouse parties, bush raves and drinking ’til you puke in your rearview mirror, we can help. Here’s how to build your own bar cart and pour an adult drink at home.

Wines ain’t wines

Surprisingly, to pass as an adult, you don’t actually need to know a lot about wine (even if you drink it regularly).

A lot of getting good at wine is getting to know wine. Keep trying new things from your local bottle shop until you strike on something you really like.

When you find it, buy a bunch of it and stick it in a cupboard, lest you learn the cruel heartache of finding a wine you like before finding out it was a limited run (curse you, Mount Pleasant B-Sides Semillon LS8.

To pass as an adult, find a wine in a bottle (not a box) that you like and suits your budget. There’s honestly not much more to it than that.

Mix It Up

Throw out the schnapps, and that two-year old bottle of Baileys. Unless you’re The Dude, you’ve gotta have more in your cupboard than just enough to make a White Russian.

Cocktails and other excellent adult beverages are mixed together from ingredients a teenage palate probably wouldn’t be accustomed to.

Buy yourself small bottles of Campari, vermouth, cognac, and whiskey to go along with your staples. That way when you’re next entertaining (or even just in the mood for a change), you can put together something extraordinary without having to order the booze late-night.

Study your holy text

It’s not enough to get yourself a good cocktail book. You need to actually sit down and read it to learn a few recipes you can use off the top of your head.

It’s ok to not know the whole book by heart, but a few crowd-favourites will go a long way to making you look like an adult.

Learn how to make a Negroni, a martini and an Old Fashioned to get you started.

Get the right glasses

Forget cocktail shakers, special spoons, fancy ice trays and idiotic accessories. To drink like an adult, you need the perfect glasses.

Never serve anything to anyone in a plastic cup, or a mug. That’s unforgivable and I’m leaving. Instead, get familiar with various drink ware that make you look like you’ve got your shit together.

Get either highball glasses or Collins glasses (you probably won’t need both); some proper Champagne/martini glasses, wine glasses and champagne flutes. That’s enough to get you started.

Hell, splash out and get yourself a copper cup for the odd julep here and there. You won’t regret that one.

Forget your youth

Remember, you want to drink like an adult. Forget the recipe for the perfect Jagerbomb and stop pouring drinks that are 2/3rds vodka and 1/3rd flavoured fizzy water.

Drinking like an adult often means drinking for fun, and not to get hammered. Getting hammered should be the pleasant side effect of all the excellent cocktails you’re making (which are basically straight alcohol shots anyway).

Take your newfound wine knowledge up to the NSW Hunter Valley for an excellent wine weekend.

(Photo by Adam Jaime on Unsplash)

Luke Hopewell

Luke Hopewell is the editor and co-founder of Redaktör. He's previously been the Editor of Gizmodo, Founding Editor of Business Insider Australia, Editorial Lead for Twitter Australia and more.