Set Up a Martini Bar Cart Like a Pro

Tableside cocktails have long been the practice of high-end bars, such as Dukes Bar in London where a Martini order is elegantly rolled out on an antique trolley. But more bars and restaurants are using that personal touch to up their level of hospitality. In San Francisco, Holbrook House features a Champagne or Martini cart that can be summoned with the flip of a switch. Dorothy, a bar in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood, debuted their 1950s French serving cart offering dry or Dirty Martinis as an add-on to their bed lounge rental or most nights when the bar isn’t packed. “There’s something very special about watching someone make it just for you with precision, care, and panache that feels uniquely luxurious,” says Hannah Chamberlain, author of How to Be a Better Drinker: Cocktail Recipes and Boozy Etiquette.

Of course, mixing Martinis in your own home is as personal as it can get. Whether you’re entertaining a crowd or having a more intimate night in, use these tips to set up your own Martini bar cart.

Stocking the Bar Cart

With limited real estate on a typical bar cart, William Elliott of Maison Premiere recommends sticking with just a couple of bottles of gin: an everyday workhorse like a classic London dry, and something overproof like Old Raj Blue Label. For vodka, the options are wide-ranging, but Elliott is partial to Truman vodka. “I would put it up against any ‘luxury vodka’ on the market,” he says. Once you’ve chosen your spirits, if you have the space, Elliott also recommends storing them in the freezer, only taking them out to serve guests. “By freezing them, you’ll just get an incredible mouthfeel and viscosity.”

For vermouth, Imbibe Editor in Chief Paul Clarke suggests bringing out the refrigerated dry and blanc vermouth as well as fino sherry, Cocchi Americano, and/or Cap Corse quinquina for Martini riffs like the 50:50. But keep an atomizer of vermouth handy for those who prefer a dry Martini, suggests Chamberlain. (See sidebar for atomizer options to create variations.) Simply mist inside the glass before pouring in the cocktail. “Spray over the glass and you’re just getting this surface-level expression that’s not really integrating into the drink,” explains Elliott.

For added speed or limited space considerations, there’s always the freezer Martini route. Simply batch and freeze a bottle 12 hours beforehand.

Tools

Never underestimate the need for tools on your cart “as they are as important as your ingredients,” says Giorgio Bargiani, assistant director of mixology at The Connaught Bar in London. “Make sure your trolley is equipped with a mixing glass, strainer, stirrer, jigger, and a shaker.”

Elliott suggests acquiring “the longest spoon they make at Cocktail Kingdom.” He learned from Japanese bar culture that a long (48 to 50cm) barspoon allows you to stir the cocktail faster, “which means it gets colder faster with less dilution.” He recommends stirring about 15 to 20 times. For a mixing glass, Elliott prefers the stemmed variety for added stability. “You can keep your hand around the base of the stem, almost like you hold the base of a wine glass,” he says. The stem also makes it easier to hold with one hand and secure the strainer with the other.

Ice

Chamberlain says a good Martini should be served “painfully cold,” and she recommends freezing diluted gin and vodka at a ratio of 4 to 5 parts spirit to 1 part water and placing them in ice buckets to maintain their temperature. To go the extra mile for a party or event, freeze a bottle in an ice block as Camper English outlines in The Ice Book.

For those pre-chilling the spirits (without dilution) and vermouth, you’ll also want to bring out a small ice bucket for stirring the cocktail. According to Elliott, when you stir freezer gin with ice, in addition to diluting it, “you’re loosening it up slightly … and enabling your palate to sense more detail in the gin.”

Chamberlain also fills a large tureen with ice for keeping frozen coupes, dry vermouth, and a bottle of olive juice chilled. “Keeping your vermouth and olive juice separate from your frozen gin and vodka allows you to add them at levels that suit your guests tastes, whether they prefer dry or wet, clean or dirty,” she says.

Agostino Perrone pouring a Connaught Martini on the bar trolley at The Connaught Bar. | Photo by Christian Banfield

Garnish

While a dasher bottle of orange bitters is requisite for a basic Martini, bartenders at The Connaught Bar create their own bitters to allow guests to customize their Martini to taste. For home, Agostino Perrone, director of mixology and author of The Connaught Bar: Recipes and Iconic Creations, suggests stocking “a few different bitters that can cater to different tastes: something on the citrus end of the spectrum (orange, bergamot), something more floral or fruity (jasmine, lavender, vanilla, peach), and something with more spice (cardamom, anise). Make it varied, make it exciting.”

And to cover all your Martini bases, offer a variety of garnish options. Chamberlain recommends “furnishing your cart with a garnish tray stocked with Castelvetrano olives, pickled onions, and a bowl of fresh lemons for citrus twists.” And don’t forget cocktail picks.

Expressing Lemon Zest Like a Pro

According to Elliott, expressing a lemon twist over the cocktail creates an unappetizing oil slick. Instead, he says, expressing the twist “works best before you’re pouring out of the mixing glass … because it gets integrated more into the drink.”

Bartenders at The Connaught take zesting to another level, pouring their Martini from a great height to aerate the cocktail and also add a bit of theater. The technique, however, takes time to master, as they pour precisely into the glass with one hand while expressing the peel with the other. “The height doesn’t have to be 30 or 40cm [12 to 15 inches] like we do,” says Bargiani. Start with half that height. “Trust me, if performed with confidence, it will be impressive.”

Adding Style

While a Martini cart is fancy enough on its own, you can take things up a notch by styling the cart to reflect your personal aesthetic. “I love to use vintage coupes, ice buckets, cocktail picks, and garnish trays to give the cart extra personality,” says Chamberlain.

One of the easiest (and most affordable) ways to personalize things is to create a Martini-inspired soundtrack. “A classic drink deserves a classic soundtrack: songs that make you feel like you’re drinking with Lauren Bacall, Dorothy Parker, Nat King Cole, and Paul Newman,” says Chamberlain (check out her Martini Hour playlist below).

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