5 Tips to Keeping Your Outdoor Kitchen Bar Stocked

Building your own outdoor kitchen bar is a great way to add value to your home as well as to entertain guests. Trying to keep an outdoor kitchen bar fully stocked is somewhat of an issue but information contained in the article below will help to alleviate some of your worries. Another factor that will be addressed is security. It is a big hassle to constantly remove alcohol from the outdoor kitchen bar to the house because of possible intrusion and theft. The article below will also address this problem.

1. Refrigeration

This goes without saying as any outdoor kitchen bar should be equipped with some sort of refrigeration. All you need is a small refrigerator and a power supply and you will be in business. They do not cost a lot of money and will wind up saving you money in the end as you will not lose stock that needs to be kept cool.

2. Liquor

An outdoor kitchen bar is going to be stock with a variety of alcohol from wine to bourbon. Stocking hard liquor is easy as the elements don't damage them. Unfortunately, this is not the case for beer, wine or any product that may contain any dairy like Irish cream.

Beer should always be kept under the bar in a dark area and refrigerated. This applies to Irish cream as well. Storing wine in an outdoor kitchen bar is tricky because it has to be in a dark area, chilled and at the proper angle. A good idea is to install a refrigerated wine cooler which will do all of these things for you.

3. Drink Mixes

Drink mixes do not contain any alcohol in them whatsoever and that means they can go bad. Most do not have to be refrigerated which means you can store them in a cabinet built inside the outdoor kitchen bar. This will help keep the mixes fresh as they are loaded with sugar and other flavorings that work as a preservative. The will work as long as they are not kept in extreme heat or in the direct sunlight.

4. Accents

When talking about accents as far as an outdoor kitchen bar is concerned you are talking about dressings for your drinks. This can include anything from fruit to salt and sugar. The best products to keep stocked are things high in acidity like lemons and limes. Salt and sugar can also easily be stored in the outdoor kitchen bar. Cherries, as long as they are jarred, will also keep for quite a long time if they remain in their sugary brine. Anything like fresh melon or bananas will not store well outside for any given amount of time.

5. Security

Making sure the kids cannot get in to the outdoor kitchen bar is very important. The best way to ensure the safety of the kids and some adults as well as your stock is to lock it up. You can purchase cabinets with a key lock. Other types can include magnetic locks with a numbered keypad.