Why Having an Outdoor Bar Will Make Your Parties Amazing

Are your backyard parties boring? It might be hard to tell. Most people probably wouldn’t say anything, especially if they’re your friends. However, if you’ve been throwing the same old get-togethers for years, it might be time to consider spicing things up a bit. 

An outdoor bar just might be what you need to pump some life back into your gatherings.

The sky’s the limit for design

In terms of bar design, creating a backyard bar is full of possibility. You can go with a traditional style bar that looks just like what you’d expect, or you can get creative and have it embody a specific theme, like bohemian or stone. Just make sure to use concrete that looks like stone for durability and to avoid a high price tag.

The wood look is classic, and it’s easy to find outdoor bar furniture that is both waterproof and beautiful without having to use real wood. The rustic look is also in line with a wood theme, and can really make your entire backyard look amazing.

If you grill outside for your parties, you may as well put the bar close to your grill so all the action is contained in one area. It will be easier to clean up and people won’t have to wander around your yard just to get a beverage. Plus, if you already have an outdoor ice maker, you can use it to restock the ice in your bar.

Everyone loves alcohol (well, almost)

It’s rare to find a party that doesn’t serve alcohol, unless everyone is known to be against liquor. Most parties at least serve bottles or cans of beer, if not hard lemonade or other artisan pre-made beverages.

Adding a bar to your backyard so you can serve alcohol will go a long way to make your parties more interesting. According to science, alcohol makes people more social in ways that matter. One study found that participants who drank a cranberry vodka drink laughed, smiled, and talked more than the control and placebo groups. They actually had more “triadic sequential-speech events” which researchers say play an important role in developing social bonds.

By simply adding alcohol to your parties, you’re not just making people feel good – you’re supporting them in their efforts to bond with each other. The more your guests bond, the happier they’ll feel, and they will attribute those good feelings to your party.

Outdoor bars don’t need to only be for serving alcohol

Not everyone is going to want to drink alcohol, and that’s okay. Your outdoor bar doesn’t have to be stocked to the brim with beer, vodka, and whiskey. You don’t have to serve Tokyo Tea, Cosmos, and margaritas all night long. A bar is simply a space carefully designed to facilitate making drinks and serving them to people who are either standing or sitting at the counter. There’s no rule that says it has to be alcoholic.

You can serve grape juice, plain water, soda, fancy smoothies, and even coffee if that’s what your guests will enjoy. It’s equally possible to serve a combination of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to give people choices. Your options are limitless.

You can serve wine from your backyard bar

If your particular crowd doesn’t drink hard liquor and beer isn’t sophisticated enough, serve wine at your bar. Why not? When you’re throwing a high-class party, you’re probably going to want to serve wine anyway. If you can serve it outside from a bar, you’ll encourage your guests to go outside and spend time in the fresh air, mingling with each other, and enjoying their wine.

When serving wine at your parties, hire a professional sommelier if possible. You could serve the wine yourself, but a professional will make the experience more fun. In addition to possessing extensive wine knowledge, sommeliers are trained to handle wine in specific ways that make it a genuine experience to be served. For instance, the label always faces out toward you while they cut the foil, they pop the cork with flawless execution, and never spill a drop (well, almost never).

Make your parties great with an outdoor bar

If your goal is to throw amazing parties that people remember for years to come, you need more than tubs of beer bottles stuffed in ice. You need a backyard bar. You’ll be able to expand your menu selections to include mixed drinks, and it will create a more engaging atmosphere for your guests. 

The end result will be guests who can’t wait to come back for your next event.