All bars and dining establishments need to own barware and bar equipment in one of three categories to operate. The first category is the most expensive. It’s your hardware and it provides the infrastructure behind your restaurant. Hardware includes all things mechanical, from your beer tap system to your coolers to your soda gun. The second category is of course your glassware, the most evident of all the necessary bar equipment.

The third category, although you probably wouldn’t think it at first, is probably the most important of all. This category is what you’d consider your barware, and it’s exactly because everyone things it’s the one place where they can get away with saving a little money that they ultimately end up losing it. When it comes to drinking, customers want to get what they pay for, and shoddy equipment, no matter how mundane, will ultimately produce inferior products.

A generic term, barware is loosely used to identify all the essential tools needed to make drinks. Everything zesting tools to bottle openers to cork screws to cocktail shakers gets filed under the category of barware. No matter how talented your bartenders are or how fine the quality of your liquor is, you’re in danger of serving low quality drinks you scrimp on the restaurant barware you purchase. So before you buy tools and accessories for your bar, here are a few conventions you should follow.

• Try and find an insulated cocktail shaker. The colder your cocktails are when you serve them, the better they will taste. If you choose a Boston shaker, one that fits together with a glass, be sure you also get a hawthorn strainer.
• A simple channel or decorating works more efficiently than a zester for cutting lemon twists for garnish.
• Nobody likes finding pieces of cork in their wine, so buy a wine opener you can rely upon.
• It’s a good idea to have a supply of bottle openers on hand because you’re going to lose more of them then you’d expect. A bottle opener you mount on the wall might actually work better.
• Be sure you have a couple double jiggers or spirit measures around because bartenders can’t be trusted with portion control.