Liquor Cabinets

[col klink]

My wife was lucky to inherit a hoosier cabinet from her great-grandmother (this is what you did all of your kitchen work on before counters and cabinets were built in) and even luckier that my mother-in-law held on to it long enough for us to find a home where we can keep it. So we picked it up this fall and my parents were extremely gracious to have it refinished in time for Christmas and it's simply breathtaking.

As soon as we saw the pitiful thing (many layers of paint and it lived through 10 years of brutal winters and summers in Minnesota, not to mention playing house with a number of mice), we knew that it was going to be our liquor cabinet.

There's only one modification that needs to be done before the cabinet is complete. Like a lot of hoosier cabinets, it has a pull-out flour bin with a sifter at the base. All I need to do is put an ice storing device and have the ice come out of the bottom. Then it will be ultimately cool instead of merely penultimately cool.

Here she is!

Here she is as she normally sits (the rooster pitcher is our wine decanter).

Here she is with all of her cabinets open, you can see the flour sifter on the left.

And here I am making our new liquor cabinet's first drinks - Manhattans (perfect of course).

So, what about your liquor cabinets? Have you done anything cool like Quagmire's in Family Guy? (Quagmire's liquor cabinet is a whole bar that rotates out of the wall) Or have you picked up one of the bars made out of bamboo?

Whatever you have, I'd like to see it!

[Carolyn Tillie]

Absolutely stunning! I'm terribly impressed but wish you'd keep the sifter. Yeah, I know it is a waste, but having part of it be authentic adds a special quality to it.

I'll post our meagre cabinet after we're done moving in...

[phaelon56]

It's almost enough to make me want to start drinking again (NOT!!!). It is very cool and you deserve kudos for working "penultimate" into the thread. I mistakenly used it a month or two back and was gently corrected - I really meant the best of the best (which penultimate is not). Now that I've word powered myself a bit, might I suggest that is the "ne plus ultra" of liquor cabinets?

One of my high school buddies parents had a "secret" liquor cabinet that was in the base unit cabiinet under the console TV in their family room (we're talking old black and white console TV days. The access door for the liquor was on the back where it could not be seen by my friend's unsuspecting grandmother, who still assumed that at age 50 her precious daughter did not smoke or drink.

[slkinsey]

Very cool! You should figure out a way to have an ice maker hidden inside the flour sifter.

[col klink]

At this point I'd be happy to just have an ice cooler because like Carolyn mentions, the sifter is really cool and I'd like to keep it as authentic as possible -- meaning I'd only take out the sifter for parties.

The problem is making the cooler leak proof or some way to make sure the wood doesn't get damaged. I'm sure I'll have to fabricate something myself which would be a fun project.

[Batgrrrl]

Very cool!  You should figure out a way to have an ice maker hidden inside the flour sifter.

We've discussed that possibility as well--ideally, I'd like to have a hand-crank ice crusher installed with the ice maker, so that at least the general feel of cranking something would be held over from the flour sifter.

On another note, I knew a couple in Seattle who had a minibar that was shaped like the prow of a little ship, complete with ropes and little life-preservers, all out of beautiful painted/polished wood, including the "deck"--the bartender stood behind it, looking out over the "front" of the ship which faced the room, and there were of course shelves and doors and everything else built in. It was a long time ago, but I remember it being very cool.

Batgrrrl

[beans]

Oh my col. klink -- that is quite a handsome piece of furniture!

My "liquor cabinet" consists of the interior of my freezer, wine bottles in my basement and left over seldomly used liqueurs atop of my refrigerator. Not much to look at there.

[Batgrrrl]

beans--LOVE your avatar! That's my kind of snowman!

Batgrrrl

[Jason Perlow]

My liquor cabinet got so overflowing, I had to dedicate an entire room to booze storage.

No, I'm not joking. I'll post pics later.

[melkor]

Have you done anything cool like Quagmire's in Family Guy? (Quagmire's liquor cabinet is a whole bar that rotates out of the wall)

Giggidy giggidy giggidy aalllllll riiiiight!

[markovitch]

Have you done anything cool like Quagmire's in Family Guy? (Quagmire's liquor cabinet is a whole bar that rotates out of the wall)

Giggidy giggidy giggidy aalllllll riiiiight!

i miss that show so much.... brilliance.

I found a freestanding particleboard-with-cheap-veneer bar in the basement of a house that i was gutting last summer. Boss gave it to me and it now stands proudly in the house. Its empty of all but mixers, because i am in college, i have roomates, and we can't keep a bottle of liquor in the house for more than a week. i'll post a pic later if i have time.

~m

[hillvalley]

I hope to someday inherit a liquor cabinet that is built inside a grandfather clock. Untill then the top of my cabinets and freezer will have to do.

Great pics col. Wish I could come have a drink

[JAZ]

That's beautiful.

A few years ago, I was browsing through a few antique/used shops with a friend of mine and we came upon this 40's bar/liquor cabinet. I can't remember all the details, but when you opened the front, a shelf slid out and lights came on. It was very cool, but very expensive, so it lives on only in my memory.

I do have a pretty nifty bar -- 50's or 60's I believe -- with a black metal base and white formica top. It came with three triangular bar stools, also with black bases and white leather seats. It has a couple of shelves for glasses and liquor, but without a source of water or ice nearby, it's mostly for show. I store stuff in it, but always have to drag the bottles into the kitchen to actually make drinks. When and if I get a digital camera, I'll take a photo.

[Susan in FL]

That is beautiful, Matt.

I love antiques, and use this ice box as our liquor cabinet, as well as storage for some other food items.

[markovitch]

I hope to someday inherit a liquor cabinet that is built inside a grandfather clock. Untill then the top of my cabinets and freezer will have to do.

Great pics col. Wish I could come have a drink

My great grandfather tore the guts outta his grandfather clock during prohibition (n.b. he was a fairly high ranking officer in the Army)... it now belongs to my grandfatherm who has rebuilt it to a working clock once again. He did, however, put me on the list to get it as inheritence, with specific instructions to revert it to its old uses.

~m

[KatieLoeb]

In my living room, I have a lovely "sideboard" type cabinet that my father had custom built in the 40's. It's has a rotating center cabinet that has spaces for rocks glasses and such in it. The center spins outward and then is a convex semi-circular shelf unit with the holes cut into it for the glassware. The outer ends each have a door with a shelf-divided cabinet. I need to get two new glass shelves cut for the end cabinets. I really don't use it as the bar. That's currently located downstairs in the dining room, closer to the refrigerator for ice and mixers. When I get the shelves replaced I'll then use it for cognac and other post dinner "relax in front of the fireplace" type libations as it's located, coincidentally, right near the fireplace!

I'll post some pics when I get a digital camera. That'll be quite soon as I really need one!

[hillvalley]

I hope to someday inherit a liquor cabinet that is built inside a grandfather clock.  Untill then the top of my cabinets and freezer will have to do.

Great pics col.  Wish I could come have a drink

My great grandfather tore the guts outta his grandfather clock during prohibition (n.b. he was a fairly high ranking officer in the Army)... it now belongs to my grandfatherm who has rebuilt it to a working clock once again. He did, however, put me on the list to get it as inheritence, with specific instructions to revert it to its old uses.

~m

A close friend of mine inherited hers and hates it. I helped her find a place for it when she moved into her house. When I finally have a place big enough for it she has proimesd it as a house warming gift.

[beans]

beans--LOVE your avatar! That's my kind of snowman!

Thank you Batgrrrl! Slumped over/sloshed "frosty" was fun to paint.

Now those are the sorts of snow people found in my yard! Luckily there aren't any children residing on my little street!

Susan in FL:

I love antiques too. Nice cabinet!

[col klink]

That is beautiful, Matt.

I love antiques, and use this ice box as our liquor cabinet, as well as storage for some other food items.

Susan, your ice chest is absolutely beautiful. I have always been enamored with the old iceboxes made with wood. Does it still run or do you actually have to put ice in it?

[vorare]

I found a freestanding particleboard-with-cheap-veneer bar in the basement of a house that i was gutting last summer. Boss gave it to me and it now stands proudly in the house. Its empty of all but mixers, because i am in college, i have roomates, and we can't keep a bottle of liquor in the house for more than a week. i'll post a pic later if i have time.

~m

My housemates and I managed to put together a decent bar setup our last year of college.

The bars were purchased at yard sales for next to nothing. The picture doesn't do the one on the left justice; it was FAR uglier in person.

I've recently inherited an antique oak/granite mirrorback sideboard which I plan to use as a liquor cabinet just as soon as I have a place large enough for it. Unfortunately it's in storage, so no pictures.

[beans]

Welcome to eG vorare!

The picture doesn't do the one on the left justice; it was FAR uglier in person. 

I think in college we may have had a very similar bar that we left in the house when we moved out.

[GG Mora]

Vorare –

That's rather an auspicious first post. Welcome to eGullet!

[LEdlund]

This is very motivating to see everyone's great liquor cabinets. Ours is housed in an old stereo cabinet right now and it's way too small. We have just remodeled our house and have a closet off the dining room that is no longer being used. We're trying to draw up the perfect cabinet to build in there. It won't have ice or running water but I can use pitchers and ice buckets for that. But I can see where having a place to dump the used ice from the shaker would be handy. Maybe we will have to build in a drain of some sort. Of course a small refrigerator is a must. Oooh I'm so excited!

[snowangel]

Now that Diana is a teenager, booze is in a small cupboard above a broom nook, sort of blocked by a Bose bookshelf speaker. Hard to get to, and too tall for her to reach easily. Life changes. Hopefully, they will all grow up and leave .

Edited to add: Klink, beautiful. We will be up, post house sale, to check it (and contents) out, assuming that you can provide brisket or some other smoked something.

Edited February 3, 2004 by snowangel (log)

[Lan4Dawg]

beautiful idea for a Hoosier cabinet. I see them quite often at antique sales &, not having room for one, have always wondered what we could do w/ it. I had never thought of using it for a liquor cabinet. We have an old "salt chest" (was used in 18th/19th c. for holding salt/flour/sugar/&c. They have a lid that opens w/a drawer & cabinet built into the unit.) that we use for our liquor cabinet. The drawer holds coasters, bar spoons, & utensils and we keep glassware in the cabinet w/ the bottles arranged in the cabinet itself. Naturally we ran out of room very quickly so also have a couple of antique wine boxes perched next to it for extra space.

no pictures b/c the house is a disaster after the flood & everything is in boxes scattered everywhere until new floors are down.

HDHD