The Beginner's Guide To Creating A Bar Nook At Home

By Urban Ladder . November 20, 2015 .

Here's a quick dip into history to understand the origins of social drinking, and how things are so much better now. No, really.

Back when all roads led to Rome, we’re told, taverns could be found all along the way. (This probably explains why all roads led to Rome!) While public drinking houses are believed to have become popular thanks to the Roman Empire, records show that alcohol dates back to the start of civilisation. Or civilisation came about because our ancestors learned how to brew beer. The Economist even has a treatise on which came first–bread or beer. The Chinese were knocking back a few way back in 7000 BCE, and the Egyptians even had a deity for it – Tenenet, the goddess of beer. The brew was a part of the pantry, made and enjoyed at home. In India, alcohol was even prescribed by Ayurveda as medicine, when consumed in moderation. Since ‘alcohol’ and ‘moderation’ are oxymorons, bars were forced to cope. In the early 19th century, tavern owners at Chinese ports stripped the place clean of furniture. They lined the premises with ropes instead, to break the fall of intoxicated revellers. The party continued well into the 20th century, inviting Prohibition in the USA. In fact, that’s when bar cabinets became a necessity – people needed to conceal the alcohol they were consuming at home. Prohibition ended (thank Tenenet!) but bar cabinets stayed, perhaps because good times, like charity, begin at home.

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Bars now are infinitely better than the local taverns of yore. The fashionable interiors, award-winning mixologists and imported spirits come with a hefty price tag, which gives us