Bespoke bars enjoy a spirited biz as home becomes venue for both work, play

Crystal decanters, cut-glass whiskey tumblers, sterling silver ice-buckets with a layer of frost on them, and bottles of soda, tonic and mineral water. Just like its contents, the bar has gotten fancier and more sophisticated. With people both working from home and entertaining at home, purveyors of such cabinetworks say they are seeing a growing demand for home bars.

Sunil Suresh, founder and managing director of Stanley Group, a Bengaluru-based company that specialises in leather furnishings and luxury products, has been seeing an uptick in demand for home bars and barware. “Alcohol consumption was continuing at home through the lockdown and the restrictions. Since restaurants and bars at hotels were shut, families who entertained in select bubbles found the concept of a home bar useful,” he says.

The steady sale of liquor across the country despite restrictions helped. Recently, states like Karnataka reported high volumes of alcohol sales and indicated that they will meet targets as per excise collections, while some states and cities across the country allowed for home delivery of alcohol despite the restrictions.

Companies like Stanley cashed in. Stanley, for instance, designed and launched high-end premium home bars that are equipped with recessed lighting, have multiple compartments and shelves to accommodate openers and a variety of glasses, are made in American walnut wood and finished up with a 12-coat lacquer paint job. “It’s the Rolls-Royce of home bars, if you will,” says Suresh. “You can throw a full-blown party for as many as 25 people with it.” That, though, he agrees would be advisable in a safer time.

These bar units range anywhere between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 15 lakh, depending on add-ons that include ice-makers, wine chillers and more. These also come with a lifetime warranty for defects and such.

To keep their contents secure, these bars are equipped with biometric locks that can be programmed to let up to four people in to access the spirits. 
 

So far Suresh says he has received over half a dozen orders in the last one month.

He’s not alone in seeing the trend pick up.

Paritosh Mehta, founder of the Trunk Company that makes custom designed trunks for a variety of uses, says he is maxed out on supply. Of late, he has been getting requests for trunks customised as bars and for sports-related uses that include backgammon chess, poker and other board games.

A customer got a trunk-bar made four years ago for $11,000 (about Rs 8 lakh); the same product now costs around $19,000 (Rs 14 lakh). Mehta’s bars range from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 8 lakh. And the price can go as high as Rs 15 lakh if it includes, say, cigar humidors, crystal-ware from Scotland, wine cabinet, bar tools, and other such accessories. These are essentially reimagined from a conceptual perspective to be reworked for modern use, he says, adding that it’s not just about features but also about compact functionality.

Mehta says his capacity is at around 100 trunks a year “despite the fact that we have been working full and around the clock”. There is a waiting list, he adds, “and I am taking orders for next year.”

Suresh, who expects business to pick up further, also estimates luxury real estate firms to start looking at items like cabinets and custom bars as prerequisites for premium home buyers. Companies like his are raising a toast as the market opens up.