Essential Bar Equipment Checklist for a New Pub or Cocktail Bar: The Complete UK Guide (2026)
A new bar is six equipment systems bolted together: refrigeration (back bar, bottle coolers, keg cooling), glasswashing, glassware matched to the serves on your list, legal measures under the Weights and Measures Act 1985 — 25ml or 35ml for gin, rum, vodka, and whisky — a speed rail station laid out for one-step service, and an ice programme sized to the busiest Saturday, not the average Tuesday. This checklist works through all six in opening order, with the numbers a fit-out needs: cases of glasses per serve, litres of keg cooling, kilos of ice per hundred covers.
- Legal spirit measures: under the Weights and Measures Act 1985 framework, gin, rum, vodka, and whisky sold by the glass must be served in 25ml or 35ml, or multiples of them. Pick one house measure, display it, and stamp it through your optics and jiggers.
- The cocktail exemption: mixed drinks of three or more liquids are exempt from prescribed measures — which is why a 30ml/60ml cocktail jigger like the RCR Tattoo (£153.91 + VAT per 24) is legal for cocktail builds but not for a straight gin and tonic.
- Refrigeration is the biggest line: back bar fridges, bottle coolers, keg coolers, and glass frosters typically absorb 40–50% of the equipment budget. Craven Cooling stocks or sources all four to spec.
- Glassware rule of thumb: own 2.5–3× your seat count per core serve, split across at least two deliveries so breakage never closes a line.
- Ice programme: a wet-led bar uses roughly 0.5–1kg of ice per cover; a cocktail-led bar 1–1.5kg. A 150-cover Saturday needs a 150–200kg/24hr ice machine with storage, not a countertop unit.
- Glasswasher throughput: an under-counter glasswasher on a 2-minute cycle turns a 16-pint basket every 2–3 minutes — one machine per main station, positioned so clean glasses land where drinks are made.
- Licensing basics: selling alcohol needs a premises licence, a designated premises supervisor holding a personal licence, and compliance with mandatory conditions — age verification policy, free potable water, and smaller measures available — under the Licensing Act 2003.
- Speed rail geometry: everything for the top ten drinks within one step and one reach of the well. Every step a bartender takes per drink costs 3–5 seconds, hundreds of times a night.
Bars fail fit-outs in a predictable order: the refrigeration is undersized for the Saturday load, the glassware order covers the opening week but not the breakage curve, and somebody discovers at the licensing inspection that the “shot” measures on the rail are unstamped novelties. Everything in this guide is checkable before opening day. The equipment list splits into the cooling layer (specified to your volume and sourced to spec), the wash layer, and the serving layer — glassware, measures, and bar tools, which are stocked lines you can put in a basket today.
This guide is for operators fitting out a new pub, bar, or cocktail bar, and for refits where the serve list has outgrown the kit. Browse the bar fridges and bottle coolers category and the commercial glassware range when ready.
Table of Contents
- Checklist 1: The Refrigeration Layer
- Checklist 2: Glasswashing
- Checklist 3: Glassware by Serve
- Checklist 4: Legal Measures
- Checklist 5: Speed Rail and Station Layout
- Checklist 6: The Ice Programme
- Bar Glassware and Tools We Stock
- Licensing and Compliance Checklist
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related Buying Guides
Checklist 1: The Refrigeration Layer
Cooling is the spine of the bar and the first thing to specify, because it sets the counter layout and the electrical plan. Four unit types cover almost every bar, and Craven Cooling stocks or sources all of them to your volume and counter dimensions:
Back bar fridges
Browse back bar fridges →- Under-counter, glass doors, lit display
- Size by bottle count: a 3-door unit holds ~300 bottles
- Hold packaged beer, mixers, wine at 3–5°C
- Sliding doors save aisle space behind a narrow bar
Bottle coolers
Browse bottle coolers →- The workhorse merchandiser for the high-rotation lines
- Restock from the top of the load, serve from the front
- Plan 1.5 nights of stock chilled at all times
- Warm bottles into a cooler need 4+ hours to pull down
Keg coolers
Browse keg coolers →- For sites without a cellar — keg fridge plus python
- Lager and keg ales serve at 3–8°C
- Size by keg count on the busiest line-up
- Remember line cleaning access in the layout
Glass frosters
Browse glass frosters →- Sub-zero cabinet chills glasses to -5°C or below
- Frosted glass keeps a Martini cold 5+ minutes longer
- The visible quality cue cocktail bars trade on
- Counter-top or under-counter formats
Sizing rule: count the chilled stock you need on the busiest night — every packaged line at 1.5 nights of cover, every keg on the board, plus glasses for the froster — and buy to that number, not to the counter gap. An undersized back bar means restocking mid-shift with warm product, and a bottle cooler serving warm beer at 10pm is the most reviewed equipment failure in the trade. For counter fabrication around the cooling, see the bar counters and stations category — we stock or source to fit.
Checklist 2: Glasswashing
One under-counter glasswasher per main station, full stop. A 400–450mm basket machine on a 2–3 minute cycle turns roughly 16 pint glasses per basket, which keeps 150 covers in clean glasses provided the machine sits inside the station — clean glasses landing where drinks are made, dirties racked without crossing the service flow. Put the machine at the far end of the bar and you have bought a treadmill, not a dishwasher.
Spec points that matter at purchase: a rinse-aid and detergent auto-doser (hand-dosing dies on a Friday night), a drain pump if your waste run is above the machine base, and water treatment where the supply is hard — limescale is the number one killer of glasswasher elements. Renovate glasses weekly with a cabinet wash on a renovating detergent to strip the protein and lipstick film that kills beer head. Budget £1,000–£2,000 + VAT per machine fitted, and plan the wash station with drip trays and stacking mats on both sides.
Checklist 3: Glassware by Serve
Write the drinks list first, then buy glass against it — never the reverse. The working quantities: 2.5–3× seat count for each core serve, weighted to what your venue actually is. The serve map:
| Serve | Glass | Size | Where to browse / buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draught beer / lager | Pint and half-pint, stamped | 568ml / 284ml | Beer & pint glasses |
| Wine by the glass | Wine glass, 125/175/250ml lines | Serve sizes on menu | Wine glasses |
| Stirred / up cocktails | Nick & Nora | 155ml | Bormioli Rocco Bloom, £150.81 + VAT per 24 |
| Long / tiki cocktails | Hurricane | 370ml | Utopia Hurricane, £85.74 + VAT per 24 |
| Margaritas / coupette serves | Margarita coupette | 310ml | Utopia Capri, £51.64 + VAT per 12 |
| Spirits, mixed drinks, soft | Tumblers / highballs | 250–400ml | Tumblers |
| Gin serves | Copa / balloon | 580–700ml | Gin glasses |
| Shots and shooters | Shot glass, stamped where used as measure | 25/35/50ml | Shot glasses |
Checklist 4: Legal Measures — Optics, Jiggers, and the Cocktail Exemption
The measures kit is where trading standards law lands on the back bar, and it is cheap to get right. The rules in practice:
Gin, rum, vodka, and whisky by the glass go out in 25ml or 35ml or multiples of the one you choose. Display the house measure on the price list or a notice. Doubles are simply 2× the house measure through the same stamped kit.
Optics and thimble measures used for the four regulated spirits must carry the government stamp or CE/UKCA marking. A shelf-mounted optic holder like the Olympia single bottle unit (£5.85 + VAT) puts each house-pour bottle on a metered optic — consistent, legal, and stock-controllable to the millilitre.
A mixed drink of three or more liquids is exempt from prescribed measures, which is what makes the classic 30ml/60ml cocktail jigger legal on the cocktail station. The RCR Tattoo dual jigger (30ml and 60ml ends) is built for exactly this — fast, repeatable cocktail specs. It is not a legal measure for a straight gin and tonic; keep stamped 25ml/35ml thimbles on the rail beside it.
Draught beer and cider sell in thirds, halves, two-thirds, and pints through stamped glassware or metered dispense; still wine by the glass in 125ml, 175ml, 250ml. The mandatory licensing conditions also require you to make the smaller sizes available and tell customers they exist.
Checklist 5: Speed Rail and Station Layout
A bar station is a cockpit: ice well in the centre, speed rail across the front of the well with the top ten pouring brands, jiggers and stamped measures on the rail, shakers and strainers within a hand’s reach, garnish tray at eye level, and the glasswasher inside the station. The test is simple — a bartender should build any drink on the core list without moving their feet.
Count the movements: a G&T built from a well-laid station is glass, ice, stamped measure, pour, mixer, garnish — eight seconds. The same drink with spirits on the back shelf and ice two steps away is twenty. At 400 drinks on a Saturday night, that difference is 80 minutes of service time per bartender. Duplicate the full station — well, rail, measures, tools — for every service point rather than making two bartenders share one well, and give each station its own ice tongs and scoops: the Steelite hammered ice tongs (6-pack) exist so there is never a reason for a hand, or worse a glass, to dip into the well. A glass scooping ice is how you close the well and empty it entirely — one chipped rim and the whole bin is condemned.
Checklist 6: The Ice Programme
Ice is an ingredient with a supply chain, and running out at 10pm on Saturday is the classic new-bar failure. Size the machine to the busiest night plus margin:
Machine ratings are quoted at 10°C air and 10°C water; a hot bar back room in August cuts real output 20–30%, which is why the margin line exists. Decide the cube format off the drinks list too — full cubes melt slower in the well and look right in a tumbler. Treat the machine as food equipment: filtered supply, weekly bin sanitise, scoop stored outside the bin.
UK Price Tiers — July 2026
Bar Glassware and Tools We Stock
The serving layer below is stocked at Craven Cooling, July 2026. Prices ex VAT, 2-year parts warranty on equipment.
- 370ml curved hurricane profile
- 24 glasses per pack — £3.57 a glass
- Suits Piña Coladas, Hurricanes, frozen serves
- Commercial glass, dishwasher rated
The long-cocktail workhorse. One pack covers a 20-seat cocktail section at the 2.5–3× rule for the tiki end of the list.
View Hurricane Glasses →- 310ml classic coupette bowl
- 12 glasses per pack
- Wide rim takes a salt crust properly
- Doubles for daiquiris and frozen coupette serves
If margaritas are on the list, the coupette is non-negotiable — the rim is the serve. Frost them in the glass froster and the drink arrives the way the menu photo promised.
View Margarita Glasses →- 155ml — right-sized for 90–110ml stirred specs
- 24 glasses per pack
- Lower spill and breakage than Martini V glasses
- Keeps small liquid mass colder to the last sip
The glass serious cocktail lists have standardised on. Stock it for Martinis, Manhattans, and every stirred-down spec on the menu.
View Nick & Nora Glasses →- Dual-ended 30ml / 60ml crystal jigger
- 24 per pack — one at every station, spares in the drawer
- For cocktail builds (3+ liquid drinks, measure-exempt)
- Repeatable specs = consistent drinks and pour cost
The cocktail station’s precision layer. Keep stamped 25ml/35ml thimbles alongside for straight spirit serves — the Tattoo covers the exempt cocktail builds.
View Dual Jiggers →- Shelf-mount holder for one inverted bottle
- Pairs with stamped 25ml/35ml optic valves
- Consistent legal pours on house spirits
- Stock control to the millilitre
At £5.85 + VAT a bottle position, optic-mounting the house four (gin, rum, vodka, whisky) is the cheapest compliance and stock-control upgrade on this list.
View Optic Holder →- 203mm hammered stainless tongs
- 6 per pack — one per station plus spares
- Hands and glasses stay out of the ice well
- Presentation-grade for table and garnish service
The tool that protects the ice programme. A glass dipped in the well means condemning the whole bin — tongs at every station make the right way the easy way.
View Ice Tongs →Licensing and Compliance Checklist
The legal frame around the equipment, in the order inspectors check it.
Selling alcohol requires a premises licence from the local licensing authority under the Licensing Act 2003, with a named designated premises supervisor who holds a personal licence. Every sale must be made or authorised by a personal licence holder.
An age verification policy (Challenge 21/25 in practice), free potable water for customers, no irresponsible promotions, and smaller measures — 25ml/35ml spirits, 125ml wine, half pints — available and made known to customers.
Government-stamped or CE/UKCA-marked optics and thimbles for gin, rum, vodka, and whisky, in your chosen 25ml or 35ml house measure, with the house measure displayed. Trading standards test-purchase; unstamped novelty measures on straight spirits are an offence under the Weights and Measures Act 1985 framework.
Ice and garnishes are food. Register as a food business, apply retained Regulation (EC) 852/2004 basics — clean scoop discipline, weekly ice bin sanitising, garnish prep on colour-coded boards, and date-labelled garnish pots in the bottle cooler.
Keg lines cleaned weekly, logged, with the log kept at the bar. Dirty lines show up in the glass within a fortnight, and brewery technical services will check the log before honouring quality claims.
Opening-Night Checklist
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Refrigeration pulled down 48 hours before opening, fully stocked 24 hours before A loaded back bar takes a full day to stabilise. Stocking warm product on opening morning serves warm beer at your most reviewed moment.
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Ice machine running 24 hours ahead, bin sanitised, scoops and tongs staged First production day fills the storage bin; opening night starts with a full reserve.
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Glassware washed, renovated, and racked by serve — 2.5–3× seats per core serve New glasses carry factory residue that kills beer head. Cabinet-wash the lot before first service.
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Stamped measures at every station, house measure displayed Optics loaded on the house four, 25ml/35ml thimbles on the rail, cocktail jiggers at the cocktail station.
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Speed rails loaded to the drinks list, one full station per service point Walk each station: every top-ten drink buildable without moving your feet.
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Glasswasher dosed, drip trays out, wash loop briefed Auto-doser primed, renovating detergent in stock, one person owns the glass cycle on the night.
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Licence paperwork on site: premises licence summary displayed, incident and refusals logs ready The summary must be prominently displayed; the logs prove the age-verification policy operates.
A new pub or cocktail bar is six systems: refrigeration, glasswashing, glassware, measures, station layout, and ice. Refrigeration takes 40–50% of the budget — back bar fridges, bottle coolers, keg coolers, and glass frosters, all of which Craven Cooling stocks or sources to your counter and volume. One under-counter glasswasher per station, inside the station. Glassware follows the drinks list at 2.5–3× seat count per core serve: Utopia Hurricane 370ml (£85.74 + VAT per 24) for long cocktails, Utopia Capri margarita 310ml (£51.64 + VAT per 12), Bormioli Rocco Nick & Nora 155ml (£150.81 + VAT per 24) for stirred serves, plus stamped pint, wine, and shot glassware from stock categories. Measures are law: gin, rum, vodka, and whisky in 25ml or 35ml or multiples under the Weights and Measures Act 1985, through stamped optics (Olympia holder, £5.85 + VAT) and thimbles, with the cocktail exemption covering 3+ liquid builds measured on the RCR Tattoo 30/60ml jigger (£153.91 + VAT per 24). Lay each station out for zero-step service with its own tongs (Steelite hammered, £149.42 + VAT per 6), and size the ice machine to Saturday — around 200kg/24hr for a 150-cover cocktail bar. Licensing Act 2003 basics: premises licence, personal licence holder as DPS, age verification, free water, smaller measures available. Call 01792 732702 or visit the Swansea showroom; 2-year parts warranty.
