"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee is brought to you by Miller Brewing Company, calling Milwaukee home since 1855. For the entire month of March, we're serving up fun articles on bars, clubs and beverages – including guides, the latest trends, bar reviews, the results of our Best of Bars poll and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!
Sure, you could head out to happy hour or Sunday funday -- but why not imbibe in the comfort of your own home? For this edition of the OnMilwaukee #WeWant you bring you some of our favorite wants for your own home bar.
Shoot it: BenShot bullet shots and rock glasses
Regardless of how you feel about guns and gun control, you can’t deny that drinking out of a rocks or shot glass with an actual bullet embedded in it is pretty cool. BenShot, headquartered in New London – near Appleton – is a father-son operation headquartered in a glass workshop on the grounds of a repurposed furniture factory owned by Thomas Edison. Priced only from $15-23, this is a pretty amazing, unique and local conversation starter (even if it won’t technically stop an actual bullet). Next time you take a shot, do it in style. – Andy Tarnoff
Bubble it: iSi Soda Siphon
I'm not a soda guy. Sparkling water is a refreshing alternative, but the cost and packaging are both prohibitive to me. Andy Tarnoff's favored Soda Stream seems to use a lot of plastic, too, so I've been keeping my thrift store eye open for a soda siphon. I've been coming up empty and I think it's time to throw in the upcycle towel and grab one from Amazon. Just one container and the steel cartridges are easily recyclable. – Nick Barth
Add it: Repurposed piano wet bar
I should have learned how to play the piano. But, I didn't so why not use an old one as a bar! That's the Milwaukee way. This cool Piano Wet Bar is made from a vintage upright piano. Just open the door to reveal a lighted cabinet to house your glassware and spirits, and check out the hidden storage space under the keyboard. Made by View63 in South Milwaukee, this would look great in your (or my) rec room! – Jeff Sherman
Fill them: Barvinci copper mugs
The Moscow Mule is the stuff that dreams, or nightmares (depending on the number you drink) are made of. You need a great vodka, great spicy ginger beer and real lime. I repeat, REAL lime both for juice and garnish. And the copper mug is critical. The drink is the stuff of lore, either being created in the Chatham Hotel in New York, which was known as Little Moscow, or in the famed Cock 'n' Bull Restaurant in Hollywood. The copper mugs from Barvinci are spectacular. They are big, 20 ounces, and handmade. They resist tarnish and any cup that instructs the user to clean them with a "warm damp cloth" must be very special. If you love the mule, or hot egg nog, these cups fit the bill. – Dave Begel
Drink from them: Classy glasses
I'm probably the OnMilwaukee staff leader in oversized novelty drinking containers, including a humongous "Mission Impossible" fish bowl and a 64-ounce (half-gallon!) margarita glass that I bought at Goodwill for $1.50. Having said that, my days of drinking absurd quantities of anything, besides maybe coffee, are gone and I could really use some nice, classy glasses. Perhaps a set of four personalized rocks glasses with "Classy" engraved on them, so that everyone who saw me drink out of all four of them at once would know I was really classy. – Jimmy Carlton
Drink it: Svedka grapefruit jalapeño vodka
I tried this strange vodka flavor on a whim last fall during the OnMilwaukee retreat, and with a few days of my return, made my way to Discount Liquor for my very own bottle. I polished it off by Thanksgiving, and I’m thinking, it’s time for another. I think I mixed it with plain seltzer because it already has such a strong and unique taste. This really shouldn’t be good, but it's delicious. – Molly Snyder
Open with it: Milwaukee bottle opener
I love a functional item in my kitchen or house that also serves as a talking piece. This "Milwaukee map opener" is one of them! The handmade item includes a vintage mini-map of Milwaukee and is a great gift for hosts, friends or maybe your groomsmen in a wedding party. If you are looking for a lady "ish" gift you could go the route of their bottle stopper! – Carolynn Buser