Bar lighting

The first question is whether you want power or flame. The rechargeable lamps from Bar Professional run on a battery that lasts a full shift; there is no drilling and no cable across the terrace. The Signum tealight holders from Zwiesel Glas take a tealight and give the restless light a candle inevitably gives, which looks warmer on a laid table than an LED.

Then look at placement. The LED bar is an elongated element you lay under a row of bottles or behind a backbar, so the light comes up through the glass from below. The LED base is a disc you stand a bottle or a glass on. The portable table lamp is dimmable and stands free on the table. With the 137 mm tealight holder the colour of the glass decides how warm the light becomes: smokey brown softens it most, crystal clear the least.

Place lamps low and to the side, not straight above a face. A table lamp of some twenty centimetres high lights a tabletop and two faces without putting anyone in a spotlight. On a backbar it works the other way round: there you put the LED bar behind the bottles, so the label stays readable and the contents light up.

Charge the battery at a fixed moment, for instance right after closing time, and you will never be left with a dead lamp halfway through the evening. A tealight holder burns for about four hours; keep a stock behind the bar so you never have to skip a table. Do not put tealight holders close to a table edge where crockery slides past.

The glass tealight holders from Zwiesel Glas are crystal glass and may go in the dishwasher, provided you first get the wax residue out of the base. Set wax that comes loose during a wash cycle spreads over the rest of the load; warm water and a spatula are enough to remove it beforehand.

The LED lamps are electronics and never go in the machine. Wipe the housing with a lightly damp cloth and keep the charging contacts dry and clean, because a thin film of sugar syrup on those contacts is the most common reason a lamp stops charging.

If you are only after a lamp for the table, have a look at the separate table lamps. To kit out the rest of the bar, the glass crates and the coasters cover the practical side, while the cocktail shakers and bar spoons cover the tools. An overview of everything that belongs behind the bar is on the bar tools page, and the drinks themselves are with the cocktails.