Speedrails

Length determines almost everything. The Bar Professional rails come in 56 cm for six bottles, 81 cm for eight and 107 cm for ten. Start by measuring the free space in front of or underneath your counter, and bear in mind that the channel takes up slightly more width than the bottles themselves. Pick a size that fits within that space and does not stick out over a drawer or a fridge door.

Then count your bottles. A classic well with gin, vodka, rum, tequila, whisky and triple sec fills exactly six slots. If you also work with syrups, bitters and fresh juices, you will quickly reach eight or ten. When in doubt, take the longer rail: an empty slot costs you nothing, while a bottle that does not fit gets in the way all service long.

The order in the rail matters more than the rail itself. Put your most-poured bottle directly in front of your dominant hand and group the rest by category: clear spirits on one side, dark ones on the other, syrups at the far end. That way you always grab the right bottle for a gin and tonic or a mojito without looking.

Fit every bottle with a pour spout so you can free-pour and put the bottle straight back into the same slot. A rail only works as long as it stays a workstation and does not turn into storage. Clear everything out at the end of service, including the bottles you never touched that evening.

Stainless steel copes with citrus acid and daily scrubbing, but sugar syrup dries hard and attracts fruit flies. Rinse the channel with warm water after every service and dry it off, otherwise limescale will dull the shine. Do not use steel wool: it leaves behind particles that will rust anyway.

The rails are fixed to the bar with screws or brackets. Check that fixing regularly, because a full rail with ten bottles carries a serious amount of weight. Scratches on the steel are unavoidable and take nothing away from how it works.

A rail is just one link in the workstation. The rest sits with the bar tools: cocktail shakers for shaking, jiggers for measuring and bar spoons for stirring. Once the bar itself is in place, glassware is the next step, and the cocktail glasses bring coupes, tumblers and highball glasses together in one place. If you are mainly setting up at home, the rail for six bottles is usually more than enough.