How drinks cabinets made a comeback

In 1962, in one of Barbara Cartland books dedicated to the art of receiving guests, the eccentric romance novelist dispensed useful tips and advice to the desperate housewives of that era. According to her, a good hostess should stick to serving drinks in small quantities and should always keep several bottles of tomato juice in the fridge.

It happens that good manners erode over time. More than 50 years after this guide was published, theart of mixing drinks is widespread and a certain revival of home parties is helping the old-fashioned drinks cabinet to make a comeback. Commonly called the “mini-bar”, this item of furniture is both a distant relative of the bureau and a first cousin of the drinks trolley. Less cumbersome than a zinc-plated counter, this essential piece of furniture was extremely popular until the end of the1970s, but too frequently took on unfortunate shapes following the whims of fashion… Miniature barrels, globes of thee arth on wheels and other treasure chests, which today are unwanted survivors from the dark days of yore.

A good hostess should always keep tomato juice in the fridge

Today, the most recent specimens of the genre are breaking away from their embarrassing ancestry. A subject of formal experimentation and an addition to all modern refinements, the drinks cabinet is of course provoking a growing interest among a young population looking for luxury. Among other masterpieces to whet the appetite of any worldly drinker, we could name models by Amy Somerville, Ilse Crawford or Jean-Marie Massaud, who all rely heavily on the use of precious materials. In the wheeled furniture category, the gilded trolley of Rudolf Nureyev, reworked by the Soane house, will delight ballet fans.