A drinks cabinet is a piece of furniture designed to store bottles, decanters and glasses, often with dedicated compartments, racks and serving surfaces. The term covers a wide range of forms, from Georgian cellarettes and sideboards with bottle drawers to the cocktail cabinets of the 1920s and 1930s and later twentieth-century bar units.
Before the twentieth century, alcohol was usually stored in cellarettes, wine coolers and sideboard cupboards, while decanters were displayed on sideboards or in locking tantaluses. The cocktail craze of the interwar years produced the fully fitted drinks cabinet, often opening to reveal mirrored interiors, internal lighting, glass shelves and fitted racks. Art Deco cabinets were made in walnut, burr walnut, sycamore and lacquer, sometimes with chrome fittings, and some were disguised as globes or bookcases. Earlier pieces such as Victorian or Edwardian cabinets are often converted from other forms. Collectors look for original fittings, good veneers, working mechanisms and lighting that has been rewired safely. Drinks cabinets remain popular because they combine practical storage with a sense of occasion, and they work well in drawing rooms, libraries and studies.
