High-Tech Happy Hour
There’s more to a quality home wet bar than an extensive liquor collection. Having on hand the right sleek, smart-looking gadgets to dispense and mix your drinks, and keep them ice cold, will make entertaining guests even easier. These devices will have you and your guests drinking in high style.
BEST WINE DISPENSER: PLUM
This multifaceted device not only lets you dispense two bottles of wine on tap at once, but also preserves, chills, and opens your reds, whites, and rosés. Best of all, the Wi-Fi–enabled Plum scans your bottles' labels, identifies exactly which type of wine it’s storing, and calculates the ideal temperature at which it should be served. The appliance is a petite 15-inches wide and has a sleek, black exterior.
BEST SMART DECANTER: ISOMMELIER
Traditionally, decanting wine can be a slow process, but iSommelier speeds it up to take only minutes. After you enter information about a wine—its style, vintage, and age—into a smartphone app, the device will calculate how long it needs to be decanted. Just pour the wine into the glass decanter and watch iSommelier rapidly filter out pollutants and purify the liquid with oxygen; you’ll get an alert on your phone when it’s ready.
BEST WINE OPENER/STOPPER: CORAVIN MODEL TWO
If you’re one for slowly savoring your wine, the Coravin system is ideal: The device fastens onto bottles and punctures corks with a needle. Pressurized gas is then sent through the bottle, allowing for an easy pour. You can safely store the remainder for months, thanks to technology that reseals the cork and aerates the wine.
BEST DRAFT-BEER DISPENSER: EDGESTAR KC2000
This stainless-steel “kegerator” accommodates quarter- and half-barrel kegs of beer for easy, fresh pours in the comfort of your home. The temperature for the standalone, moveable unit can be set from the low 30s to mid-40s using a digital thermostat, and its CO2 tank is mounted externally, leaving more space for beer storage within.
BEST ICE MAKER: NEW AIR PORTABLE ICE MAKER
Churn out 50 pounds of ice a day with this ice machine, which creates cubes of three different sides. New Air eliminates guesswork with an automatic shut-off, lights that indicate when to refill the machine with water, and self-cleaning capability. The device also comes with a removable ice tray and scoop, and requires no assembly or installation—just plug it in.