I own a bar cart—an art deco number with a polished nickel frame. It’s where I stash my liqueurs and modifiers, and where, on the foxed mirror surface, I’ll sometimes whip up a Sazerac or Old-Fashioned. More than just a mobile space-saver in a tiny Brooklyn apartment, it’s a handsome décor item, to boot. Yet, never once have I snapped a selfie with it.
It seems, though, were I suddenly the owner of a globe bar cart—an inexplicable must-have amongst would-be one-percenters—that might all change. Globe bar owners love looming over their miniature earth, typically split open along the equator line to reveal bottles of Game of Thrones Scotch, crystal decanters of Cognac or, in one instance, Malibu Pineapple Rum. Hardly a casual affair, they don their finest dress wear (flashy pastel suits are standard, black tie is optional), and pose next to their liquor-loaded orb for a photo session bound for Instagram.
How did these cartographic carts become a ubiquitous signifier of finance bro cosplay, as recognizable as a logo Patagonia vest or Rolex Submariner?
Few drinkers even own a bar cart, let alone a globe, yet the odd amalgam of the two are inexplicably easy to come by. They’re sold on eBay, at Pottery Barn and on WayFair, which offers thirteen different models. There are desktop options and wall-mounted ones, too. In fact, you can buy them on Amazon or from Walmart. There is even an entire website devoted to them, Bar Globe World, which offers a stupefying number of options. “Every time you showcase a modern or vintage replica globe liquor cabinet in your home or office you make a statement,” reads the homepage. (That statement is: My all-time favorite book is Atlas Shrugged.)
It’s not some fat cat-come-lately trend either; Pete Campbell, the loathsome account exec on Mad Men, was quite proud of his; while fictionalized Nazis drank from one in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. Italian manufacturer Zoffoli claims there have been globe bars as far back as the 16th century. The globe bar, it seems, has been a signifier of questionable taste for more than five centuries.
But what if you wanted to signal your penchant for world domination, but simply don’t have the floor space for a globe bar? Don’t worry—you can always opt for a globe bar tattoo instead.
