One essential item for every bar is a bottle cooler. There are so many different drinks that can be sold in a bar or restaurant and the bigger your bottle cooler the more you can display. In that sense, the bigger the bottle cooler you can install, the better.

However, there are a number of other things to take into consideration when buying a bottle cooler, not the least of which is the means of access. A sliding door bottle cooler has a number of advantages over a bottle cooler with a hinged door.

As a means of access, a hinged door obviously swings out into the working area behind the bar. If you don't have a lot of space, the door can get in the way of other staff as they walk up and down behind the bar serving other customers. When you are busy, this can cause difficulties.

When you open a hinged door bottle cooler, the cold air escapes into the bar area, which doesn't happen nearly so much with a sliding door bottle cooler. This means that, quite simply, a hinged door bottle cooler is not so energy efficient as a sliding door bottle cooler and therefore costs more to run. When you consider that the bottle cooler door or doors can be opened hundreds of times during a day this can make quite a difference to your electricity bill.

It is also the case that a sliding door bottle cooler has a longer lifespan than a hinged door cooler. The hinges will wear out eventually, whereas a sliding door glides back and forth on its tracks, so doesn't suffer in the same way that hinges do.

Another advantage of a triple sliding door bottle cooler is that the more shelving you have, the more different drinks you can display. So perhaps instead of only displaying two varieties of J20 you could display the whole range. This gives your customers more choice, which in turn will keep them coming back, whereas if you only stock the two varieties and they want to drink one of the other ones, they will go to another pub or bar which does stock it.

A trend that bottle cooler manufacturers are seeing today is that of their customers asking for bespoke designs and finishes to match the bar décor and company branding, and some of them are now beginning to supply that. There is also growing demand for counter top bottle coolers as well, and the manufacturers are attributing this to an increase in specific manufacturer-based drink promotions as well as the diversification of a drinks menu to include a range of vibrant, colourful cocktails.

Bottle coolers have to be strong enough to survive a punishing level of wear and tear, and be reliable, while being easy to clean and maintain. Most models have adjustable shelving so that they can be altered to allow different sized bottles and cans to be stored efficiently. They should also have variable thermostats so that the operator can set the optimum temperature for the drinks being stored between 4°C and 10°C. If stock is left in the bottle coolers overnight, which in most cases it is, then you should look for a model with lockable doors for extra security.

Of course, it goes without saying that every bar owner wants to have a bottle cooler that is as energy efficient as possible in order to save money and to keep their carbon footprint down. Some of the latest models have greater energy efficiency including the use of LED lights and environmentally-friendly refrigerant gas. LED lights also give a sharper light, run cooler, and last longer.

Bottle coolers are also made for different types of venue. So for example, a night club will want soft lighting and fast chilling times, because customers don't want warm wine and floodlighting behind the bar. Football grounds and theatres want fast service, so may opt for a top loading bottle cooler.

Some manufacturers are now using "wire on tube" condensers. They are virtually maintenance-free because it is much harder for them to become blocked like ordinary condensers. This is especially important with bottle coolers, because they are usually built-in, so it is hard to get access to the condenser for cleaning.