You're hosting a cocktail party. You've stocked the bar, prepped your garnishes, and you know you can make a solid 15 cocktails. Now comes the question every host dreads: how do you tell your guests what you can make without standing behind the bar all night repeating yourself?
Home Bar Hero's Party Host Mode solves this with a scannable QR code. You build a menu, generate a code, print it or display it on your phone, and guests scan it with their camera. A clean, browsable drinks list pops up in their browser, no app download required. They pick what they want. You pour.
It turns your home bar into a real cocktail bar experience.
Menus: Build the List Once, Share It Two Ways
New in August 2026: menus are now real, named things you build and keep. Make one called Tiki Night, another called Holiday 2026, another for the neighborhood block party. Add any drink to a menu, a classic from the catalog or a cocktail you invented yourself. Reorder the list, rename it, swap drinks in and out whenever you want.
The clever part is that one menu serves two different audiences:
- Guests who scan your QR code see a clean drinks list: names and photos, no login, nothing to install. It reads like a bar menu because that's exactly what it is.
- Your Regulars, the people who follow your bar and are signed in, see the same menu with the full recipes behind it.
Same menu, two renderings. You do not maintain a "guest version" and a "real version," and you never have to worry about your recipes leaking onto a public page. Guests get names and photos, and that is all the public page can even show them.
Free accounts get one menu. Top Shelf supporters get unlimited menus, which is what you want if you host by season or run a different list for every event.
How Party Host Mode Works
Step 1: Open Party Host Mode
From the Home screen, tap the QR code icon in the header to see your scannable code. To choose what guests see, open Party Host Mode from the Home settings menu.
Two controls shape the guest page:
Show Spirit Selection, Display your bar's spirit and liqueur collection. Guests can see what you're working with, your bourbons, gins, rums, liqueurs, and everything else. This is great for guests who know cocktails and want to make requests based on what you have. Toggle it off if you'd rather they order from the menu and nothing else.
The menu your guests see, Pick which of your menus goes on the QR page. Tap a menu chip to select it, then choose the drinks that go on it.
Step 2: Put Drinks on the Menu
- Tap "Choose cocktails..." to open the drink picker
- Browse the catalog and your own creations, with thumbnails and ingredient summaries
- Tap to add (selected drinks pin to the top so you can review the whole list at a glance)
- Save
Your menu shows up as removable chips in the settings screen, so swapping a drink in or out takes a tap. A menu can hold as many drinks as you like; guests see the first 10, which is about the length a real bar menu runs anyway.
Step 3: Share the QR Code
Your QR code links to your public bar URL. Three ways to share it:
- Display the QR code on your phone, Guests scan it directly from your screen
- Print the QR code, Tape it to the bar, frame it, or put it on a table tent
- Share the link, Use your phone's share sheet to text, email, or AirDrop the URL
The URL format is clean and shareable: homebarhero.ai/bar/[your-id]
There's also a menu invite link. Instead of dropping someone at the front door of your bar, you can share a link scoped to one specific menu, and whoever taps it lands directly on that menu. Handy when you're hosting an event and want people looking at the event list, not everything else you pour.
Step 4: Guests Scan and Browse
Here's the best part: guests need nothing. No app download. No account creation. No sign-up form. They scan the QR code with their phone camera, it opens in their browser, and they see your menu.
The public bar page shows the menu you picked, plus your spirit shelf if you left that toggle on. Guests browse the drinks by name and photo, and they've got everything they need to place an order with you.
Three Ways to Run the Room
Party Host Mode adapts to how you want to host. Same tools, three different nights.
Style 1: Spirits on Display
Best for: Experienced host with knowledgeable guests
Leave the spirit shelf visible so guests can browse your bottles and make informed requests. "You have Campari, sweet vermouth, and gin? I'll take a Negroni."
This works well when your guests are cocktail enthusiasts who enjoy the back-and-forth of deciding what to make. It's a conversation starter, and your bottles look the part: the shelf is rendered as art rather than listed as text, so the page reads like a bar, not a spreadsheet. Top Shelf supporters get the whole shelf rendered as AI bottle art.
Style 2: A Tight Signature Menu
Best for: Focused entertaining, signature cocktail experience
Build a menu of the drinks you make best: your crowd-pleasers, your showstoppers, the ones that showcase your bar's personality. Guests see the first 10, which is the closest thing to a real bar menu.
A short menu also makes hosting easier. Instead of fielding requests from an open-ended list, you have a manageable set of drinks you've prepped for. Garnishes are ready. Ingredients are measured. You know exactly what's coming.
Style 3: A Menu for Every Occasion
Best for: Frequent hosts, seasonal entertaining
Keep a menu per event and swap which one is live. Tiki Night in July, a spiced list in December, a brunch menu for Sunday. Nothing gets rebuilt, you just pick the menu that matches the night and save. Free accounts run one menu; Top Shelf supporters keep as many as they host.
Why Zero-Friction Guest Access Matters
Every cocktail party app that requires guests to download something fails the reality test. Here's what actually happens when you tell 15 party guests to download an app:
- 3 people do it immediately
- 4 people say "I'll do it later" and never do
- 5 people don't have storage space or can't find it in the app store
- 3 people don't hear you over the music
QR code to browser eliminates every one of those friction points. Guests already know how to scan QR codes, they've been doing it at restaurants for years. Camera open, scan, menu appears. No download. No account. No barrier.
This is why Party Host Mode uses a public web page rather than an in-app view. The technology decision is intentional: maximum accessibility for your guests.
Setting Up the Perfect Party Menu: A Walkthrough
Here's a practical guide to hosting a cocktail party with Home Bar Hero.
Before the Party
Update your inventory. Scan any new bottles you've purchased for the party. Add mixers, juices, syrups, and garnishes. The more accurate your inventory, the more accurate your cocktail availability.
Build the menu. Pick your drinks and make sure you genuinely have every ingredient for each one. The matching runs against your bar as you go, and it now accounts for reasonable substitutions, but double-checking means no mid-party surprises.
Generate and print your QR code. Print it large enough to scan easily. A 3x3 inch print on a table tent or taped to the bar works well. If you'd rather go digital, keep the QR code ready on your phone or tablet.
During the Party
Keep the QR code visible. Place it where guests naturally congregate, at the bar, on the kitchen counter, or on a serving table.
Let the menu do the talking. Instead of explaining what you can make, point guests to the QR code. "Scan that, pick a drink, and I'll make it for you."
Enjoy hosting. With a clear menu, guests serve themselves the decision-making part. They come to you with a specific order. You make drinks instead of answering "what do you have?"
Live Updates
New in August 2026: the QR link updates the moment you save. Add a drink to the menu mid-party, reorder it, or swap the whole menu for a different one, and the next guest who scans sees the new version. Nothing to regenerate, nothing to reprint. The code stays the same; only what's behind it changes.
Add bottles during the party too. Your shelf on the guest page keeps up with what you actually own.
Real-World Party Scenarios
The Casual Get-Together (6-10 Guests)
Build a loose menu and leave the spirit shelf on. With a smaller group, variety is welcome. Guests browse your bottles and the menu together and make personal picks. You might make 8 different cocktails over the course of the evening, and that's manageable.
The Proper Cocktail Party (15-30 Guests)
Run a tight 10-drink menu. With a larger group, you need efficiency. Pick 3-4 spirit-forward classics (Old Fashioned, Negroni, Manhattan), 3-4 refreshing options (Margarita, Mojito, French 75), and 2-3 crowd-pleasers (Espresso Martini, Aperol Spritz). Prep your garnishes for these specific drinks.
The Tasting Night (4-8 Close Friends)
Leave Show Spirit Selection on and keep the menu short. This is an intimate group that wants to geek out. Show them your bottles, discuss what you have, and collaboratively decide what to make. The spirit display sparks conversation and discovery.
The Holiday Gathering
Make a dedicated seasonal menu and switch to it for the night. A winter party might feature Hot Toddy, Irish Coffee, Espresso Martini, Eggnog, Mulled Wine, Boulevardier, and a few cold options for balance. Name the menu Holiday 2026, and it's waiting for you again next December. Label your QR code with something festive: "Holiday Cocktail Menu, Scan to Order."
Frequently Asked Questions
Do my guests need to download Home Bar Hero?
No. That's the entire point. Guests scan the QR code with their phone camera, and the menu opens in their web browser. No app download, no account creation, no sign-up. Just a scannable menu.
Can I change my menu during the party?
Yes. The QR link updates the moment you save. Add or remove drinks, reorder the list, switch to a different menu entirely, or toggle the spirit shelf, and the guest-facing page reflects it right away. The QR code itself never changes, so anything you already printed keeps working.
How many menus can I have?
Free accounts get one menu. Top Shelf supporters get unlimited menus, so you can keep a separate list for every season and every event. Party Host Mode is part of the Top Shelf supporter upgrade in Home Bar Hero's tier comparison, and building a menu or generating a QR code never costs AI credits.
What can guests do on the public bar page?
Guests browse the menu by drink name and photo, and they can see your spirit shelf if you've left that toggle on. They cannot save, rate, comment, or use the app's social features, and they never see your recipes. If you want someone to have the actual recipes, invite them to pull up a stool at your bar, your Regulars see the full recipes behind the same menu.
Is there a limit on how many guests can scan the QR code?
No. The public bar page is a standard web URL with no access limits. Whether 5 guests or 50 guests scan the code, everyone gets the same browsable menu.
Host Your Bar Like a Real Bar
You've put thought into your bottles, your recipes, and your home bar setup. Party Host Mode gives your guests a way to appreciate all of it, a browsable, professional-looking cocktail menu that's as easy to use as scanning a code at a restaurant. Build the menu once, and it's ready every time you host.
No app downloads. No awkward "just let me pull up the menu" fumbling. Just a QR code, a clean menu, and cocktails worth ordering.