Cocktail Clinic: Essential Bar Tools
Here are a few essential tools to have on hand for making almost any cocktail, and recipes that utilize this indispensable equipment.
Bar Spoon
A long-handled metal spoon used to mix and chill cocktails. Stirring doesn’t create cloudy air bubbles, so it’s preferable for spirits-only drinks, like martinis, which look best crystal clear. It’s also useful for measuring small amounts of liquid.
Recipes: Bellagio Mist • Don’t Give Up the ShipBoston Shaker
The bartender’s choice, consisting of a pint glass with a metal canister that covers the top to create a seal. Measure ingredients into the glass and shake with the metal half pointing away from you. Strain the drink from the canister
More: Recipe: La Sucette • Mixologist’s 3 Best ToolsCobbler Shaker
The most commonly used shaker, with a metal or glass vessel for mixing drinks with ice, a built-in strainer and a fitted top. Individual shakers accommodate less ice, so they don't chill drinks as well as larger shakers do.
Recipes: Watermelon Mojito • Pepper DeliciousChannel Knife
A small spoon-shaped knife with a metal tooth used for peeling long, thin fancy spiral twists from citrus fruit for garnish. A sharp paring knife or vegetable peeler works best for the wider citrus twists that are flamed.
Recipes: Kirs Normand • Iced TeaquilaCitrus Juicer
A shallow dish with a reaming cone, a spout and often a strainer that’s used to separate juice from pulp. Juices are best the day they’re squeezed, but orange and grapefruit juices can hold for up to two days in the refrigerator.
Recipes: Michelle’s Drink • Blood Orange MargaritasHawthorne Strainer
The best all-purpose strainer. This round metal device has a semicircular spring that ensures a snug, spill-proof fit on top of a shaker. Look for a tightly coiled spring, which will keep muddled fruit and herbs out of your drink.
Recipes: Seasonal Vodka Gimlet • ChevalJigger
A two-sided stainless steel measuring instrument. It’s indispensable for quick, precise mixing. Look for one with 1/2- and 1-ounce cups. A shot glass with measurements works well, too.
Julep Strainer
The preferred device for straining cocktails from a pint glass. Fine holes keep ice out of the finished cocktail, and the shape fits securely inside a mixing glass. In a pinch, though, a Hawthorne strainer will do the trick.
Recipes: Gamma Ray • Sparkling MintMuddler
A sturdy baseball bat-shaped tool that’s used to crush herbs, sugar cubes and fresh fruit. Look for a muddler long enough to reach the bottom of your cocktail shaker; in a pinch, you can use a long-handled wooden spoon.
Recipes: Cherry Smash • Ginger MargaritaWaiter’s Corkscrew
A pocketknife-like tool with a bottle opener and a small blade used for cutting foil from wine caps. Bartenders prefer this model to the bulkier winged and mechanical corkscrews available.
More: Test Drive Corkscrews • Wine Geegaws: Tasteful or Tacky?
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