Furnish Your Home Bar, Bartending Kit Essentials
Maybe you’ve just taken a class with me or you’ve decided you’d like to step up your game with some excellent bartending tools. No matter where you are in your craft cocktail journey, having a nice set of mixing equipment can mean the difference between an enjoyable bartending experience or a frustrating one.
Skip it and purchase a kit
We’re all busy people and maybe you’d like to skip this article, take the easy route and purchase the best pre-made mixology kit you can find. As I’ll go into detail later, this is not usually the best way acquire the tools you need for your bar. Kits are easy, but you’ll most likely get things that you don’t really need, and quality can be a concern as well. But if you want something easy and immediate this cocktail kit isn’t a bad bet.
Boston Shaker, Mixing Spoon, Muddler, Measuring Jigger, Lemon Squeez, Tongs, Corkscrew, Liquor Pourers and More
Criteria for Bartending Tools
Generally my criteria is simple. You want high quality tools that you’ll use over and over again without a bunch of extra stuff. Often times simple is best. If you walk into any craft cocktail bar in the world you will see some of the simplest and cheapest equipment available. Stainless steel and glass is king. I personally wouldn’t let plastic equipment anywhere near my cocktails. Delicious and experimental cocktails have been made for centuries, and many of the tools have stayed the same. If it was good enough for your grandfather, it’s good enough for you.
Shaker
The shaker is the linchpin of any good home bar. You’ll use your shaker for almost every cocktail you make. It chills, aerates and dilutes your drink to the exact right amount. There are two main styles of cocktail shaker out there.
Cobbler Shaker - This is what you’ll see pop up over an over again on a google search of “Cocktail Shaker” It’s made up of a base where ingredients are poured and a lid with a built in strainer.
Boston Shaker - This is what you’ll see at your local watering hole. A tin base and either a pint glass or metal top.
While Cobbler Shakers may be a little easier for beginners, I recommend going with a Boston Shaker. Cobbler Shakers can be endlessly frustrating. The built in strainer isn’t great and can let too much ice into your drink. With vigorous shaking the lid will actually become frozen to the top and your delicious cocktail will be effectively locked inside. While you can strain from a Boston Shaker without any additional tools, I recommend you get a basic strainer, so that your bases are covered.
Professional Grade Unweighted 18oz & Weighted 28oz Boston Shaker Set + Recipes Book
Stainless Steel Bar Cocktail Strainer Filtering Tool for Bar Restaurant Home
A Shaker… but Fancy
Let’s imagine you’d like your drink stirred, not shaken. Not a problem! You can easily stir in a Boston shaker or even in the glass you’ll be serving in. But if you’d like to make it a little fancier, get yourself a mixing glass. These are beautiful cut glass beakers that you can mix any delicious cocktail in. That being said, don’t forget your strainer, and a bar spoon!
550mL / 18oz - Professional Bartending Commercial Glassware
Stainless Steel Mixing Spoons, Spiral Pattern Bar Cocktail Shaker Spoon
Jigger
The real difference between just pouring yourself a drink on a Friday night and enjoying a homemade craft cocktail is measuring your ingredients. I’m a big fan of sloshing some ingredients into a glass, trust me. But when you want a nice cocktail you’ll need to measure your ingredients. While most bars use liquor pourers in their bottles and count out their shots, it’s not really that accurate or realistic for the home bar. That’s why we use a jigger at craft cocktail bars and at home.
The standard jigger has two conical sides. Traditionally the large side holds 1 1/2oz or one shot, while the smaller size holds 3/4oz or half a shot. It’s a favorite of bartenders everywhere, because it’s quick and easy. No trying to squint at lines on a measuring cup, just full up the big side or small side depending on how much of an ingredient you need. That being said, lately I’ve been won over by the steal angled measuring jigger. It’s not as quick because you’ll need to pick at the measurements when you use it, but for mixing cocktails at home, you can’t beat the accuracy, and have various measurements available, makes mixing the perfect combination of ingredients a breeze. Plus I think it looks pretty sleek as well. I’ve listed both styles here for you to choose from.
Stanton Trading 3/4-Ounce by 1-1/2-Ounce
Muddler
As you make more and more cocktails at home, you’re going to need to do two things. You’ll need to release juices and oils from fruits and herbs, and you’ll need to need to smash the living daylights out of some ingredients. A muddler is used to do both these things. There really is not good replacement for a muddler in your bar kit. It does it’s job really well and this specific muddler gives you options. A flat side for gently pressing your ingredients and the other has teeth to mash and grind to your hearts content…depending on the cocktail.
Wooden Muddler Bar Tool, 12 x 1.6 Inches
Juicer
Always use fresh fruit juice in your cocktails! Always! It makes such a huge difference in the flavor of the drink, and you won’t regret it. A little time and muscle and you’ll be good to go. There are several routes to go when getting a juicer for your bar. Reamers, squeezers, citrus presses, and any number of electric juicers. What maters most, is to buy something that fits your needs. If you’re making margaritas most summer nights, you’re going to want to size up your juicer. If you’re a whiskey drinker and only need to juice some citrus once in a blue moon, you can go with something easy and small. If you choose something big that won’t fit in a drawer, you’ll probably also want it to be pretty. I’ve got you covered with a couple options.
Professional Grade Manual Hand Press Juicer For Fresh Squeezed Orange, Lemon, Lime, Grapefruit and Citrus Fresh Morning Drinks, Cocktails, or Cooking by Verve CULTURE
Premium Heavy Duty Solid Metal Squeezer Bowl and Food Grade Silicone Handles - Large Manual Citrus Press Juicer and Lime Squeezer Stainless Steel
Just a couple more things!
We’re getting near to the end of the essentials. With just a few more items, your home bar will be ready to go. First off, you’ll probably need a wine key. Not only does this tool open bottles of wine, but it will remove foil and plastic wrapper from fresh liquor bottles, pop beer and soda bottles, and no bar is complete without one. There are a million styles, but my favorite is a waiters corkscrew. After you insert it into the cork, use the metal arm to leverage the cork right out!
It’s true that we not only eat with our eyes first, but we also drink with them. Garnish is crucial to ninety percent of your cocktails. It adds flavor, scent, color, and interest to your cocktail. Garnish comes in many different forms depending on the drink you’re making. Most garnish can be prepared with a kitchen knife. However, a kitchen knife cannot zest, and it’s really hard to get a perfect ribbon of citrus rind. That’s where the channel knife plus zester comes in. It’s a specific tool for a specific purpose. You’ll want one with a large ergonomic grip to make the job easier, because we don’t want you to work too hard for that drink. You deserve it.
Professional Corkscrews for Wine Bottles w/ Foil Cutter and Cap Remover - Manual Wine Key for Servers, Waiters, Bartenders and Home Use - Ebony Wood
With Channel Knife
So much more!
There are hundreds of bar gadgets out there and some of them are nice to have. It may be nice to have some bottle stoppers, pourers, multiple strainers, an ice pick, or any number of things at some point, but they aren’t necessary. With the items on this list you’ll be ready to impress your friends, make a delicious night cap or experiment with your own craft cocktails. Next you’ll just need to practice making some cocktails!