The answer is yes. You can make cocktails without all the fancy bar tools you’ve seen lined up behind your favorite bartender. Do I recommend it? Not really.
You certainly don’t need to recreate a professional cocktail bar in your kitchen, but having a few essential bar tools makes everything so much easier. The right shaker, a proper jigger and a decent strainer can be the difference between feeling like you know what you’re doing and fishing ice cubes out of a Martini with a fork. My Lush Guide to essential bar tools will help you work out what you actually need, what can wait until later and what on earth all those mysterious implements are for
Don’t forget that you are “entertaining.” Go ahead and entertain. You want to impress your friends with your cocktail making prowess! Whipping out your jam jar to shake Espresso Martinis just does not compare. There is something special about making a proper cocktail in a proper shaker to make it taste that so much better!
Still saying all that, don’t think I am a snob when it comes to barware, it’s all about personal style. If your style is jam-jar, shabby chic, then go with it. If you’re building your entire bar from scratch, start with my Lush Guide to Setting Up a Home Bar.
THE LUSH LIFE SHORTCUT
You don’t need every cocktail gadget ever invented. Start with a shaker, jigger, strainer and bar spoon. Add a mixing glass, muddler and citrus tools as you start making more cocktails. Buy good tools once and you’ll be using them for years.
What Are the Essential Bar Tools?
If you’re starting from scratch, there are four pieces of bar equipment I would buy first:
- Cocktail shaker
- Jigger
- Cocktail strainer
- Bar spoon
With those four things, plus the measuring and mixing equipment you probably already have in your kitchen, you can make a remarkable number of cocktails.
Then, as your cocktail repertoire grows, I would add:
- Mixing glass
- Muddler
- Citrus juicer
- Peeler or channel knife
- Fine mesh strainer
- Ice tools
Buy the tools you need for the cocktails you actually make. If you’ve never muddled anything in your life, you probably don’t need to make a muddler your first purchase.
1. The Cocktail Shaker
If there is one piece of equipment that screams “cocktail,” it’s the shaker. You’ll use it for cocktails containing ingredients such as citrus juice, fruit, cream, egg white and syrups that need to be properly combined.
There are three main styles you’ll come across: the Boston shaker, Cobbler shaker and French or Parisian shaker.
- The Boston shaker is the style you’ll see in many professional cocktail bars. It consists of two pieces that fit together and is quick and efficient once you know what you’re doing.
- A Cobbler shaker comes in three pieces and has a strainer built into the top. It’s often a little less intimidating when you’re starting out, although getting the lid off a very cold one can occasionally test your relationship with cocktail hour.
- The French shaker sits somewhere between the two and gets extra points for looking rather fabulous.
Which one is best? The one you actually enjoy using.
Learn more: Read my complete guide to choosing a cocktail shaker.
What to buy: Look for a well-made stainless-steel shaker that feels comfortable in your hands and seals properly. [Shop cocktail shakers →]
2. The Jigger
If you’re going to buy only one proper cocktail tool today, make it a jigger. A jigger is simply a small measuring tool designed for spirits and cocktail ingredients. It may not be the most exciting-looking thing on your bar, but it might be the most important.
Cocktails are recipes. If a Margarita calls for two ounces of tequila, one ounce of lime and three-quarters of an ounce of orange liqueur, casually sloshing vaguely appropriate quantities into your shaker isn’t going to produce the same drink every time.
You’ll find several different shapes and sizes, including the classic double-sided jigger and taller Japanese-style jiggers.
Choose one with measurements that are easy to see. There is nothing useful about owning a beautiful jigger whose markings require a magnifying glass.
Learn more: Read my Lush Guide to Choosing the Perfect Jigger!
What to buy: I’d choose a stainless-steel jigger with several clearly marked measurements rather than one that measures only a single amount. [Shop cocktail jiggers →]
3. The Cocktail Strainer
Once you’ve shaken your cocktail, you need to get it into the glass without dumping the entire contents of your shaker in with it. Enter the strainer.
The one you’ll probably use most is the Hawthorne strainer, recognizable by the spring running around its edge. It sits over your shaker or mixing vessel and holds back the ice as you pour.
A Julep strainer looks more like an oversized perforated spoon and is traditionally used for stirred cocktails. Then there’s the fine mesh strainer, which you use when double-straining a cocktail to catch tiny shards of ice, fruit, herbs or other bits you don’t particularly want floating around in the finished drink.
What to buy: A good Hawthorne strainer should sit securely over your shaker and have a tightly wound spring. [Shop cocktail strainers →]
4. The Bar Spoon
Yes, there really is a special spoon for making cocktails. A bar spoon has a long, slender handle that allows you to stir a drink smoothly around the inside of a mixing glass. Could you use a normal spoon? Of course.
Stirring isn’t simply about mixing ingredients together. It chills the drink while introducing controlled dilution without adding the aeration you get from shaking. That’s why Martinis, Manhattans, Negronis and other spirit-forward cocktails are generally stirred.
Look for a bar spoon with enough length to comfortably reach the bottom of your mixing glass.
What to buy: You don’t need anything particularly elaborate here. A well-balanced stainless-steel bar spoon with a long twisted handle will do the job beautifully. [Shop bar spoons →]
5. Mixing Glass
You can’t make a Martini without a Mixing Glass, unless your name is James Bond! I love the more ornate, cut-glass ones, but you can find ones that are smoother for a stream-lined, less Ralph Lauren look.
There are several different volume sizes to choose from. I have relatively small hands, so I can grab the regular sized ones perfectly. It all depends on how many Martinis you think you will be making at once.
What to buy: Choose a heavy, sturdy mixing glass with enough room for the cocktail and plenty of ice. [Shop mixing glasses →]
6. Muddler
A muddler is essentially the cocktail world’s pestle. You use it to gently press ingredients such as herbs, fruit and sugar to release their flavors. My muddler gets most of its use during summer, when mojito are in season. Saying that, every season should be mojito season.
You’re making a Mojito, not taking out your frustrations on some mint. Over-muddling herbs can release bitter flavors, particularly with delicate ingredients such as mint. Wooden, stainless-steel and plastic muddlers are all available, with different shapes and surfaces depending on what you’re muddling.
Learn more: Read my Lush Guide to Choosing the Perfect Muddler
What to buy: Choose something comfortable to hold and long enough to reach the bottom of your glass or shaker. [Shop cocktail muddlers →]
7. A Citrus Juicer
The first time I saw Ryan Chetiyawardana & Lynnette Marrero use one of these on Masterclass, I had to have it. Why had I spent my whole life using any other lemon squeezer!
Not only was the color divine (I use the lemon one, even for limes), but it was so easy to use. No more pushing and picking out pits. I use the KitchenCraft one even when I am not making cocktails, don’t tell anyone!
What to buy: A sturdy handheld citrus press that’s easy to wash. [Shop citrus presses →]
8. A Good Peeler
Half the battle with making cocktails at home is making them look like cocktails. A strip of orange peel over an Old Fashioned or lemon peel over a Martini takes seconds and immediately makes the drink feel finished.
A good vegetable peeler will do the job perfectly well. You can also add a channel knife later if you want those beautiful long citrus twists. This is one of those rare moments when something already sitting in your kitchen may be exactly the right cocktail tool.
9. Ice Tray
If you listen to my podcast episode, How to Help the Home Bartender, you will hear the best of the industry go on and on about ice. The short of it is that you can’t forget that ice is an ingredient in your cocktail! Forget about using the ice that your fridge generates automatically or ice cubes you make from the water that pours from your taps. Ice just sits there absorbing all the odors of all the food in your freezer.
Make it fresh and use distilled water, if you can get it. This will make your ice cubes clear. Have a bunch of ice cube trays of various sizes – smaller ones to use for shaking and stirring and larger square and round cubes for cocktails. The larger ones melt much more slowly, so your Old Fashioned doesn’t get diluted as quickly. A napkin and a mallet are good to have one hand to make crushed ice!
10. Egg Separator
If you are making any sours or egg white cocktails, then having an egg separator on hand can make your life so much easier. Just be sure to crack the egg over a bowl, not your shaker, so that you don’t ruin all the ingredients you’ve already put in the shaker.
11. Glassware
I collect vintage glassware so I love this Etsy shop. I also pick them up anywhere I can find them. If you are looking for a special glass for a special cocktail, you can read about them on my post dedicated to glassware!
12. Cocktail picks
This is another cocktail item I collect and find a huge selection on Ebay and in vintage stores. Show your personality and don’t compromise on these very tiny items. I use my spirit bottle themed ones to keep my olives from going astray!
13. Bottle Opener
Self-explanatory – any one will do – a must out of all the home bar tools!
Should You Buy a Cocktail Tool Set?
This is tempting when you’re starting out. One box. Everything included. Job done. Sometimes cocktail tool sets are genuinely good value. Sometimes they’re full of flimsy versions of tools you don’t need and will eventually replace.
Before buying a set, check what’s actually included.
Ideally, you want:
- Shaker
- Jigger
- Hawthorne strainer
- Bar spoon
If it also contains a muddler, fine strainer and useful bottle opener, even better. Don’t be seduced by a 25-piece set simply becauseWhat Should You Spend on Bar Tools?
You really don’t need to spend a fortune.
With bar tools, I tend to look for three things:
Stainless steel. It’s durable, easy to clean and doesn’t mind spending its life around citrus and alcohol.
Weight. Tools shouldn’t feel flimsy in your hand.
Simplicity. The more complicated something is, the more there is to go wrong.
You also don’t need all your tools to match.
A home bar should develop over time. Buy a great jigger now. Find a beautiful mixing glass later. Pick up something fabulous on your travels.
Before long, you’ll have a collection that feels like yours rather than something that arrived in one enormous box from the internet.
Build Your Home Bar One Tool at a Time
The perfect collection of bar essential tools isn’t the biggest one.
It’s the one that allows you to make the cocktails you love.
Start with a jigger, shaker, strainer and bar spoon. Learn how to use them properly. Then add new equipment when you discover a cocktail or technique that requires it.
If you’re still building your bar, head next to my Lush Guide to Stocking Your Home Bar!