Essential equipment
You really don’t need much in terms of equipment to make cocktails at home.
A handful of tools is all you need to get started.
Of course, like with any other activity or hobby, you can get a large variety of
tools for every possible cocktail-related scenario. But as a “weekend bartender”
you’ll likely be fine with a minimum of essential tools listed below.
Boston shaker
You can’t make
cocktails without a shaker.
Well, actually you can. But the majority of cocktails are prepared in a shaker,
which is why this is an essential tool.
Generally, there are three main types of shakers available.
The term tin-on-tin is used when both parts of the shaker is made of metal.
This type of cocktail shaker is light-weight to handle, very hard to break, and easily makes a good tight seal when shaking.
Only downside with this type is that you can’t see the contents while shaker. Practically this is a minor thing.
It is not our top recommendation, though, for a few reasons.
Obviously, there is a change of breaking the glass. Most glass containers are made quite thick and sturdy, but still some people feel better not running the risk of breakage.
Secondly it might be slightly more difficult to get a tight seal with the traditional Boston Shaker (How to seal a Boston Shaker)
Generally the built-in strainer is quite coarse, and you’ll want to have a separate fine strainer too.
This type of shaker usually doesn’t hold as much liquid as the other two types. Also, this type of shaker is less efficient at shaking and cooling cocktails.
Truthfully,
most “home bartenders” will be fine having a cocktail shaker. It works and even
looks pretty on the shelf when not in use. And most people don’t shake enormous
amounts of booze at a time.
It still makes it to the bottom of our list because is simply doesn’t feel as
bartender-y as the other types of shakers.
Bar spoon
Stirring drinks is a gentler way to combine and chill ingredients compared to shaking. This method is generally used for drinks that only contains spirits, and where aeration is not required.
Usually the spoon is used in combination with a mixing glass, but you can get away with stirring a cocktail in your shaker tin just fine.
Hawthorne strainer
This type of strainer is used to filter out bits of ice and fruit when pouring from the shaker into the serving glass.
You can’t make a cocktail without a Hawthorne strainer. It’s that simple. Just get one.
Fine strainer
Even though the Hawthorne strainer will get the job done in most cases, a fine strainer is a nice touch to ensure a smooth cocktail.
A fine
strainer will filter out smaller pieces of ice chips, leaves or other bits from
the shaken cocktail.
This type of strainer is usually used in combination with a Hawthorne strainer
to double strain a drink into the servicing glass.
Jigger
Jiggers are for measuring liquid ingredients in your drinks and cocktails.
Most jiggers
measure different amounts at either end, and come in a variety of sizes.
Standard size is 0.75/1.5 oz or 20/40 ml, but are available both smaller and
bigger.
Especially if you get a bigger one, but even with a 1.5 oz / 40 ml jigger, it is recommended to get one with measurement written on the inside of the jigger. This makes it easier to measure different or “odd” amounts.
Non-essential equipment
Of course, if you want to look and feel the part of a pro bartender when entertaining guests, you'd want one of each type of equipment known to man.
In real life, however, you’ll likely be fine with just the essentials. Especially when starting out.
Below is our list of “nice to have, but not need to have” basic equipment. These
items may find their way to your bar cabinet eventually or even be part of a starter
bartender set, but for starters you can stick to the essential tools.
Julep strainer
The Julep strainer is commonly used when straining from a mixing glass. If you want to stick to tradition and/or look the part when having company, you definitely need both a mixing glass and a Julep strainer.
You can easily get away with having only a Hawthorne Strainer, though.
For a little more context visit this article on Serious Eats.
Muddler
Muddler is just a pretty name for something used to bash ingredients.
Perhaps the most popular cocktail where a muddler is used is the Mojito. When
preparing this cocktail, you use the muddler to crush the mint and lime to
extract flavor.
While a dedicated muddler is nice to have, you’ll be just fine using the non-business end of a wooden spoon or similar. Your Bar Spoon might have a muddler at the end making the spoon a 2-for-1 tool.
Ice tongs
Nice to have when making large amounts of drinks.
The ice tongs make is easier to handle the slippery ice. They provide a good grip on ice cubes, and as an added bonus your hand won’t get cold.
The tongs
go well together with an ice bucket.
Don’t if you don’t have one of those, you’ll probably be fine without a set of
ice tongs as well.
Liquor Pourer - Pouring spout
A very handy inexpensive piece of equipment. The pourer makes it easy to measure and pour liquids from bottles into mixing containers.
A simple free flow / standard pourer lets you pour liquid smoothly and at a constant rate. This makes it easier to pour into jiggers compared to strait from the bottle.
For a bartender the pourer is most essential. For home use, though, you be fine without one
Mixing glass
A mixing glass is intended for making stirred cocktails – as opposed to shaken them.
Rule of
thumb is that cocktails that contains only spirits are stirred while drinks with
juice or dairy go in the shaker.
For more information: When to use a mixing glass
In real life you can get away with mixing stirred cocktails in just about any container – including the large tin of your Boston Shaker…it just won’t look as fancy.
As such, we consider a mixing glass non-essential equipment simply because most popular cocktails you’ll be making when starting out will likely be made in your Boston Shaker.