Social media is filled with images of trending drinks and cocktails, and this seems like the perfect time to talk about some must-have bar accessories if you’re going to try to create beautiful drinks at home! When you have the right kind of bar equipment at home, nothing is stopping you from hosting an evening and bartending yourself! Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and if you’re planning on preparing dinner for your significant other, you can’t go wrong in pairing it with a pink Gin and Tonic. But first, let’s make sure you got the right tools.
Get inspired by colors and seasonal ingredients, recipes will help you make drinks but feel free to improvise. High-quality ingredients is the first step, but an even more important step is to make sure you have all the cocktail tools you need. Equip your home bar with these must-have accessories:
Shaker
A proper cocktail shaker acts as a closed vessel that allows you to quickly and thoroughly mix ingredients together while chilling the drink at the same time. Shaking your cocktail lowers the temperature of your drink faster than stirring would because your ingredients are repeatedly exposed to the surface area of the ice at a rapid rate. Ingredients such as cream, syrup, and egg whites are hard to mix without a shaker, and a shaker will add improve the texture of your drinks. A shaker is considered a vital bar accessory but it also makes you look super cool when you are giving it a vicious shake over your shoulders.
Cocktail strainer
A cocktail strainer is most commonly used to prevent ice from falling into your cocktail. Any other chunks, like pieces of fruit or berries, that may be floating in the shaker are also caught before they reach the glass.
Cocktail spoon
A cocktail spoon will help you stir drinks that are served in taller glasses and will keep your drink clear, unlike a shaker. When you pour your drink mix down the twisted shaft of the spoon you can make beautiful layered drinks. The other end of the spoon can be used to crush ice or squeeze juice from fruits.
Cocktail muddler
A muddler helps to release flavor from fruit, berries, and all the such. A muddler is most commonly used with drinks like mojitos and mules. With berries and fruits you can kind of go about it almost however you want, but with mint leaves you want to be more tender – press gently and twist 3-4 times to avoid releasing any bitter flavors by crushing the leaves.
A jigger
Most drink recipes require you to have exact amounts of each ingredients and with a jigger you’ll make sure you get it just right. Our jigger is equipped with 2 and 4 cl cups.
Psst! To make sure you are a fully prepared to succeed, take out a sharp knife, a cutting board, a lemon squeezer, ice tongs, and a grated. This way you can give finishing touches to all your drinks!
The writer Santtu is a semi-pro tennis player and a full-time digital marketing pro. The sporty vegetarian is also interested in the well-being of both the physical and mental aspect, which is why the HEIROL office gets to enjoy some of Santtu’s mid-day yoga and meditation sessions.