Give the Gift of Mixology!

We here at Northern Oasis have long championed the idea of making cocktails at home...even before the pandemic! While making your own cocktails is fun, it can also be a bit daunting. What’s a jigger? Why is that spoon so long? How do you “muddle”?!  If you have someone on your Secret Santa list who’s interested in mixology—even if that person is you—here’s the first of a two-part blog with our recommendations for some fun stocking stuffers to help you (oops, we mean them) get started!

Creating cocktails is an art form. You decide what flavors to combine, and how much of each flavor balances out the mix without overwhelming everything else. It takes practice, for sure! But before you start practicing, it’s best to first make sure you have the right tools so everything goes smoothly.

Building a home bar doesn’t have to cost very much at all. Obviously, you can get as extravagant as you like, but a basic tool set is VERY affordable. You can buy a kit for around $25 for a basic set to $50 and up for something slicker. While they’re a good start, they might be missing a few handy items (usually a mixing glass). We’ll walk you through what tools you absolutely need and what is just nice to have around.

Your favorite liquor store should have all of this on hand, so the next time you stop in, let them know you’re looking to build your own bartending kit and they’ll help you out! Here are the tools you absolutely must have on hand if you’re going to do your best Tom Cruise impression and make those cocktails shake:

The jigger takes the guesswork out of measuring your ingredients.

Metal Shaker ($12, required) – We use the popular “Cobbler” style shaker, a three-piece device made of a shaking tin, a tightly-fitting lid with a built-in strainer, and a small cap to seal it off while you shake it. This type of shaker is the easiest to use and widely available.

Mixing Glass or Tin ($18, optional) – While the body of your Shaker will work, or even just a pint glass from your cupboard, it’s handy to have a dedicated mixing glass. A mixing glass is much sturdier than a pint glass and features a pour spout, making it ideal for pouring your cocktail into its final vessel without losing one precious drop.

Jigger ($8, required) – Outside of a Metal Shaker, a good Jigger is absolutely essential. You could use a shot glass to measure out your ingredients (a standard shot glass holds about 1 ½ oz. of liquid), but a jigger is designed for speed and accuracy. The typical Japanese-style double jigger is an hourglass-shaped stainless steel tool that features a 1 oz. jigger on one side and a 2 oz. jigger on the opposite side. A good jigger will have measurements inside each end that allow you to pour ½ oz., ¾ oz., 1 oz., 1 ½ oz., and 2 oz.

Muddler ($7, required) – You can use the handle of a wooden spoon to smash up fruit and other ingredients, but you shouldn’t have to. A dedicated muddler makes that job almost effortless, and like all good bar tools, it’s easy to clean and won’t add unwanted flavor to your cocktails.

Strainer ($7, required) – There are three basic kinds of strainers. The Hawthorne Strainer has a spring on one side that’s designed to fit inside the mixing tin and strain out the solids. A Mesh Strainer is made of a screen material to do the same. A Julep Strainer is rarely needed, but tends to work very well if you’re straining from a narrower pint glass instead of a shaker or mixing glass.

Pour Spout ($10/set, optional) – You don’t need Pour Spouts, but boy they come in handy! Most bartending kits come with a few, and if you buy a set they usually clock in at less than a buck apiece. We like them because they give you a smooth pour every time, with none of that bloop-bloop-bloop action that makes it tough to get your measurement just right.

Stir spoon ($6, optional) – This is a long, thin spoon used to (you guessed it) stir cocktails. The thin design allows you to stir more smoothly than using, say, a soup spoon. Some stir spoons are designed with useful flourishes like measuring lines, a built-in muddler, garnish fork, etc. We recommend one made of easy-to-clean stainless steel.

Bar knife ($14, required) – A Bar Knife is like a glorified paring knife. They’re usually a little sleeker and some feature a garnish spear on the end, but otherwise used for cutting, peeling, and pulling seeds from your fruit ingredients and garnishes. Even if you don’t have an official bar knife, make sure you’ve got a good paring knife ready to go.

Lewis Bag ($18, optional) – While it’s not required, it is fun to have. A Lewis Bag is a canvas ice bag, and a lot of them come with a wooden mallet. You scoop your ice into the bag and crush it with the hammer! It’s just as fun as it sounds, and it’s a great way to keep everyone’s attention. The canvas bag absorbs the excess water from the process so you don’t accidentally dilute your drinks.

Lemon zester ($9, optional) – You can use any grater for this, or even just your standard paring knife, but a lemon zester makes the job fast and easy. Zesting lemons, limes, and oranges is something we do more often that we ever could have imagined. Our home bar wouldn’t be complete without it!

The mixing glass’s pour spout makes it ideal for pouring your creation into its final vessel.

There are more, of course, but these tools will have your home bar up and running in no time! We’ve found that a lot of stores will sell kits that include the basics (shaker, jigger, muddler, strainer, spoon) averaging around $35-40, making it very easy to get your hands on the exact tools you’ll need, all in one package. From there you can add the extras you want.

Of course, all those shiny new tools are only half of the equation. Just like there are some tools a home bar can’t do without, there are a few must-have ingredients you can use in a wide variety of cocktails. Join us next week when we go through the list of ingredients everyone should have in their home bar!