Five Unexpected Cocktail Tools Under $88
From a vintage hotel bar set to a chemist’s drink-making kit
With the announcement of everything from the Experimental Cocktail Club recipe book, Kickstarter’s retro Cocktail Computer and The Glenlivet Bar Cart, it’s never been more fun to make cocktails at home. A handful of newly released, moderately eccentric bar accessories have caught our attention and further supports this belief. The following five items—ranging from $4 to $88—provide something different yet entirely functional. For those looking to bolster their at-home bar, these tools and kits do the trick.
Vintage Hotel Five-Piece Bar Tool Set
Complete with a bottle opener, jigger, bar knife and spoon and an ice scoop, the Vintage Hotel Five-Piece Bar Tool Set ($84) from Restoration Hardware draws design influences from the grand dinnerware of historic European hotels. There’s an antique-like patina to the cast brass pieces, but their stainless steel composition makes them more than durable. The set also offers an equally charming oil-rubbed bronze or silverplate finish.
Copper Cocktail Pitcher
With holiday parties approaching, bulk cocktail creation is bound to be afoot. That said, one doesn’t always need a punch bowl to serve up something large batch. Terrain’s Copper Cocktail Pitcher ($88) makes for a beautiful alternative. At 8.25” in height and 3.5” in diameter, it can hold quite a bit—when not sitting pretty on the counter or bar top. The copper surface and brass construct mean that it can hold hot drinks or cold, as well.
ThinkGeek’s Chemist Cocktail Set
For truly experimental cocktail creators, scientific precision comes in quite handy when replicating a new masterpiece. Thus, ThinkGeek’s exclusive new Chemist Cocktail Set ($30) makes it all that much easier. The set includes a 500 ml graduated Erlenmeyer flask decanter, six graduated test tubes, a glass stirring rod, a powder-coated stainless steel rack and, of course, a 320 ml stainless steel shaker with a strainer. Rather than stripping the fun from the process, it actually makes cocktail construction pretty entertaining.
OXO Good Grips Angled Mini Measuring Cup
There tend to be two schools of cocktail-making: accuracy is key versus slight variations don’t matter. For the former, there’s nothing more precise than the miniature OXO Good Grips Angled Measuring Cup ($4). It’s an ideal replacement for a jigger and the patented, angled surface allows users to easily read measurements from above. It’s clear and grips well—while also bearing both standard and metric measurement markings.
Spoon with Muddler
Cocktail Kingdom’s new gold-plated Spoon with Muddler ($30) combination piece maximizes style and functionality. The 30cm standard bar spoon stretches into a muddler top, by way of a beautiful smooth coil design. The gold plating also makes it a chic addition to any kitchen.
Chemist’s Cocktail set images by Cool Hunting, all other images courtesy of respective brands
