Beechwood Hammer

Shaken and stirred cocktails both require specific equipment. They share the need for a cocktail jigger and sometimes fine strainer or muddler. Shaken cocktails need a shaker and Hawthorne strainer, while stirred cocktails are made with a mixing glass, bar spoon, and julep strainer.

That's a really personal decision! Some people want everything to match and be very clean and uniform while others don't mind mismatched bar tools and bottles. A cohesive aesthetic is usually more important in a commercial bar than in a home bar.

Try to find out if they have any bar equipment yet and what their favorite cocktails are-- this will help determine which pieces they still need!

Typically you want to stir spirit-forward cocktails like the Martini, Negroni, Sazerac, Old Fashioned, and Manhattan.

A mixing glass is used to stir spirit-forward cocktails that have ingredients of similar density and don't need to be shaken, such as the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, and Martini.

If you're just getting started, try this 10-piece stirred cocktail set; it has all the must-haves, and then you can always add individual bar tools into your kit from there.

Definitely! If you don't need all the pieces or aren't sure what you need yet, you can buy your mixing glass and other bar tools individually over time.

The key tools you'll need to get started are a mixing glass, bar spoon, julep strainer, and cocktail jigger. After that, consider adding a fine strainer, muddler, and cocktail picks.