Key points
- Five tools make nearly every cocktail: a jigger marked in half ounces, a shaker, a Hawthorne strainer, a long bar spoon and a Y peeler. Everything else is nice to have.
- A two-piece Boston shaker (tin and tin, or tin and glass) is what bars use because it seals fast and opens fast. A cobbler shaker with a built-in strainer is easier for a beginner and sticks when cold.
- Buy stainless steel. Copper and gold finishes are plating and wear off at the seams within a year of regular use.
- A bar cart is a shelf, not a tool. Skip the twenty-piece set and buy the five tools you will use in better quality.
The twenty-piece bar set in the gift aisle contains about five things a person uses and fifteen that live in a drawer. The people who make drinks at home every week own the same short list of tools, and most of them bought it one piece at a time after the set let them down. This guide is that short list, and what to look for in each piece.
If you are buying a first set or a gift: a jigger with clear markings, a Boston or cobbler shaker, a Hawthorne strainer, a long bar spoon and a Y peeler, all in solid stainless steel. That is the whole kit for nine drinks in ten.
Jigger
A jigger is a measuring cup for spirits, and it is the one tool that changes how drinks taste, because a drink built by eye is a different drink every time. The standard is a double-ended cup, 1 ounce one side and 2 ounces the other, with interior lines for half and three-quarter ounces.
Two shapes dominate. The classic squat hourglass is pretty and hard to read. The tall, narrow Japanese style is easier to pour from and to read. Either way, look for etched or stamped markings. Printed lines wear off within months of washing.
Shaker
Two designs, and the argument between them is older than most bars.
The Boston shaker is two pieces: a large tin and either a smaller tin or a pint glass. You put the small one inside the big one at an angle, tap to seal, shake, and tap the side to break the seal. It is fast, seals reliably, and lets you see the drink if you use glass. It needs a separate strainer. Tin-on-tin is lighter and does not break; tin-on-glass is heavier and lets you watch the drink build.
The cobbler shaker is three pieces: a tin, a lid with a built-in strainer, and a cap. It is simpler to learn and self-contained. Its known fault is that the cap and lid contract when cold and stick, and the built-in strainer holes are too small for drinks with pulp or herbs. Owners who complain about a shaker stuck shut are describing a cobbler.
For a beginner the cobbler is fine. For anyone who will make more than a few drinks a month, the Boston is the one that lasts.
Strainer
A Hawthorne strainer is the flat disc with a coiled spring around the edge. It sits on top of a shaker tin and holds back ice and pulp as you pour. The spring is the quality signal: tightly coiled springs strain finer and cheap loose springs let shards through.
A julep strainer, the perforated bowl, is for stirred drinks in a mixing glass. A fine mesh tea strainer held under the Hawthorne catches the last ice chips and herb fragments, which is called double straining. Both are second purchases.
Bar spoon
A long spoon, 30 to 40 centimetres, with a twisted shaft. The length reaches the bottom of a mixing glass and the twist lets the spoon spin in your fingers while stirring. Some have a flat muddling disc on the end, some a fork, some a weighted teardrop. The teardrop balances best. The fork is for picking garnish out of a jar and is rarely used.
Peeler and knife
A Y-shaped vegetable peeler takes a wide strip of citrus zest without the white pith, which is what you want for a twist. A small, sharp paring knife trims it. Neither needs to come from a bar shop.
Mixing glass
A heavy glass with a pouring lip and a thick base for stirred drinks. A pint glass does the job while you decide whether you stir drinks often enough to own a proper one. One-piece, heavy-bottomed mixing glasses are beautiful and fragile, and they are the piece of barware that breaks most, according to owners.
What to leave off the cart
Pourers, the metal spouts that go in bottle necks, are for speed in a busy bar and let fruit flies in at home. Novelty-shaped ice moulds, discussed in our ice mould guide, are a separate question. Electric cocktail makers, smoking kits and multi-tier carts loaded with tools you have never heard of are the things that make a set look like twenty pieces.
Materials and finishes
Solid stainless steel, ideally 18/8 or 304 grade, survives decades and the dishwasher. Copper-plated and gold-plated tools look superb for a season and then wear through at the edges and seams, which shows up in review photos again and again. Solid copper exists, costs far more, and needs polishing. For a gift that will be used, choose stainless. For a gift that will be displayed, plated is fine.
Who should not buy a set
Anyone who already owns a shaker and a jigger. Anyone buying for someone who drinks spirits neat and never mixes. And anyone tempted by a large set because the per-piece price looks low, since the extra pieces are the ones that go in the drawer.
How we choose bar tools
When we recommend tools in our gift guides and decanters and tools section, each pick lists the steel grade or plating, the capacities and markings, and what owners report after a year about wear, sticking and rust. We cover the tools only, never the bottles. Our full process is on the how we choose page.
Final verdict
Jigger, shaker, Hawthorne strainer, bar spoon, Y peeler. Stainless steel, bought singly or as a five-piece set. Add a mixing glass and a julep strainer when stirred drinks become a habit, and leave the twenty-piece kit on the shelf.
Questions people ask
Boston shaker or cobbler shaker?
A Boston shaker is two tins that seal with a tap and open with a tap, and it needs a separate strainer. A cobbler has three pieces with a built-in strainer and a cap, is easier to learn, and the cap jams when frosty. Beginners often start with a cobbler and move to a Boston.
What size jigger should I buy?
One with a 1 ounce and a 2 ounce side and interior lines at half and three-quarter ounces. The Japanese-style tall jigger is easier to read than the squat classic. Check the markings are etched, not printed.
Do I need a muddler?
Only for drinks with fresh herbs or fruit crushed in the glass. If you make mojitos or old fashioneds with a sugar cube, yes. If you do not, the back of a bar spoon does it occasionally.
