Pass us a locktail! Every piece of equipment your at-home bar needs to make delicious cocktails
Just as our social lives were slowly starting to recover from the first lockdown, the tier system got introduced, limiting social interactions, and then … Lockdown 2.0. The brief, almost carefree days of summer are long behind us and it’s back to moving between our bed/couch/local Sainsbury’s – thrilling stuff. So to keep ourselves sane we’ve taken up a few hobbies that we hope will come in use when things return to some sort of normal – and is there anything more handy than knowing how to mix a good cocktail?
As much as we miss being charged £15 for a watered down Pornstar Martini whilst standing on a sticky club floor at 2am, (and wow, we do actually miss it) home is where we envision most of our future social gatherings taking place. In other words, cocktail making will soon be a pretty much essential skill for hosting friends and family. So until then, we’re going to practice upping our mixology game – it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.
There’s something quite enjoyable about making your own cocktails at home. Not only do they cost a fraction of the price they would do in a central London bar, but you can get a bit creative, choose your own measurements (doubles all round?) and garnish them with whatever you want. Before filing the recipe for future use - a.k.a., that belated birthday house party you've been planning for.
But if you want to make your cocktails truly spectacular, you need to invest in all of the best cocktail making equipment. You can't expect pro-level cocktails without the correct gear, after all.
You'll need muddlers for crushing fruit, a jigger for measuring out your triple shot of spirit (joking - or are we?), a bar spoon, a lemon squeezer and a shaker for the concoctions that come shaken, not stirred. Don't forget the cocktail recipe book, too.
You’ll also need the spirits and mixers to go in your drinks. You can get a whole array of drinks - hard and soft - delivered directly to your door with The Bottle Club or Drink Supermarket. There's also cocktaildelivery.co.uk which allows you to choose the cocktails you fancy (we're going for the Tokyo Cosmo and the Strawberry Daiquiri), and they'll send you all the ingredients for three, six of ten drinks. They have free next day delivery and tonnes of site-wide offers running right now.
Lastly (if you want to be really grown up about things), you should consider housing all of your new equipment on a beautiful bar cart. They're selling faster than we can saw "Espresso Martini", so you'd better act quickly. This John Lewis gold bar cart is chic AF, as is this Oliver Bonas style. Wayfair have some lovely, afordable options too, like this this rustic metal and walnut style which will look great if your style is a little more laid back.
1. The complete set
Gold Parisian Cocktail Set, £24.99, The Bottle Club
Why you need it: If you want to invest in everything you could ever need to make the perfect cocktail in one fell swoop, this accessibly-priced cocktail making set is for you. It comes with a liquor pourer for attaching to the top of your spirit bottles and a bar spoon for stirring the liquid in tall glasses or mixing glasses. There's a fine mesh strainer for filtering out debris like fruit shards and egg (hold it over the glass, beneath the Hawthorne strainer as you pour) and a muddler for extracting the fabulous flavour from ingredients like berries and mint. There's also a jigger for measuring your spirits, a mixer for drinks like the Cosmopolitan and a Hawthorne strainer which will fit into your shaker like a lid.
2. The Ice Bucket
Brass Finish Ice Bucket, £85, Not On The High Street
Why you need it: If you're using crushed ice or proper ice cubes, you need this bucket. It's perfect for parties further down the line and means you won't need to keep making trips to the kitchen freezer. This one comes with tongues and is a staple for the effortless making of everything from a gin and tonic to an elaborate martini.
3. The Rattan Drinks Trolley
Bali Natural Rattan Bar Drinks Trolley, £275, Oliver Bonas
Why you need it: It's a bit of an investment, but this uber chic rounded rattan trolley is a winner in our books.This sustainable vintage design has more than enough space to balance allthe cocktails come your next party.
4. The Citrus Juicer
Lemon Squeezer, £7.50, John Lewis
Why you need it: Lemon and lime go into many cocktail recipes, so get a hand press for juicing them. Avoid any juice press with rubber handles, because juice can run between them and the metal and fester.
5. The Coupe Glasses
Set of Six Greek Key Champagne Coupes, £75, Liberty
Why you need it: On the nights where shaking, stirring and getting all creative isn't really on the agenda, you'll need a beautiful champagne glasses like this one. Very Gatsby-esque it makes quaffing our fave prosecco feel even more fancy.
6. The jigger and bar spoon
Mother of Pearl Cocktail Jigger & Spoon Set, £29.50, Oliver Bonas
Why you need it: This little pairing from Oliver Bonas is Why you need it: You get a bar spoon - its main purpose is, unsurprisingly, to stir drinks in tall glasses and 30cm mixing glasses - as well as a dual-sided jigger. A jigger is necessary for every cocktail you'll ever make, allowing you to accurately measure out single and double shots.
7. The cocktail shaker
Glass Tropical Chic 400ml Cocktail Shaker, £19.99, The Bottle Club
Why you need it: For cocktails that are shaken like the Cosmopolitan or New Orleans Fizz, you'll need one of these. Made from stainless steel coated in a luxurious gold colour with eye-catching stud detail, this shaker from The Bottle Club has a detachable cap, integral strainer lid and an airtight seal to avoid spillages.
8. The Round Drinks Trolley
Luxe Round Bamboo Gold Drinks Trolley Bar Cart, £395, Oliver Bonas
Why you need it: This super luxe drinks trolley from Oliver Bonas mixes marble and mirror shelves with a gold finish - perfect for when you want to impress your friends with not only your cocktail making skills, but your interior decorating too.
9. The muddler
Copper Finish Drinks Muddler, £8.99, The Bottle Club
Why you need it: A muddler like this one from The Bottle Club crushes the tastiest of cocktail ingredients to unlock their goodness, like mint leaves and berries. A must-have in your cocktail-making collection.
10. The mixing jug and Hawthorne strainer
Cocktail Mixing Glass And Strainer Set, £16.99, The Bottle Club
Why you need it: This set from The Bottle Club is amazing value and contains everything you need for a stirred cocktail - like the Martini or Manhattan. The bar spoon stops your sleeves from getting wet as you mix in a tall glass and the mixing glass is great for making more than one cocktail in one batch. This one has a spout which is 100% necessary. You also get Hawthorne strainer here, which is your go-to tool for separating cocktails from remnants of ice and other ingredients as you pour from the mixing glass. It fits against the rim of the mixing glass like a lid.
11. The bottle opener
Citrus Squeeze Bottle Opener, £8, Anthropologie
Why you need it: What else will you open your bottles of Fever Tree tonic with? This stylish bottle opener from Anthropologie is a welcome addition to any bar cart.
12. The Moscow Mule glass
Copper Finish Double Walled Moscow Mule Mug, £14.99, The Bottle Club
Why you need it: Fan of a Moscow Mule? These mugs from The Bottle Club have your name on them.
13. The John Lewis bar cart
Swoon Lovelace Bar Cart, £399, John Lewis
Why you need it: How chic is this art-deco inspired bar cart? It's inspired by the modernist architecture of the famous De La Warr pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea and has two mango wood shelves.
14. The tall glass
Highball Glasses Set of 2, £120, John Lewis
Why you need it: You need a tall glass like the Highball or The Collins for drinks served with lots of crushed ice. The Collins glass is so closely related to this kind of Highball glass, it's just that the Highball is slightly wider and squatter. You only need one or the other, and these Highball glasses from John Lewis are really accessibly priced. These should hold 10 to 12 fl. oz. and would be great for a Tom Collins (get it?), Mojito or Long Island Iced Tea.
15. The Mini Bar Cart
Why you need it: If space is at a premium, but you don't want to skimp on your bar style, this smaller style cart from M&S is perfect for all your mixology essentials.
16. The Cocktail Making Book
The Pikes Cocktail Book, £12.75, Amazon
Why you need it: As much as we claim to be cocktail connoisseurs, we're not actually that sure what goes into a Mojito. This cocktail book from legendary Pike's Ibiza shares 65 recipes, as well the story behind this legendary nightclub.
17. The Rustic Drinks Trolley
Exeter Serving Cart, £123.99, Wayfair
Why you need it: If all the gold finished bar trollies from instagram won't fit in with your laid back aesthetic, this wood and metal style is perfect for you. Load it up with all your drinks and tools, and come summer, it can easily be rolled into the garden.
