Have you ever wanted to elevate your at-home cocktail experience, but never knew where to start? The first step is to ensure you have every tool you might need to please a variety of tastes. Bartenders treat their instruments almost like doctors do; with every component serving its own purpose behind the bar.
At Breckenridge Distillery, bartenders are trained by award-winning Bar Manager Billie Keithley on pouring Breckenridge Spirits, properly stirring and preparing, balancing ingredients and finally, how to present.
Whether you’re entertaining at home or working in the industry – everyone has a different taste in cocktails. With that, individual cocktails will vary by ingredients, tools, ice, and glassware. There are a lot of age-old cocktail instruments that can be overwhelming at first – but Billie’s here to make it a little easier for anyone to learn at home. She’ll walk you through some of the most commonly used bar tools, and how they’re used at the Breckenridge Distillery Restaurant.
SHAKERS & YARI’S
Shakers and Mixing Glasses have predominantly been used for classic cocktails like Old-Fashioned’s and Martinis. Depending on the type of cocktail you’re making, you’re going to start with an apparatus to build your cocktail in. James Bond likes his drinks shaken – not stirred. It’s all up to your taste and your style!
ICE MOLDS
Ice varies per type of cocktail – and can come in many forms. If you’ve ever done a cocktail class with Billie Keithley – you’re probably be aware of her stance on ice. The first thing you’ll want to start with is a good water source, removing any impurities. Next, you’ll want to do a slower freeze – maybe with a lid – to get that super clear look.
Spheres and Cubes
Spheres and cubes are most typically used for drinking straight pours of your high-quality spirits. The larger the shape, the less likely your spirits are to dilute as quickly. Here at Breckenridge Distillery, our pours will use a sphere while our Obi-Wan Old Fashioned’s (a spirit-forward cocktail) will use a cube shape.
Crushed
Crushed ice can take a couple different forms – but for a craft cocktail bar like Breckenridge, we’ll be using a Lewis Bag. These bags are hardy and able to crush ice with a mallet – specifically for the Mint Juleps. “Sonic” ice is another form of crushed – with a name made popular by the fast-food chain. You’ll see crushed ice in most of the lighter seltzer cocktails at Breckenridge Distillery, perfect for an easy sipping low-ABV drink.
STRAINERS
Strainers are important for – you guessed it – straining. Once your cocktail is mixed up or shaken up, they’ll be used to keep all the solids (including ice) to be poured into your prepared glass either with new ice or served neat. There are 3 different types of strainers that you’ll want to include into your at-home bar.
Hawthorne Strainer
At Breckenridge Distillery, next to the shakers, you are probably going to notice the coil on the Hawthorne Strainers first. They’re some of the more common apparatuses – able to keep ice and pulp back when entering a glass.
Julep Strainer
Julep strainers have no-doubt, been around the longest for what we call a “classic” strainer. This strainer is the largest of the three strainers and are usually used to holding back crushed ice for your Mint Julep cocktails at the Kentucky Derby.
Fine Mesh Strainer
Fine Mesh strainers are used to really clarify your cocktail. It’s usually the second step in a “Double Strain,” to really sort out the fine pieces of a cocktail that you want to leave behind.
BAR SPOON
One of our favorites – the twisty, long, spoons used for swizzling your cocktail. Not only can this keep your hands clean while you’re garnishing with a brandied cherry, it can also give that “showmanship” quality when you are trying to impress friends and family by stirring their cocktails.
BAR JIGGERS
These are probably going to be one of the first pieces that you grab after grabbing a shaker or mixing tin. In order to have a consistent cocktail every time, you’ll want to use a Bar Jigger – Japanese, Step, or a Bell. Billie’s a collector: so she’s got vintage bar gear that is sure to have a long story. Bar Jiggers are your measuring tool for your spirit, syrup, shrub, etc. There’s no free pouring around here!
Japanese Bar Jigger
There are a few different types of Bar Jiggers; but Billie’s first choice behind the Breckenridge Bar is going to be a Japanese Bar Jigger. They’re typically easier to flip around your fingers for multiple measurements when making craft cocktails at faster speeds.
MUDDLERS
Muddlers – one of the most versatile instruments on the list. Whether you are gently muddling some mint or pounding the life out of some berries, these come in handy to incorporate those flavors into your cocktail.
PEELERS AND ZESTERS
Swaths and zest are not only what you use for the aesthetic – but also important to get the oils from fruit peels into your cocktail. Zesters aren’t only used for fruit, though – these can come in handy for spices such as nutmeg as well. When you’re looking for a Martini with a Twist, an Old Fashioned with an Orange Swath, those fruit oils from the outside of the peel will help to make your cocktail an olfactory experience as well as a treat to your taste buds. Billie will always say, “75% of your cocktails will hit your nose first.”
KITCHEN TWEEZERS
Another garnish utensil will be some large stainless steel tweezers. You’ve probably seen these in high-end restaurants for perfectly plating a dish – and “Liquid Chef” Billie Keithley is no different. For those smaller garnishes that you need to perfectly place – like espresso beans – you’ll want a pair of long tweezers.
SMOKERS
Dining at Breckenridge Distillery Restaurant always calls for a smoked cocktail. These mini barrels are filled with cherrywood smoke, changing the nose and integrating some of the smoke from aged whiskeys into the final product – the cocktail. Mini barrels might be hard to find, but you can find single-glass smokers easily online.
JUICERS
When making a craft cocktail, the one thing that is going to set you apart from anyone else is by making your own juice. Whether you have a hand-held juice presser or a large fancy one, you can really taste the difference in quality over a store-bought juice. This is an easy addition to any kitchen, with many uses outside of cocktail creation.
GLASSWARE
Since the dawn of cocktail creation, presentation and usefulness have always been at the top of bartenders’ minds. Different types of glasses will serve different purposes in a bar – from the spirit used, to style of drinking or preference of the drinker. Some common types of glassware include Collins, Rocks, Martini, Coup, or a Nick and Nora – named after 1934’s movie “The Thin Man.”
Having a quality bar set up (with quality ingredients and spirits) is the first step to making an impressive cocktail. Want to start “simple?” We have the perfect guide on how to build your simple syrups, shrubs, and orgeats – and the differences between the three. Looking for some cocktail recipe inspiration? Billie’s Cocktail Lab is a great resource for those looking to try seasonally based cocktail crafting and step-by-step instructions of your favorite cocktails.
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