Hello Darlings! These days, $5 cocktail happy hours are everywhere, especially during the workweek. But sometimes it’s nice (and less expensive) to head home from work and shake (or stir) your own cocktail.
It’s easy to whip up cocktails at home when your bar is stocked with the right tools. Here are the basics to have around for a very happy cocktail hour.
Cocktail shaker or Boston shaker. The traditional cocktail shaker comes with a strainer that fits onto a bar tin. Some drinks, like margaritas and Long Island iced teas, need to be shaken vigorously to get the ingredients mixed up. You want to get a little bit of fizz at the top.
The Boston shaker has a 16-ounce mixing glass and a larger, flat-bottomed bar tin. The glass can be used alone for stirring drinks over ice, and the two pieces together are for shaking drinks, with the tin fitting over the glass. The Boston shaker requires a strainer.
Jigger. This is the best method for properly measuring the ingredients of a cocktail for the right balance.
Always use a jigger to measure your alcohol. Sometimes the difference between a quarter-ounce and a half-ounce is the difference between nirvana and NyQuil.
Bar spoon. A long-handled spoon for mixing and layering drinks in taller glasses. The handles of some bar spoons are spiraled to mix drinks evenly. And they have a petite spoon bowl.
Muddler. This is a thick stick made of wood or stainless steel. It’s used to crush fresh fruit and other ingredients in the bottom of a glass.
Lots of ice on hand and a tool to crack it. For the coldest shaken cocktails, cracked ice is best. Cubed ice is best for stirred drinks, because they keep the drink cold without letting it get watery.
Essential cocktail liquor. Cognac, white rum, gin, bourbon, vodka and tequila. After the party, store liquor in a cool place out of direct sunlight.
Did I miss anything?
