Shaken Not Stirred - Your 7 Home Bar Essentials
The “Honor Bar” at the Whitby Hotel
We love a good bar- the kind that makes you feel you could suavely concoct and shake any drink early Saturday evening and impress your friends. Inspiration for building your home bar doesn’t have to be the joint down the block but rather the lovely “honor bar” at the Whitby Hotel here in New York.
So what are the home bar essentials to shake a cocktail?
What we use the most: cobbler shaker, jigger/mini measuring cup, small citrus squeezer, fine mesh strainer, coupe glass, paring knife, and cutting board.
These are the seven essentials to mix, shake, and serve a drink.
Cobbler Cocktail Shakers
We have this basic cobbler shaker from Cocktail Kingdom at home. It’s not perfectly leakproof but we can vouch that we’ve made plenty of drinks using it and its lasted for a good long while! Made of stainless steel, 2-drink capacity.
Alternative 1: all-in-one shaker. Light-weight budget friendly cobbler shaker with a built-in strainer and a silicone seal for shaking. If you want to save money and little space, you can skip the jiggers below and just get this with the integrated one.
Alternative 2: all-in-one roomy shaker, also with a built-in measuring lid that allows you to make up to four drinks at one time and has a vacuum insulated tumbler which keeps the liquid ice cold but doesn’t freeze your hands. So again you can skip the jigger or measuring cup below.
2. Jigger or Mini Measuring Cup
If you want to get the industry standard and what pro bartenders like, check out this Japanese style jigger that has markings on the inside. You can flip from one side that holds 2 oz at its capacity to the other size that holds 1 oz at its capacity. We have this at home and use when entertaining.
This is so easy to use with its pour spout, transparency and easy-to-read measurement markings. We use this at home frequently.
3. Citrus Squeezer
More expensive than the one below, we’ve been using this citrus squeezer for several years and like the dual-gear mechanism for squeezing extra juice out of all those lemons & limes - can also use for a small orange. So we think it’s worth it!
Alternative: smaller & cheaper citrus press for squeezing lemons and limes.
We like to double-strain our cocktails with this fine mesh strainer to get rid of any extra pulp or ice bits.
5. Coupe Glass
A simple coupe glass makes for a beautiful serve for entertaining. This is a set of four so you’re ready to entertain.
6. Paring Knife
Easy to cut lemons and limes with this paring knife. Japanese stainless steel blade with nonstick coating, comes with a sheath/cover. We love this knife and have always had at least one on hand.
Easy to wash, easy to use cutting board to prep your citrus.
Ready?! Now you’re set with the essential bar tools to make a shaken cocktail!
We Love These Wolf & Badger Plates
Wolf & Badger first came to our attention, like many things, on our Instagram feeds. We were captivated, honestly, by adorable animals stuffing their faces. So could the actual plates live up to the Instagram hype? Yes! In fact, they might be all we eat on right now during snack hours. (And there are A LOT of snacks here.)
From the wistful raccoon looking for waffles (or cake) to the badger with our constant Saturday morning question — these are whimsical but useful gifts for just about anyone in your life.
“I Think I’ll Have Waffles!” side plate.
Bone china by Jimbob Art on Wolf & Badger.
Apparently fired in Stoke on Trent which just sounds very professional, it can reportedly be put through the dishwasher though we’ve been washing it by hand.
“Are We Having Pancakes?” side plate. Looks good with all desserts.
Also bone china by Jimbob Art on Wolf & Badger.
We also tried putting these up as cheeky salutes when you enter the kitchen — reminding you what’s really important, no matter how many green drinks you are making in the blender!
Light it up…Our Winter Candle Index
March is coming in a like a lion and we’re still cooped up indoors during the pandemic. Three candles that passed our sniff test for these cold dark nights .
Mister Morgan - Paris. This beauty is very ooh la la in the best possible way. Blue cypress and absinthe combine to scent the room like a little bit Montmartre, a little bit Moulin Rouge.
This Linnea sea salt candle will have you thinking about heading off to the beach the moment Memorial Day Weekend hits. Scents of sand, sun, sea and…driftwood.
M. Baker - Eucalyptus Lichen - we hadn’t ever tried this brand of Colonial Candle of Cape Cod but it envelops you in a forest-like scent overlaid with lilacs and moss. Relaxing. Perfect for the bathroom - but we also enjoyed this outside on some of the warmer nights this winter (not many).