VIThe kit
Tools
What's on the mat, what it does, and what to buy first.
5 min read
A working station is small. Almost everything below fits within one arm's reach of where you stand, because any step you take during service you take a few hundred times a night.
Mixing
| Tool | For |
|---|---|
| Boston shaker | Two tins, or a tin and a glass, that seal together. Shaking. More capacity and faster than a three-piece cobbler, and it won't freeze shut |
| Mixing glass | Stirring. Heavy-based, wide enough for a bar spoon to travel round the inside |
| Bar spoon | Stirring, layering, and measuring - the bowl is about 5 ml. The twisted shaft lets it turn in your fingers without moving your wrist |
| Muddler | Pressing fruit and herbs. Flat-headed, not toothed - teeth shred mint |
| Blender | Frozen drinks and whole fruit |
Measuring and straining
| Tool | For |
|---|---|
| Jigger | Measuring. 30/15 and 60/30 cover nearly everything in this book |
| Hawthorne strainer | The one with the spring. Sits on a shaker tin and holds back ice and fruit |
| Julep strainer | The perforated spoon. Sits inside a mixing glass, for stirred drinks |
| Fine sieve | Double straining - held under the hawthorne to catch ice chips, pulp and citrus seeds |
| Pour spout | Controls the flow off a bottle and keeps it consistent |
Prep and the rest
| Tool | For |
|---|---|
| Citrus press | Juicing to order. A hand press gets more out of a lime than a reamer and takes less time |
| Ice scoop | Moving ice. Never scoop with the glass - a chipped glass in the ice well empties the whole well |
| Chopping board, knife, peeler | Garnish. A Y-peeler takes a clean wide twist with almost no pith |
| Bar mat | Catches spills and gives the tins somewhere to sit. Lift and rinse it during service, not after |