All the Best Home-Bar Essentials We’ve Written About on the Strategist

In ourat-home bar-tools guide, we identified several basics every bartender should have: a shaker, a bar spoon, a jigger, a strainer, and a mixing glass. Instead of shopping for each item individually, Johnny Swet, the owner of Brooklyn’sGrand Republic Cocktail Cluband a bar consultant forJimmy at the Jamesandthe Skylark, recommends Cocktail Kingdom’s set, which includes just about everything you need.

If you’re not totally comfortable using a Boston-style shaker set like the one included in the set above, a cobbler shaker may be the better choice because it’s easier to hold and has a built-in strainer in the lid. Karen Lin, a certified sommelier, sake expert, and the executive general manager ofTsukimi, suggests this shaker from Japanese barware brand Yukiwa. “The steel is very sturdy, and the shape fits perfectly in my hands,” she says. “It is also designed well, so you can take it apart easily to clean.”

Any bartender worth their salt will tell you that freshly squeezed fruit juice is the only way to go when mixing drinks, which is why “having a fantastic juicer on hand is a must,” says Ivy Mix, the owner ofLeyendain Brooklyn and bottle shop Fiasco! and the author ofSpirits of Latin America.Grand Army’sbeverage director, Brendan Biggins, and head bartender, Robby Dow, call this one the “best of the best.”

For garnish, Joaquín Simó, partner atPouring Ribbonsand Tales of the Cocktail’s American Bartender of the Year in 2012, suggests Rösle peelers, which he says are “built like tanks” and will last a long time. “So if aesthetics matter, those are really, really spectacular,” he says. If you don’t intend on displaying your peeler, a regular vegetable peeler will get the job done.

According toLynnette Marrero, a co-founder of the all-female, high-speed bartending competitionSpeed Rackwho works as the beverage director for New York City–based Llama Inn and Llama San, “bittersare the salt and pepper, the pinch of seasoning to your cocktail.” In our roundup of the best bitters, three names were mentioned by our experts over and over again: Angostura, Peychaud’s, and Regans’. Jarek Mountain, a co-owner and the beverage director of Boston’sYellow Door Taqueria, says that “when it comes to bitters, every mixologist should have two staples: Angostura and Peychaud’s.”Julia Momose, a partner and the creative director at the Chicago-based cocktail barKumiko, agrees: “Classic aromatic bitters, like Angostura and Peychaud’s, are staples.” The two can be used for most classic cocktails, like old-fashioneds, Manhattans, and Sazeracs. Regans’ orange bitters add a bright, citrusy note to whiskey and gin-based drinks. This set from Amazon includes all three.

If you prefer adding some heat, Marrero also suggests Hella Cocktail Co.’s Smoked Chili Bitters, which has a spicy, smoky ancho flavor profile that she says is strong but subtle enough not to “overpower” your other ingredients.

If you already have the basics covered and want to experiment with other flavors, several of our bar experts recommended Dram Apothecary, a Colorado-based company that specializes in herbal bitters. Mix is especially fond of the palo-santo, which she uses to infuse everything from old-fashioneds to martinis with an incense-esque flavor. In addition to palo santo, the brand makes five other blends: citrus, lavender lemon, wild mountain sage, its “hair of the dog” blend (which includes notes of ginger, fennel, and cinnamon), and its “black” blend (which contains notes of black cardamom and black tea).

If you’d rather add a little kick of spice to your drinks, Thonis recommends Pickett’s ginger-beer syrup. And the fact that the handsome apothecary-esque glass bottles are display-worthy doesn’t hurt.

Orgeat is an almond-based syrup that will add hints of orange and rosewater to your drinks and features prominently intiki-style drinkslike mai tais. This one, from popular bar-accessories brand Fee Brothers, was included on our list of tiki bar essentials.

For garnishing or stirring, Strategist contributor Randy Miller — who has perfected the art of theat-home Bloody Mary— loves these sleek toothpicks. “Some might say a toothpick is a toothpick is a toothpick,” he notes, but these “really go the distance — and are reusable because they’re stainless steel.”

If you prefer tiki-style drinks, “every home bar should have a swizzle stick for making ti’ punch and Queen’s Park swizzles,” advises Chockie Tom, founder of “fundraging” pop-upDoom Tiki. She loves these Martinique-style swizzle sticks that are sourced from trees in the Caribbean.

Nothing ruins a cocktail faster than adding cloudyicethat tastes vaguely of the freezer. This silicone mold comes with an insulated foam tray and a plastic reservoir underneath to collect cloudy water, ensuring your cubes will be crystal clear. Journalist and spirits writerCamper Englishcalls it “the ice-cube tray that’s the best bang for your buck.” Amanda Schuster, author ofNew York Cocktails, calls it a “very user-friendly” mold. Once the cubes are set, she suggests sorting them in a ziplock bag to make sure they don’t pick up any unwanted odors and flavors.

If you really want to show off, these Wintersmiths ice molds come with an insulated container and form perfect spheres. While bartender Mathew Resler notes that Wintersmiths products can be a “little pricey,” they “are some of the best on the market to date.”

According to Simó, “You can make 90 percent of drinks in a rocks, a collins, and a good all-purposecocktail glass.” According to Evie Negri-Albert, best known on TikTok and Instagram asDrinks by Evie, rocks glasses are “extremely important for some of the most classic cocktails,” like old-fashioneds. She’s particularly fond of these ridged glasses from Nude Glass (which chefMolly Bazalso told us have become her new “go-to” cocktail glasses after she spied them at Le Crocodile).

Highball and collins glasses are essentially interchangeable, explains Negri-Albert. Basically, they are tall, thin glasses that are traditionally used to serve drinks like a gin-and-tonic and a Tom Collins. Negri-Albert recommended these affordable ones from Crate & Barrel.

As we explained in our guide to essential barware, coupe glasses are good for cocktails served “up” — meaning they’ve been shaken or stirred with ice and then served chilled, without ice — like martinis, and have dethroned the more traditional V-shaped martini glass in many bars and restaurants. If you want something on trend, Tiffanie Barriere, founder ofthe Drinking Coach, calls these colored glasses “some of the best cocktail coupes I’ve seen in my entire life.” The six-piece set comes in a variety of colors, so you can pick a set that will best match your home décor. For a clear-glass option, theseaffordable glasseswere also recommended in our list.

Keeping acocktail bookon hand can be helpful if you need to quickly reference a recipe or need some inspiration. For learning the basics, several bar experts recommended Dale DeGroff’sThe Craft of the Cocktailin our roundup of the best bartending guides. And Gareth Evans, the global brand ambassador forAbsolut Elyx, told us that “DeGroff is rightly credited with the resurgence of fresh fruit and juice in modern cocktails after the dark days of the ’70s and ’80s, when sour mix and layered disco drinks reigned supreme.” Craig Joseph, the bar manager at Ty Bar at theFour Seasons Hotel New York, calls it his “all-time-favorite cocktail book,” adding that it’s “the only book every bartender — beginner or pro — needs in their life.” Seconding Joseph, Evans says this is “a must-have for any aspiring bartender” for its “refreshing (pun intended) take on how to mix up simple, balanced drinks.” Jim Kearns, the beverage director and a partner at New York City’sthe Happiest Hour, adds, “It has a lot of valuable information in it as well as recipes, so it’s a good one to check out.”

For home bartenders who want to further refine their technique and expand their repertoire of recipes, Amanda Swanson, a tequila sommelier and the beverage director ofTribeca’s Añejo, recommendsDeath & Co., which she says is her “go-to cocktail book.” Cara Maldonado, the beverage director at theFour Seasons Hotel New York, told us she keeps a copy of her own on herbar cartat home. Published by the team behind the cocktail bar of the same name, the book includes 500 of its favorite cocktails, many of which have been featured on its bar menu.

According to Nate Fishman, a bartender atLiquor Laband a brand ambassador forSantera Tequila, this book “gives you the understanding of cocktails and spirits through gardening and horticulture,” which makes “pairing and creating cocktails” at home more intuitive. (Plus it will also look great displayed.)