Frequently asked questions

Questions

Related questions

What should I upgrade first in my home bar?

A jigger, then your ice. A jigger is the cheapest tool available and it decides whether a drink comes out the same way twice; ice is the largest ingredient by volume in most drinks and the one almost nobody buys deliberately. The home bar upgrade guide works through it by symptom.

Why does clear ice matter?

Because of surface area. Small cloudy cubes have enormous surface relative to their mass, so they chill fast and then keep giving up water, and the trapped air makes them crack apart into even more surface. One large dense clear piece chills steadily and holds its shape. How to make clear ice explains the mechanism.

Do clear ice molds need special water?

No. Insulated molds are designed for ordinary tap water - the shell does the work that boiling and distilling are supposed to do. Cloudiness is caused by the direction of the freeze, not by the water. Why is my ice cloudy has the full list of causes.

Why do my shaker tins stick shut?

Because the seal is working. Cold air inside contracts during the shake and atmospheric pressure clamps the halves together. Break it with one firm palm strike on the large tin at the widest point of the join - not on the small tin, and not by pulling. Why shaker tins stick and leak.

What size shaking tins should I buy?

18oz and 28oz. The sizes are chosen so the small tin seats in the large one at a taper that seals reliably, and the pair holds about two drinks with a full ice charge. If you routinely make four, buy two pairs rather than one oversized tin.

Boston shaker or cobbler?

Tins if you are always the one shaking - more capacity, faster chilling, your choice of strainer. A cobbler if drinks get made by whoever is nearest, because it is one object with the strainer built in and needs no technique. Boston vs cobbler.

Do I really need a jigger?

If the same drink tastes different every time you make it, yes. A free-poured count drifts by about a quarter ounce even with practice, and in a three-ingredient drink that is the whole balance. Test it free first: measure six drinks with a kitchen measuring spoon and see.

What size jigger is standard?

A standard double jigger is 1oz and 2oz, roughly 30ml and 60ml. With interior lines it also gives you a half, three quarters and a quarter ounce, which covers nearly every recipe. Jigger sizes explained has the full conversion table.

Which drinks should be stirred and which shaken?

All spirits, stir. Anything with citrus, dairy or egg, shake. Shaking aerates and fragments ice, which a citrus drink needs and a spirit-only drink is ruined by. Mixing glass vs shaker.

How long should you shake a cocktail?

About 12 to 15 seconds of hard shaking, until the outside of the tin frosts. Frost is a better cue than counting - it tells you the metal has reached the temperature the drink is heading for.

Can I use a pint glass as a mixing glass?

You can, and it is worse at every part of the job: too light, warms in your hand, tapered so the ice tumbles rather than rotating, and a rolled rim that dribbles. Best mixing glasses.

What size rocks glass do I need?

12oz. A 2-inch cube displaces roughly 4oz, and once you add a double pour a 9oz glass is close to the rim before any dilution. Rocks glass size guide.

What glasses does a home bar actually need?

Three shapes, four of each: a 12oz rocks glass for anything over ice, a small Nick and Nora for stirred drinks served up, and a 9oz coupe for shaken drinks with foam. Add highballs if you drink long carbonated drinks. Cocktail glassware types.

Is a Glencairn or a Norlan a rocks glass?

No. Both are built around a neat pour with a narrow tapered interior, and a 2-inch cube does not fit properly in either. If you drink whiskey over large ice, buy a rocks glass. Norlan whisky glass review.

How long should you smoke a cocktail?

30 to 45 seconds under a lid. Over-smoking is the standard first mistake and it is not recoverable, partly because the drink keeps absorbing smoke while it sits. How to use a cocktail smoker.

Which wood chips should I use?

Oak is the safe default and cherry is the one most people prefer once they try it. Apple is the lightest, hickory the most aggressive. Most kits ship four woods and most people only ever burn the oak. Cocktail smoker wood chips guide.

Bar cart or bar cabinet?

A cart if your bottles look good and your room is not bright. A cabinet if the collection has outgrown a cart's display logic, the room is sunny, or the bar needs to close. The tipping point is usually around fifteen to twenty bottles. Bar cart vs bar cabinet.

Why is my Manhattan flat?

Almost always oxidized vermouth. An opened bottle kept at room temperature degrades within weeks, and a bar cart is the worst place for it. Refrigerate it and buy the smaller bottle - no tool on this site helps more than that.

Do you test the products you recommend?

No, and we never write as though we do. We compare published specifications and materials, read what owners report over months, and select on stated criteria - and every commercial page carries a 'what we could not verify' section. How we pick.

Why are there no prices on this site?

Prices change constantly and a number written into a page is wrong within weeks, which is worse than no number because it looks authoritative. Every price link opens the current listing at the retailer instead. Affiliate disclosure.

How does this site make money?

Affiliate commission, at no extra cost to you, and nothing else - no sponsored placements, no paid inclusions, no gifted products. Commission rate has never set an ordering here. Affiliate disclosure.

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