Head to head
Breville Smoking Gun vs Smoking Gun Pro
Same trick, three real differences. Only one of them changes the drink, and it is not the one the price tag suggests.
By Michael W. · Published October 2026
The short answer
Buy the standard Breville Smoking Gun (BSM600) for a home bar. It produces the same cold smoke, it works on drinks, food, butter and cheese, and it does everything a handheld smoker is for. Buy the Commercial Smoking Gun Pro (CSM700) if you smoke often enough that two specific upgrades matter: variable flow speed, which lets you put a thin veil in a glass rather than a fog, and a removable die-cast stainless barrel that comes off to be washed, so last week's hickory does not turn up in this week's apple. The Pro also has a larger burn chamber for longer sessions. Both run on four AA batteries, both deliver through a hose, and both apply no heat to the drink, which is the whole reason to own one over a torch-and-lid. For one smoked old fashioned a week, the standard gun is the right buy and the Pro is a commercial tool in a domestic kitchen.
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Quick picks
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Breville the Smoking Gun The right buy for a home bar | Cold smoke on anything | |
| 2 | Breville Commercial Smoking Gun Pro If you smoke often, or swap woods | Long or repeated smokes | |
| 3 |  Aged & Charred Smoke Top Cocktail Smoker Kit If you only smoke drinks | Smoking at the table | |
| 4 |  Cocktail Smoker Wood Chip Variety Pack Buy wood with either one | Finding your wood |
Scroll the table sideways on a narrow screen. Prices are set by the retailer and change, so every price link opens the current listing rather than quoting a number here.
The short version
Side by side
| Smoking Gun (BSM600) | Smoking Gun Pro (CSM700) | |
|---|---|---|
| Smoke type | Cold - no heat applied to the drink | Cold - no heat applied to the drink |
| Flow control | Fixed settings | Variable speed dial |
| Burn chamber | Standard | Extra large |
| Barrel | Fixed | Removable die-cast stainless, dishwasher safe |
| Power | 4x AA batteries | 4x AA batteries |
| Delivery | Flexible hose | Flexible hose |
| Beyond drinks | Food, butter, cheese, sauces | Same, at higher volume |
| Size and weight | Smaller, lighter | Bigger and heavier |
| Positioned as | Home appliance | Commercial tool |
Note what is identical: the smoke itself. Neither applies heat to the liquid, both burn the same chips, both deliver through a hose. If you are choosing between these because you think one makes better smoke, it does not.
Difference 1
Variable flow is the upgrade that changes the drink
This is the one that justifies the Pro if anything does. A handheld smoker with fixed flow gives you one smoke density and a stopwatch - you control dosage by time, which means a short burst that is uneven or a long one that is heavy. A variable dial lets you set a low flow and fill a covered glass slowly, which produces an even layer rather than a cloud that stratifies.
The practical effect is on light drinks. A heavily smoked old fashioned survives a crude dose because bourbon and bitters are assertive. A gin drink, a white spirit, or anything delicate goes from interesting to ashtray in two seconds of too much smoke. Low flow is how you get a hint rather than a statement, and there is no technique that substitutes for it on a fixed-flow gun.
If every drink you smoke is a bourbon old fashioned, this difference is close to irrelevant. How to smoke an old fashioned covers the dose for that drink specifically, and how to use a cocktail smoker covers the general technique.
Difference 2
The removable barrel, and cross-contamination
Wood smoke leaves tar. It condenses in the barrel and the hose, and it is persistent - which means a gun used with hickory carries hickory into the next session regardless of which chips are in the chamber. Most owners of fixed-barrel guns either settle on one wood or accept a blend.
The Pro's barrel is die-cast stainless and comes off, and Breville specifies it as dishwasher safe. That is a genuine functional difference for anyone who wants to taste the difference between cherry and apple rather than between cherry-plus-residue and apple-plus-residue. If you plan to work through a variety pack of chips deliberately, this is the feature to buy.
It is also the cleaning difference. A fixed barrel is cleaned with a brush and some patience; a removable one goes in a dishwasher. Over a year of regular use that is the difference between a tool you keep using and one that lives in a cupboard because cleaning it is a chore. Cocktail smoker wood chips guide covers which woods are worth distinguishing.
Difference 3
Chamber size is a volume feature, not a quality one
The Pro's extra-large burn chamber means a longer session without a mid-session refill. That matters when you are smoking a batch - a bottle of spirit, a tray of butter, a cocktail for eight - and it matters not at all when you are smoking one glass.
One chip load in the standard gun is comfortably enough for a drink or two. If you are reloading mid-task often enough to find it annoying, you are doing the kind of work the Pro exists for. If you reload once a week, you are not.
Both guns are bigger objects than people expect, and both need somewhere to live along with a bag of chips and spare batteries. A smoke lid is a fraction of the storage footprint, which is a real argument if drawer space is the constraint.
Both, or neither
When a gun is the wrong tool entirely
The honest question is not which gun, it is whether a gun. A handheld smoker and a smoke lid solve the same problem differently, and for a lot of home bars the lid is the better answer.
| If this is you | Buy |
|---|---|
| One smoked drink a week, in front of a guest | A smoke lid and torch |
| Several drinks, varied spirits, want dose control | The Pro |
| Drinks plus food, butter, cheese, sauces | The standard gun |
| Smoking a bottle or a batch | The Pro |
| Smoking a finished drink for a table | A smoking box |
| Not sure you like smoked drinks yet | A lid kit - lowest cost to find out |
A lid plus torch applies heat above the drink, which warms the top of the pour slightly - that is the trade, and it is why a gun exists. Smoke top vs smoking gun is that comparison in full, are cocktail smokers worth it is the honest cost argument, and best cocktail smokers places all three formats against each other.
The verdict
What we would actually buy
The standard Smoking Gun, for a home bar, almost every time. It makes the same smoke, it is smaller, it costs less, and its flexibility beyond drinks is the thing that keeps a smoker out of the cupboard. The limitations are real - fixed flow and a barrel you brush rather than wash - and for most people they are limitations you live with happily.
The Pro earns itself in one specific profile: someone who smokes several drinks a week, across different spirits, and cares about dose. Variable flow and a washable barrel are exactly the two features that profile needs, and no amount of technique substitutes for either. If that is not you, you are buying a commercial tool for a domestic job. Breville Smoking Gun Pro review is the longer look at the Pro on its own terms.
The picks in full
Every pick, and who each one is for
01 · The right buy for a home bar
Breville the Smoking Gun
Breville · The step up
The handheld that made cold smoking a home technique, and still the most flexible smoke source you can own.
The BSM600. Cold smoke through a hose so the drink never warms, and genuinely useful beyond the bar on food, butter, cheese and sauces. The most flexible smoke source you can own at this price.
The specs that decide it
- Type:
- handheld cold smoker
- Model:
- BSM600
- Smoke:
- cold - no heat applied to the drink
- Beyond drinks:
- works on food, butter, cheese, sauces
Who it is for
- Cold smoke means the drink does not warm, which is the whole point over a torch-and-lid
- Hose delivery lets you smoke a covered glass, a decanter or a bag
- Genuinely useful outside the bar - this is the one smoker that earns its drawer space
Where it gives ground
- Battery powered with a fan, so it is a device to maintain rather than a lid
- Fiddly for a single drink compared with a smoke lid
Skip this one if you want to smoke one old fashioned a week. A lid and a torch does that faster with less cleanup.
02 · If you smoke often, or swap woods
Breville Commercial Smoking Gun Pro
Breville · The one worth stretching for
The commercial version: bigger burn chamber, variable flow, and a barrel that comes off to be washed.
The CSM700. Variable flow speed is the real upgrade - low speed gives a thin veil instead of a fog - and the removable die-cast stainless barrel is dishwasher safe, which is the answer to cross-contaminated wood flavors.
The specs that decide it
- Model:
- CSM700
- Burn chamber:
- extra large
- Flow:
- variable speed
- Barrel:
- removable die-cast stainless, dishwasher safe
Who it is for
- Variable flow is the real upgrade - low speed puts a thin veil in a glass instead of a fog
- Removable barrel stops last week's hickory turning up in this week's apple
- Large chamber means a long smoke without a mid-session refill
Where it gives ground
- A commercial-priced tool for a home bar
- Bigger and heavier than the standard Smoking Gun
Skip this one if you smoke occasionally. The standard Smoking Gun does the same trick for much less.
03 · If you only smoke drinks
Aged & Charred Smoke Top Cocktail Smoker Kit
Aged & Charred · Mid tier
A lid, a torch and four woods - the fastest route from a poured drink to a smoked one, and the most watchable.
A lid, a torch and four woods. Faster per drink than either gun, nothing to charge, and the smoke happens in front of the person drinking it. The honest alternative if drinks are the only thing you will ever smoke.
The specs that decide it
- Type:
- smoke lid with torch
- Woods:
- oak, apple, hickory, cherry
- Includes:
- lid, torch and butane depending on kit
- Cycle:
- roughly 30 to 60 seconds per drink
Who it is for
- Theater is a real feature - the smoke happens in front of the person drinking it
- Four woods in the box means you can actually find out which one you like
- Nothing to charge, nothing to fail
Where it gives ground
- The torch applies heat above the drink, so the top of the pour warms slightly
- Butane is a consumable you will forget to reorder
Skip this one if you want to smoke a bottle, a batch or anything that is not in a glass. That is a smoking gun's job.
04 · Buy wood with either one
Cocktail Smoker Wood Chip Variety Pack
Aged & Charred · Entry tier
The cheapest experiment on the site: four woods, and the discovery that they are not interchangeable.
Both guns are empty tools without chips, and the wood changes the drink more than the gun does. A variety pack is how you find out whether you actually prefer cherry to hickory.
The specs that decide it
- Woods:
- commonly oak, cherry, apple, hickory
- Cut:
- fine chip for fast ignition
- Use:
- lid smokers and smoking guns alike
- Storage:
- sealed tins or jars
Who it is for
- Cherry and apple are genuinely different from oak - most people only ever try one
- A fine chip lights faster and burns cleaner than a coarse chip
- Lasts a long time at a pinch per drink
Where it gives ground
- Quality varies by supplier more than you would expect
- Chips go stale if you leave the tin open
Skip this one if your kit already came with four woods. Finish those first.
Honest limits
What we could not verify
We have not run both guns side by side and measured smoke density at matched settings, so the flow-control argument here rests on the published specification difference and on consistent owner reports rather than our own measurement. Breville does not publish burn-chamber volumes in comparable units, so chamber size is described relatively. Battery life depends entirely on cell type and session length and we quote no figure.
We do not run a test lab and we have not personally used every product here. Where a judgment rests on published specifications or on what owners report rather than on our own hands, we say so. Read the full method.
Questions
Related questions
- What is the difference between the Breville Smoking Gun and the Smoking Gun Pro?
- Three things: the Pro has a variable flow speed dial instead of fixed settings, an extra-large burn chamber for longer sessions, and a removable die-cast stainless barrel that is dishwasher safe. The smoke itself is the same, both are cold smokers, and both run on four AA batteries.
- Is the Smoking Gun Pro worth it for a home bar?
- Only if you smoke several drinks a week across different spirits. Variable flow lets you put a thin veil in a glass rather than a fog, which matters on delicate drinks, and the removable barrel stops one wood's residue flavoring the next. For one bourbon old fashioned a week, the standard gun does the same job for less.
- Are both Breville smoking guns cold smokers?
- Yes. Both burn chips in a chamber away from the drink and deliver smoke through a hose, so no heat reaches the liquid. That is the main advantage of a gun over a torch-and-lid, where the flame warms the top of the pour.
- Do Breville smoking guns need batteries?
- Yes - four AA batteries each, rather than a rechargeable pack. Rechargeable AAs work and are worth using if you smoke regularly, since the fan draws on them steadily.
- Can you clean the barrel on the standard Smoking Gun?
- You can brush it, but it does not come off. Wood smoke leaves persistent tar in the barrel and hose, so a fixed-barrel gun tends to blend woods over time. The Pro's barrel is removable and dishwasher safe, which is the reason to pick it if you want to taste the difference between chips.
- Smoking gun or smoke lid for cocktails?
- A lid and torch is faster per drink, cheaper, needs no batteries and does the smoking in front of the guest, at the cost of warming the top of the pour slightly. A gun applies no heat and works on food as well as drinks. For drinks only, start with a lid.
Sources
Read next
Related reading
- Cocktail smokers
Smoke lids, handheld guns and smoking boxes, ranked on smoke control rather than on theater alone.
- Breville Smoking Gun Pro review
What the Pro adds over the standard gun, who needs it, and the cheaper model that usually does.
- Best cocktail smokers
Lids, guns and boxes compared on smoke control, speed and whether your drink stays cold.
- Smoke top vs smoking gun
A lid and torch against a handheld cold smoker: heat, control, speed and what else each can smoke.
- Cocktail smoker wood chips guide
Six woods compared, which drink each suits, and why cherry is the one nobody tries.
- How to use a cocktail smoker
Timings by method, how many chips, torch safety, and why cleaning decides how long the tool lasts.