Best Bar Tools Under £30 for a Starter Home Bar
You do not need a trolley of gadgets. You need the things that measure, shake, stir, strain, peel and freeze a cube that fits the glass. The longer version of how to use them is the tools piece. This page is only the shopping.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you use these links I may earn a commission. The price you pay does not change. Each of these was listed under £30 on Amazon UK. The price on the page is the price. I have not stood at the bar with every one of them. Read the size before you buy.
The kit
- Earnmore 30 ml / 60 ml jigger. Lines at 15, 22 and 45 ml as well as the two cups. Use it for a 60 ml serve. It is not a 25/50 jigger.
- BarBits tin-on-tin shaker. An 18 oz tin and a 28 oz tin. Skip a three-piece cobbler if the drink has mint or pulp. The cap clogs.
- Urban Bar 30 cm spoon. Twisted shaft. Stir with it. Do not whisk.
- Homestia Hawthorne strainer. Spring strainer, for the tin.
- Barfly fine mesh strainer. Holds back the shards the Hawthorne lets through.
- Mercer Y-peeler, for a wide strip of citrus peel. Check the delivery before you count on it.
- Genware mixing glass, 500 ml, with a lip. Stir in this. Shake in the tins.
- Ankway 5 cm ice tray. Two trays of large cubes for a rocks glass. Large ice melts more slowly. It does not make clear ice by itself.
What I would not buy yet
A muddler with a light in it. An electric jigger. A smoking gun. A second shaker. A wooden spoon muddles mint. One aromatic bitters is enough until you actually miss orange bitters in a martini.
Keep the jigger, the spoon, the peeler and the strainer in one jug by the bottles. Tools in a cupboard across the room do not get used, and then the 60 ml was a guess.
These are full-strength serves for adults of legal drinking age. One is a drink, not a starter. If you are driving, pregnant, or on medication, skip the alcohol.
