Bartending Supplies - Your Bread and Butter
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Bartending supplies - Carpenters use saws, surgeons use scalpels, writers use typewriters.
What do we bartenders use?
Well, a variety of tools. In this section, I will cover essential tools of the trade that ANY
bartender, however experienced, NEEDS to have while on the job.
The number one thing that ALL good bartenders will have on them is a Bottle Opener or a "Church
Key," and a wine opener. Always be in the habit of carrying your own as most joints don't carry
these and expect the bartenders to bring their own tool.
Besides, you'll probably get used to using
your own bottle opener, that you won't want to use someone else's opener to attack those beer
bottles. And another point. Most bars don't have their own bottle openers, and if they do, tend to
lose them. Bottle openers are hot commodities and tend to disappear, so it's a safe practice to
always carry your own.
Now that I've
gotten that off my chest, let's go on to the other essential tools of the trade that you can add onto your
home bar supplies.
I've made a
comprehensive list of bartending supplies that are good to have around, however, I suggest that the first 5
are essential to one's bar kit. The rest are optional. If you own them, great. If not, that's fine too.
Check out the following bartending tools available at amazon
Essential Bartending Supplies
Shot Glass: These are great not only for shots, but also for measuring 1/2 - 1 oz fluid. Opt for the simple, heavy base glass shots. Check out the shot glass from Amazon below.
Jigger: This is a two-sided steel measuring device. The larger side is usually twice the capacity of the smaller size. For instance, say the smaller size holds 1.5 oz. The larger size will hold 3 oz., twice the size of the smaller oz.
Shaker: This is a large, stainless steel container used for mixing and muddling drinks. That said, it's also good to have a medium-sized one as well, as it combines well with the larger shaker when mixing and pouring drinks.
Strainer: This tool is placed over the shaker and acts as a barrier, preventing ice and muddle ingredients from entering the glass. The strainer is essential especially when pouring shots or pouring drinks that are STRAIGHT UP. Knife: Need this for cutting and paring fruit
Drink Pourers: As the name suggests, these devices are used for pouring drinks. They attach to the mouth of the bottle, and allow you to pour the contents in even spurts while keeping dust and bugs out of the bottle when not in use. They are usually made out of metal, but I've also seen plastic ones as well. These don't usually last long, and are harder to clean, so I strongly suggest using the metal kinds.
Optional Bartending Supplies
Bar Towel: use to wipe bottles, pint glasses, spills, and your hands.
Ice Scoop: For scooping ice. As a rule of thumb, NEVER use the glass cups to scoop ice. It's a bad habit, and a dangerous one at that. Many times the cup may chip and contaminate the ice with broken glass.
Ice Blender: Useful when making frozen drinks.
Bar Muddler: Small wooden or plastic bat-shaped tool that is used to crush fruit.
Mixing/Bar Spoon: Long handled metal spoon used to stir drinks.
Cocktail Napkins: Fresh batch of cocktail napkins is a must! They should be placed in front of each and every customer who sits at the bar. They are also great for cleaning up spills or small messes that you or the patron may incur.
Tall Straws/Coffee Stirrers: These should be added to ALL drinks that contain ice cubes.
There are a lot more bar tending tools out there, however, those are pretty much what I refer to as the bells and whistles. They're nice to have, but they're not a necessity. The home bar supplies mentioned above are more than enough to get you started.