Last year, I offered you a few Christmas gift ideas for home bartenders. I have some more ideas this year and you get the chance to win a great home bartending gift set, valued at $60 (see below for details)! Here are the gifts, pictured left to right above:
Ice molds. Tovolo offers the Colossal Cube and the Sphere ice molds. Each set comes with 2 molds. They’re a cool gift for a whiskey lover as they cool your drink without too much watering-down. Colossal Cube molds are available from Amazon here for $15, and the Spheres for $10 here.
Citrus Squeezer. I joked about this recently on Instagram: for us home bartenders, our squeezers will wear out, so make sure you get a good one. This is a high-quality squeezer by Dalla Piazza that will cover all your squeezing needs: limes, lemons, or oranges, and it’s available from Amazon here for $22.
Muddler. Epicurean has this awesome “wood fiber” muddler that dishwasher safe and really sexy. Muddlers are either wood (so not dishwasher safe), or something much less elegant like aluminum. This is a great mix of style and functionality that’s available direct from Epicurean for $25 here.
Bar Set*. This is a 7-piece set by Swissmar that includes a full-size shaker, strainer, bar knife, jigger, stirrer, bottle opener – all in a nice stand. It’s a perfect collection of necessities to start you home bar, available for $60 from Amazon here or win a set from Simple Cocktails (see below)!
Bar Knives. This is a 2-knife set by Joseph Joseph – 1 straight edge, 1 serrated – that magnetically sticks together to protect the blades and your fingers. I think it’s actually designed as a cheese knife set, but it’s also perfect for a traveling bartender. The set retails for about $12 at local cooking shop, from Amazon here, or or direct from Joseph Joseph here.
Measuring Jug. Also by Joseph Joseph, this jug measures any fluid from 1 oz to 1 liter, with a cool double-reservoir design. Much like the knife set, this is a good gift for both foodies and home bartenders. This runs about $15 at your local cooking shop, from Amazon here, or direct from the company here.
Zester. This zester by Kitchen IQ has a removable reservoir on the back to catch and measure your citrus zest (which you’ll see occasionally in a cocktail recipe). It’s $15 at your local cooking shop, or get it from Amazon here.
*For a chance to win your own Swissmar cocktail set, pictured above, shipped direct to you from the manufacturer, post a comment below listing your favorite Christmastime cocktail. 1 entry per person, U.S. residents only. I’ll draw a name randomly on December 16th. Good luck!
