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The 33 Best Gifts for Bartenders and At-Home Mixologists
Give one of these and you might just score yourself a free drink.
There's nothing like a good homemade cocktail during a holiday party. Bartenders are out here doing the important work, whipping up egg nog and spiked cider at all of our seasonal festivities. They make extended family or work parties tolerable expertly balanced cocktails, cold beers, or their favorite top-shelf liquors. So, you ought to get a special holiday gift for yours.
If you're looking to gift one of your favorite bartenders (seasoned or new, at-home or pro) something good for their concoctions, we are here to assist. We pulled a range of some of the most useful things they can use to round out their at-home bar carts, which are likely already stocked with bar tools, cocktail kits, and the big alcohol essentials.
Here, we've rounded up 33 gifts that might help them make a new drink they've been wanting to, upgrade some basic bar items they haven't invested in quite yet, or pieces of servewear that puts those fancy cocktails on a rightfully extra display for the next holiday party. These gifts are fun to give, and even more fun when you get to see them in action—and get the finished drink after, too.
Garnish work is trickier than it seems. Have you ever tried to cut a perfect twist off an orange or spear a particularly slippery martini olive? Not easy—unless you're armed with this essential bar tool.
By Masahiro Urushido and Michael Anstendig "The Japanese Art of the Cocktail"
One of the best cocktail books of 2021—and a damn fine coffee table book to boot—this ode to Japanese cocktail art is instructive as well as just plain beautiful.
Crafthouse by Fortessa Mini Smoking Cloche
A winner of Esquire's 2021 Design Awards, this smoking cloche adds theatricality—and irresistible smokiness—to bartending. And now, for my next trick...
Water rings are an unfortunate occupational hazard for bartenders who bring their work home. But with custom coasters—you can get the blueprint of any address stamped onto these—the damage will be mitigated.
The journey to making the perfect martini will take them years, if not decades. But with this, they will have the perfect tools for said journey.
The Soho Home Barwell collection has won Esquire Design Awards and Endorsements alike. As short rocks glasses, the crystal cut design is as beautiful as ever.
For everything that doesn't go in a rocks glass, they can use a coupe. These from CB2 are the most beautiful out ther, and they're really quite affordable.
Tequila is well on its way to being America's favorite spirit, but mezcal often offers a lot more in cocktails. Celeb duo Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston (of Breaking Bad fame) made an incredible mezcal in Dos Hombres. This Espadin is a great entry, but the limited edition Tobala is a great gift to splurge on.
So you've got them the mezcal... If you've never noticed, mezcal and tequila don't need much help in the nose department. They actually need wide mouth glasses to allow some of the alcohol to evaporate and deepen the flavor.
This Italian crafted pewter looks as good as silver, but it's way less needy. Perfect for when a few too many daiquiris means it might not get washed properly.
For the outdoors mixologist, YETI has steadily been releasing an incredible line of barware. We've already professed our love for the ice bucket, but there's now this shaker and stackable lowballs to round out the collection.
A lot more muted than the coasters they already have.
Everything they need to run a bar, all in a simple tool roll.
Can never have too many of these.
Right now, they're just pulling ice out of the ice maker or freezer. But as of the moment you give them this, they'll have something that makes the ice-getting endeavors a little easier, especially when serving guests.
If you decide to spring for something a little more expensive, this revolving bar set is a gift to treasure forever. Italian-crafted, a unique chest of tools and bar essentials is going to be a hit at happy hour.
Customize this with whatever tickles your fancy, and give the gift of personalization this season.
To be honest, you don't even need to be bartending anything for this juicer to be useful. Never squeeze lemon or lime juice into paper cuts you didn't know you had again.
A good bar car makes this whole hobby feel a lot more official. This simple, clean Burrow bar car takes up minimal room and keeps all of those pricey bar items on display. It comes in both a dark walnut and light oak wood finish.
Any bartender knows the party extends beyond the literal bar. This portable keg, then, will play cohost for all their jaunts into the woods, beach, and backyard. And it'll keep more than beer bubbly.
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