Ice cream sticks

Look at the jaws first. Tongs with serrated or toothed tips hold on to a smooth, wet cube, while flat-jawed tongs let it shoot away. At 18 cm you have enough length to reach the bottom of a full bucket without getting your sleeve wet, and enough spring to squeeze with one hand.

After that it is a choice between material and looks. Stainless steel is neutral, does not discolour and suits almost any bar. Copper adds warmth and matches the rest of a copper bar set, but takes on a darker layer over time. The version with a clip is practical if the tongs keep going missing, because they hang on the bucket instead of sinking into it. Have a look at the matching ice buckets to make a set of it.

Work from the top down. Take the cube lying on top, do not stand the tongs upright in the ice and put them back on the rim or in the clip. Ice lowered into the glass from a couple of centimetres up splashes less than ice you drop in.

For an old fashioned you use one large block, and then tongs are effectively compulsory: a block like that does not fit in a scoop and slips out of your hand. For a gin tonic, by contrast, you fill to the rim with cubes, because a full glass melts more slowly than a half-filled one and therefore dilutes your drink less. If you make large blocks yourself, have a look at the ice cube moulds.

The stainless steel tongs are dishwasher safe and come out spotless as long as they do not rest against aluminium. Do rinse them after an evening with citrus, because acid leaves dull patches on stainless steel over time.

Copper needs more attention. Wash it by hand in lukewarm suds and dry it immediately, otherwise it tarnishes. Tongs that have darkened can be brought back to a shine with a little lemon juice and salt, but plenty of bars leave that patina exactly as it is, because it makes the bar look older than it is.

If you are looking for the rest of the equipment, have a look at the cocktail shakers, where jiggers, strainers and bar spoons are listed too. If you first want to know which tools you really need to get started, the overview on the bar tools page sets it all out. And if you are after the glass that ice goes into, the heavy, low models are under old fashioned glasses.