Bar Professional

Start with where a tool is going to live. Anything you reach for more than ten times a shift belongs within arm's reach and can be a heavier build. With a bar spoon, watch the length: a 33 cm handle reaches the bottom of a 55 cl mixing glass, while a shorter spoon only chills the top half. For measuring, choose between a jigger with two cups and a pourer with measured dosing that cuts off at 20, 35 or 50 ml.

Then look at the finish. Plain stainless steel is dishwasher-safe and does not discolour, which makes it the obvious choice for anything that goes through the machine every day. Coated versions in black, copper and gold look calmer on a dark bottle shelf, but the layer lasts longer if you wash by hand. If you are kitting out a complete station in one go rather than topping up piece by piece, the overview is under cocktail supplies.

The tools shape how you work. With a free-flow pourer you dose by count, and with most pourers four counts comes out at roughly 4 cl. Check that once per type of pourer with a measuring cup, because flow rates differ and your margin depends on it. Stir with the curved back of the spoon against the glass wall, so the ice turns instead of clattering. Shake hard and short, until the outside of the tin frosts over.

Fill the cocktail smoker from the Speakeasy line with a handful of oak, hickory or cherry wood chips, place it under the 24 cm glass cloche and light it with the torch. Twenty to thirty seconds is enough to give an old fashioned or a negroni a layer of smoke without the drink starting to taste like an ashtray.

Stainless steel is the material the brand leans on. It does not absorb odours, does not rust and handles the machine daily, which counts for more in a wash-up area than looks do. Rinse anything that touches syrup, liqueur or citrus straight away, because dried sugar in a hinge or a thread can only be soaked loose later on.

Wooden parts need different treatment. Wash the walnut bar caddy, the tamper stands and the wooden smoker by hand and dry them straight away; wood that goes through the machine warps and loses colour. The rubber and plastic corks on pourers expand over time and start to leak, so treat them as consumables and replace them periodically.

If you are after something specific, the separate categories will get you there faster. Everything for behind the espresso machine sits under barista accessories, and what you need to keep bottles and ice cold is under ice buckets. If you would first like to work out which tools you actually need before comparing brands, read the overview on the bar tools page. The glassware itself sits apart from this brand in its own glass categories, so you can choose on shape and capacity.