While crashing a Fraternity/Sorority Mixer on Saturday night. Well actually it wasn't a mixer and we weren't crashing but those are small details that can be over looked. I was reminded of my college dream to one day own a nice useful bartending set. I had lofty dreams then. So as we are only two weeks away from Christmas I decided to find a nice set to put on my wishlist. But amazon did not have the right kind of sets. I find this disturbing! I have come to think of Amazon as a blackbox of goodies, whatever you may need it will be there, be it a Lord of the Rings DVD or a Scunci Steam Cleaner. Needless to say I was dismayed, here are the types of kits that amazon had.

Whatever happened to traditional cocktail strainer techniques? As any barman knows, all you really need is two different sized stainless steel tins preferably 28 and 16 oz. What's up with all of these "Special Bartenders Glasses"? I soon found that there are several thousand websites devoted to selling the poor naive college student the "ultimate bartending kit" but none of them is what I would consider practical. If you've ever used a Cocktail shaker you know that often times with the shaking of ice and liquid the temperature in the shaker will drop drastically, physics steps in contracting the air left in the shaker and making a nearly unbreakable seal between shaker and top. The easiest way to break the seal is to give the top a good thwack against the bar. Now how does one do this (without fear of life and limb) if the top is made out of glass? The built in strainer is a nice idea but suffers from the same freezing seal dilemma and a good thwack doesn't work too well due to the design. If you are buying a home bartending kit for someone that fancies themselves a competent, if not knowledgeable bartender here is what you should look for.

Even this kit has many expendable parts. What you really need is:

The 2 tins
strainer
pouring spouts (several)
mat and bar towel

Jiggers are nice for the anal retentive bartender who likes to measure everything but for home use most won't use it. A muddler may be useful but i've never used one. An ice scoop is kinda silly unless you're throwing a party and have a nice ice bucket to go with it. The corkscrew/bottle opener, most people already have at their homes anyway. I'm purposely leaving all the different types of glasses out. I think that all drinks should be served in their proper glass, there's no good reason for this I just think is more fun that way. What's a martini without the constant danger of spilling it all over yourself?

So if I left anything out that one would need for their home bar, let me know. Otherwise enjoy the eggnog and "drink responsibly".