So you’re ready to whip up a round of Espresso Martinis for your expectant guests and realise you’ve got a big problem. No shaker, no jigger or strainer! Your bartending dreams are dashed and it’s about time to open the emergency rose.

Put down the wine. We’ll let you in on a little secret

It’s great to have the right kit but you can still get the job done without it. In fact, we’re willing to bet you already have everything you need to start whipping up some seriously tasty cocktails.

The jigger 

What? Your measuring tool

Replacement? Teaspoons, tablespoons, egg cup

Measuring is important. It ensures that all of your cocktails are consistent and just as amazing as each other, every time..  Spoons are definitely the easiest and most effective solution replacement.  With these two measurements in mind, you’ll be on your way very soon.

1 teaspoons = 5ml

1 tablespoons = 15ml

1 egg cup = 20-25ml

The shaker 

What? A container where cocktails are shaken with ice before being served 

Replacement? Any container with a tight seel eg. A mason jar/ Tupperwear

Whatever you chose to do the job, the key is to shake hard – we recommend 10 seconds or until your hands are really cold.

Bar spoon 

What? A long spoon used to stir spirit cocktails with ice

Replacement? Any long narrow object eg. a chopstick. 

Although a long cocktail spoon looks gorgeous, it can be subbed out for pretty much any other long, narrow, evenly weighted object. We would recommend a chopstick or smoothie spoon as they are easy to control and rotate between your fingers when stirring.

The mixing glass

What? A large square-base glass used to stir spirit-only cocktails with ice

Replacement? Pint Glass or Measuring Cup

The most important thing to keep in mind is that you will need a reasonable thick and heavy glass. Pint glasses work great for this or even glass measuring cups. Try to avoid using a bowl as the way you would naturally stir with a bowl is quite different to how you would stir in a glass or cup.

The muddler 

What? A muddler is used to squish herbs and fruit at the bottom of a glass to release flavour

Replacement?  A thick wooden spoon,  top of a rolling pin or the bottom of any bottle that fits into your glass.

This is an essential part of any super herby or fruity cocktails (Think mojitos.) However, any wooden, heavy, long kitchen appliance like a wooden spoon or rolling pin will do the job and leave you with a flavoursome result.

The strainer 

What? A metal sieve used to keep ice in the mixing glass when pouring a cocktail out into a serving glass

Replacement? A smaller glass, slated serving spoon, jam jar lid

The purpose of the strainer is simple enough and therefore super easy to replace. This can be done in a couple of ways. An easy fix is to put a slightly smaller glass inside of the mixing glass, holding down the ice and allowing the liquid to pour out easily. Alternatively you can used the same method with a large serving spoon to hold back the ice when pouring the liquid out.