Speakeasy premium collection

Start with what you are missing. If you already have glassware, a four-piece set is the logical step: shaker, strainer, bar spoon and jigger in the same finish, so your station is complete in one go. If you are starting from scratch, the drink you make most often decides which glass you buy first. The 28.5 cl margarita glass is the compact version; the 38 cl gives room for ice and a generous salt rim. The 45 cl highball is there for long drinks with plenty of ice, the 30 cl tumbler for short drinks over a block of ice. You choose the finish afterwards: stainless steel stays neutral, copper and gold stand out, black disappears on a dark bar. Individual pieces are listed under cocktail shakers and bar spoons.

Fill a shaker two thirds with ice, then add the drink. Twelve to fifteen seconds of firm shaking is enough: you chill, dilute and mix all at once. Then strain into a pre-chilled glass, so the ice shards stay behind and the drink arrives clear. Stirred drinks such as an old fashioned do not belong in the shaker; you stir those for fifteen counts with the bar spoon over ice in the tumbler. A margarita, by contrast, is shaken, and you serve it in the margarita glass with salt on half the rim, so your guest can choose. Long drinks are built straight in the highball glass.

Stainless steel is dishwasher safe, but copper and gold are not: that finish is a coating and it wears away from hot air and aggressive tablets. Rinse them in warm water straight after use and dry them with a cloth, and the colour will hold for years. Otherwise sugary liqueurs leave a sticky film that is hard to remove later. The glasses from Bar Professional are dishwasher safe. Stand them upright in the basket and do not let them touch, because most breakage happens not in use but while loading.

If you are only after glassware, you will find the wider offer under cocktail glasses and long drink glasses. For separate jiggers, strainers and muddlers there is the overview of bar tools, which also lists the recipes that call for this equipment. If you are specifically looking for margarita glasses, with or without a coloured rim, the quickest route is the margarita glasses. If you are in doubt about the size, take it that a glass should never be filled to the brim.