3-Piece Mixologist Barware Set

This is a three-piece barware set from Esplanda, sold as a starter kit for mixing drinks at home. The listing doesn't say which three pieces are included, so check the product photos or contents list before you buy. Sets in this category usually combine a shaker, a jigger or measuring tool, and a strainer or bar spoon, and that trio covers most classic cocktail technique. Used properly, a kit like this changes the drinks more than the gear suggests. A jigger is the piece that matters most, because cocktails are built on ratios. A Daiquiri at 2 parts rum, 1 part lime and 3/4 part simple syrup, or a Negroni at equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, only works if the measures are consistent. Free-pouring is what makes a drink taste different from one night to the next. If your set includes a shaker, use it for drinks with citrus, egg white, cream or syrups: Margaritas, Whiskey Sours, Cosmopolitans and Clover Clubs. Fill it well past halfway with cold, hard ice and shake hard for roughly 10 to 15 seconds, until the outside is frosty. Stirred drinks that are all spirits, such as Manhattans, Old Fashioneds and Martinis, belong in a mixing glass or the shaker tin with a bar spoon. Stir with ice for about 30 seconds, then strain. Stirring chills and dilutes without adding the cloudiness and air that shaking does. Match the glass to the drink. Serve shaken sours and Martinis up in a chilled coupe or cocktail glass, and serve stirred, spirit-heavy drinks over a large cube in a rocks glass. Rinse and dry the pieces after each use, and check the care instructions before putting them in a dishwasher.