What does the whole kit cost?

Between $80 and $200 depending on brand. A serviceable full kit exists in the $80–100 range; a lifetime kit sits closer to $200.

Do I need a citrus juicer?

A hand-squeezed lemon or lime works for one drink at a time. If you're batching, a Mexican-style elbow juicer is $15 and fast.

Useful for making syrups by weight (1:1 by weight is more consistent than 1:1 by volume) but not essential for pouring cocktails.

Ice & Tools

The 10-Tool Home Bar

A short, opinionated list of the ten tools that do 95% of the work at home. Everything else is optional.

By Dmitriy ShteynbukWisconsin, USAUpdated July 3, 20262 min read

The home-bar equipment market wants to sell you thirty items. You need ten. The list below is the working kit of most professional bartenders; it will build every cocktail on this site and every cocktail in any classical manual.

Measuring

1. Japanese-style jigger with 15/22/30/45/60 ml graduations. Not the two-sided US jigger with only 1 oz / 2 oz — the graduated Japanese design gives you every classical pour with one tool.

2. Bar spoon with a long twisted handle. Used for stirring, layering, and measuring 5 ml doses of syrup or bitters when the jigger is overkill.

Mixing

3. Boston shaker: a metal-and-metal or metal-and-tin two-piece set. Skip the three-piece cobbler shaker; it's slower to open and prone to sticking.

4. Mixing glass. A yarai-style Japanese mixing glass is beautiful and functional; a heavy pint glass works too. Volume around 500 ml.

5. Hawthorne strainer with a tight coil spring for the shaker.

6. Julep strainer (perforated bowl) or fine-mesh sieve for the mixing glass and for double-straining shaken drinks.

Prep

7. Sharp paring knife for cutting citrus peels. A dedicated small board.

8. Y-shaped vegetable peeler for long garnish twists.

9. Wooden muddler with a flat (not toothed) end. Toothed muddlers shred herbs and release bitterness.

Glassware

10. Four glass shapes cover everything: coupe (150–180 ml for stirred/shaken up), rocks (240–300 ml for spirit-forward over ice), highball (300–360 ml for long drinks), Nick & Nora (150 ml, a smaller stemmed alternative to the coupe). Four of each is enough for most home entertaining.

The four glass shapes that cover almost every classical cocktail.

What to skip (for now)

The cobbler shaker (slower). The Boston tin-tin (harder to see through than tin-and-glass). Muddlers with plastic tips (grip nothing). Novelty ice molds shaped like skulls (aesthetically off-brand for a serious bar). Cocktail smokers (a specialized tool for one drink).

Once the basics are working, add specialty tools as specific drinks demand them: a channel knife for consistent twists, a smoking cloche if you fall down the smoked-drink rabbit hole, a soda siphon if you start batching highballs.

Frequently asked

What does the whole kit cost?: Between $80 and $200 depending on brand. A serviceable full kit exists in the $80–100 range; a lifetime kit sits closer to $200.
Do I need a citrus juicer?: A hand-squeezed lemon or lime works for one drink at a time. If you're batching, a Mexican-style elbow juicer is $15 and fast.
What about a scale?: Useful for making syrups by weight (1:1 by weight is more consistent than 1:1 by volume) but not essential for pouring cocktails.

From the glossary