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Bar spoon

A long-handled spoon used for stirring drinks smoothly and layering ingredients.

What it's for: Stirring drinks and layering ingredients.

Don't have one?

A long-handled kitchen spoon or chopstick works for stirring; pour slowly over the back of a spoon to layer drinks.

The long, twisted handle helps reach the bottom of tall mixing vessels smoothly; a regular spoon is a close substitute.

Buying guidance

A long, twisted handle gives the smoothest stir; a flat disc end helps with layering.

Cocktails that use this

A Cuban highball of white rum, lime, mint and soda — bright, herbal and endlessly refreshing.

Bourbon or rye, stirred slowly with sugar and bitters — the template every modern cocktail descends from.

Alcohol-free

All the mint, lime and fizz of a mojito, without the rum — just as refreshing.

Equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, built over ice — bittersweet, bracing and impossible to mistake for anything else.

Gin and dry vermouth, stirred to a razor-cold clarity — the most argued-over cocktail in the book.

Rye whiskey and sweet vermouth, stirred with bitters — the spirit-forward counterpart to the Martini.

Tom Collins

Gin, lemon and sugar, shaken and lengthened with soda — a tall, easy-drinking summer standby.

Moscow Mule

Vodka, lime and spicy ginger beer, served ice-cold in a frosted copper mug.