Bar Tools

[jmrtnko]

Anyone have any interesting bar tools? travel sets? vintage items?

I've been interested in getting an old Tap-Icer ice cracker from the 40s-60s. I do fairly well with the back of a bar spoon, but I hear the Tap-Icer is a bit less messy. Anyone have one? like it? hate it?

 

[Absinthe_1900]

I use an old style cranked Ice Crusher that works very well.

 

[dhermann1]

Crushed ice is NOT the same as cracked ice! If your drink recipe (e.g. mint julep) calls for cracked ice, crushed will not be as good.
I use a plain old heavy table spoon to crack ice. It's really more in the technique than the tool, tho I'm sure that spoon would be very effective. You hold an ice cube in the palm of your hand, flat side up. You give it a good whack with the spoon. This sends the energy down through the structure of the cube and makes it crack completely apart. You hold the spoon loosely in your hand, close to the end of the spoon. This gives the buseness end lots of velocity.
Cracking ice gives you a combination of very small shards, which add a little melted water to the drink, with much bigger ones, which hold the cold better. The larger chunks will remain in the drink longer, keeping it colder.
After you have done a few of these, your left hand will be bloody frozen (if you're a righty). This is an indication that you're doing it right.

 

[jmrtnko]

Crushed ice is NOT the same as cracked ice!

Exactly. I love my Ice-o-Mat if I need a large amount of crushed ice, but if I'm stirring, I simply need a couple cubes of cracked. I do currently use the spoon, but end up losing a bit of the ice through a little to much... em... enthusiasm. The Tap-Icer seems a little neater with fewer chunks of ice flying off to melt somewhere unnoticed on the floor.

I got to play with one for a few seconds at a nearby bar. It was okay, but using my same spoon technique, yielded pretty much the same results. I was wondering if anyone who's used one for a while notices an improvement over a spoon.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

I'm a big fan of Martini Gadgets such as the Martini stones.

& The Martini Dropper:

Click the links for a little article on each. I also have a Victorian Laboratory beaker to mix my Martinis in.

 

[John in Covina]

One thing that is cool is using a lemon squeezer thing for getting fresh lemon or lime juice for cocktails. I like the press type Rick Bayless from "Mexico One Plate At A Time" uses this style. Plus the old one with the ridges you twist the half of lemon on to get the juice too.

 

[jamespowers]

Exactly. I love my Ice-o-Mat if I need a large amount of crushed ice, but if I'm stirring, I simply need a couple cubes of cracked. I do currently use the spoon, but end up losing a bit of the ice through a little to much... em... enthusiasm. The Tap-Icer seems a little neater with fewer chunks of ice flying off to melt somewhere unnoticed on the floor.

I got to play with one for a few seconds at a nearby bar. It was okay, but using my same spoon technique, yielded pretty much the same results. I was wondering if anyone who's used one for a while notices an improvement over a spoon.

A clean ball peen hammer with a clean washcloth works well. I never lose any ice or make a mess. One whack and instant cracked ice.

 

[John in Covina]

I had heard that the traditional cracked ice container for whacking is a clean canvas bag.

 

[jamespowers]

I had heard that the traditional cracked ice container for whacking is a clean canvas bag.

That would work too.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

A clean ball peen hammer with a clean washcloth works well. I never lose any ice or make a mess. One whack and instant cracked ice.

That's about what I use to do the cracked ice thing, I bought a nice hammer just for the ice.

 

[jmrtnko]

I've got nothing against the bag, I just don't have enough ice handy at any one time to be able to afford losing 25% to the bag and it generally yields ice too small for my purposes. Before I bought the Ice-o-Mat for crushed ice, I used to use a heavy freezer bag, crush it, and then refreeze it for a bit to dry it out, hammering it apart again after pulling it out of the freezer.

After the Tap-Icer, next on the list for 2011 is a nice conical graduated cylinder with a dual scale.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

One thing that is cool is using a lemon squeezer thing for getting fresh lemon or lime juice for cocktails. I like the press type Rick Bayless from "Mexico One Plate At A Time" uses this style. Plus the old one with the ridges you twist the half of lemon on to get the juice too.

A Mexican Elbow?

They're great never looked back since getting mine.

 

[jmrtnko]

A Mexican Elbow?

That's hilarious. I've never heard that name. We use our lemon version all the time at home. And at work, we recently redid the Espolon tequila branding and got a few promotional (read: cheaper) lime ones sent to us. That one stays at work for... um... occasional occupational therapy.

 

[jmrtnko]

Now, I'm looking for small (1-2oz) metal bitters shaker bottles for travel and for... improving drinks at certain bars when I'm out.

I've located a lot of glass ones and a few plastic, but no metal. The euro dropper inserts are fairly easy to locate, but it seems a bit risky to buy them independently and hope that they fit together.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[John in Covina]

Now, I'm looking for small (1-2oz) metal bitters shaker bottles for travel and for... improving drinks at certain bars when I'm out. I've located a lot of glass ones and a few plastic, but no metal. The euro dropper inserts are fairly easy to locate, but it seems a bit risky to buy them independently and hope that they fit together. Anyone have any ideas?

You might try some of the camping supply stores and on line camping. They make a lot of stuff out of metal to take the abuse of the hard traveling. You might find something workable.