While we were at Tales of the Cocktail this year, several members of the Cocktail & Spirits Online Writers Group rented out a Bed & Breakfast and it became “Blogger Central.” In the evenings, we could retire to the house, hang out with anyone around, have some tasty vittles and mix drinks until the early dawn. The bar at the house had to number in the hundreds of bottles. The cocktail knowledge of the writers, bartenders, and brand reps who filtered in and out assured everyone fantastic drinks. The crazy array of tools behind the bar ensured that every type of drink could be made using the perfect and proper technique. I’m confident that the Mixo House bar rivaled the best equipped bar in New Orleans.
One of the coolest activities being run out of the Mixo House was a silent auction. The items up for auction included a hand lathed swizzle stick from Chris Stanley of Clover Club, a bourbon barrel top lazy susan, three small charred barrels for aging, a night with Camper English, and a traveling bar set from Uber Bar Tools. Well, after a slight bidding war between myself and Gabe Szaszko, I won the traveling bar set.
As you can see from photo above, the tools are housed in a small metal suitcase. It is very solid, surviving being checked onto the United flight back to DC, and also has a shoulder strap. The inside of the case contains thick and sturdy foam, much like what you would find in a gun case or maybe a camera case. The foam has been cut so each tool has its own place and stays very secure in that spot.
The photo above is the top section of the case. It contains a weighted bar spoon, a waiter’s helper corkscrew, a bottle opener, a cutting board, a peeler, a paring knife, and a zester/channel knife.
The bottom of the kit contains a muddler, a boston shaker, a hawthorne strainer, a julep strainer (inside the shaker), a fine mesh strainer, a juice press, a Pro Jig, and four Pro Flow speed pourers. Throw in the set of mini bottles of Bitter Truth Bitters and I am ready to rock and or roll.
This is a really well put together tool kit! You can see more details here. Of course what this really means is that when people invite me over to their house for a party, I can’t really bitch about not having the proper tools to make drinks. I guess this will also regulate me to making drinks for the crowd too. Damn, why didn’t I let Gabe win?!?!?! Oh well . . . .
Cheers!
