Spirit, sugar, water, and bitters — these are the 4 basic components of a cocktail. Once you understand this basic structure, you can soar! There's a lot of factors at play and a world of possibility in cocktail-making, just like in cooking. When creating a new cocktail, it’s important to consider the balance of sweet, bitter, salt, spice, and sour components. Also note the temperature, appearance, texture, and smell. 

One way to achieve balance and complexity is by adding in cocktail bitters. Our extensive collection of bitters is like a bartender's spice rack. A little goes a long way, there's so many flavour profiles, and the combinations are endless! Bitters add flavour without sweetness or extra volume. Like the thread that ties the drink together, they have a way of boosting and marrying the other flavours present (sort of like salt and pepper). Store them the way you would a spirit (no expiry, no need to refrigerate, keep out of direct sunlight). 

Plenty of classic recipes need bitters — you can't make an Old-Fashioned, Sazerac, or Manhattan without 'em! There are just as many cocktail recipes that don't specifically call for bitters, but that doesn't mean they can't play a role! Take the classic Gin & Tonic: it's a refreshingly simple two-ingredient cocktail served over ice with a slice of lime. But add a dash or two of cardamom or floral bitters, and you've got a whole new flavour profile! Just think of complementary flavours, and have fun experimenting! Try a dash of spicy bitters in your margarita, cherry bitters in a whisky sour, chocolate bitters in an Espresso Martini, celery bitters in a Bloody Mary or Caesar, grapefruit bitters in a Negroni or Spritz, etc!

Other than choosing high-quality ingredients and some basic technique, what transforms an "okay" cocktail into an excellent one is usually balance. When you're starting out, lean on the tried and true specifications (or "specs") of classic cocktails. You'll start to notice recurring ratios across different sours, highballs, martinis/manhattans, and punches. For example, a daiquiri, gimlet, and whisky sour are all variations on the shaken "Sour" template, which usually follow a 2-1-1 format: 2 parts spirit, 1 part sweet, and 1 part sour. Focus on perfecting an essential base recipe, and then improvise with different substitutions to make it your own!

Cocktails are both an art and a science, so every ingredient needs to be measured precisely for a consistent flavour every time. To achieve that, you need a jigger. Most styles are double-sided, with a smaller volume on the top and larger volume on the bottom. We carry many jiggers with inner markings, for a truly multi-use tool. 

Once you start to appreciate accurate measurements as a foundation for cocktails, you'll start to notice that some drink recipes online are a bit lacking (ahem, Pinterest, we see you!). The "juice of half of lemon" or a "handful of strawberries" varies greatly depending on the fruit, the source, and the person making the drink, so it would be no surprise if the resulting recipe was lacklustre when recreated. It's usually a good idea to taste-test your ingredients to gauge their intensity first. We carry many reliable recipe books and an updated recipe section on our website. Use these as guides for practicing certain styles of drinks and riffing your own creations!

A lot of cocktail bars rely on infusions for their cocktails, including spirits and syrups infused with fruit, herbs, spices, and even smoke! In addition to being easier to measure during a busy service, using an infused spirit or syrup ensures a consistent depth of flavour drink-to-drink and night-to-night. To make your happy hour even easier, we carry a wide variety of syrups, from basic simple syrups to all-natural infused syrups. Whether you don't have access to the fresh ingredients where you live, or you simply don't have the time to batch an infused syrup yourself, you can still get the flavours you want year-round with our wide selection of syrups.

Another important reason to measure accurately is to help monitor the ABV (alcohol by volume) for each serve. Heavy-handed free pours not only affect the balance of the drink, but they also make it a lot harder to monitor your overall consumption. Boozy serves like martinis will typically clock in at closer to 30% ABV, while highballs like a Tom Collins are a lighter 9 or 10%. Whether you're serving yourself or guests, ensure that water is available throughout the evening. A mindful host will serve low and zero-proof options in case any folks are cutting back or abstaining. Browse our Non-Alcoholic collection for our favourite non-alcoholic spirits, bitters, and sparkling wines along with low and no-alcohol recipe books!

SHAKE all cocktails that contain fruit juice, egg white, or dairy with plenty of ice. Examples: Whisky Sours, Daiquiris, Margaritas

Across the three shaker styles, the goal is the same: chill, dilute, and incorporate the varying density ingredients.

• Cobbler shaker: also known as a three-piece shaker, this is smaller volume with a built-in strainer. Favoured by Japanese bartenders.
• Boston shaker: favoured by most professionals, this tin-on-tin style is higher volume and breaks ice up quicker. Use a hawthorne strainer to hold back the ice as you strain.
• Parisian shaker: a nice in-between option, with the aesthetic and silhouette closer to a Cobbler, but the functionality of a Boston.  

You're not rocking the drink to sleep, you're waking it up! So shake hard and fast, for usually a maximum of 30 seconds. Except if it's a Ramos Gin Fizz, in which case: godspeed your arms, you’re gonna be shaking a while!

Shaken drinks have a cloudy appearance and typically are larger volume serves compared to stirred cocktails because they require more dilution to be balanced. You may wish to "double-strain" (that is, strain the drink through both a hawthorne strainer or built-in cobbler strainer and a fine mesh strainer) to make sure you any fruit pulp or ice shards don't end up in your glass.

When a recipe calls for citrus juice, fresh is best! Citrus juice oxidizes quickly and loses its vibrancy, which leads to blasé cocktails. Invest in a juicer and ask your party guests to always show up with a lemon or lime in tow! But hey, we get it, sometimes the cost of citrus, the quality of out-of-season citrus, and even the time spent juicing can all feel like deal-breakers. So, we also carry high-quality small-batch sour mixes, dehydrated lime juice powder, and shelf-stable acid alternatives so you can find an option that works best for you!

STIR all cocktails that are purely spirit- or liqueur-based. Examples: Old-Fashioneds, Negronis, Manhattans, Martinis*

*Yes, technically Martinis should be stirred, not shaken. (Sorry James Bond!). Okay but seriously, if you prefer a shaken martini, then shake it baby! These are just guiding principles. The bottom line is make it how you like it!

You'll stir your ingredients in a mixing glass or pitcher about 3/4 filled with ice, using a push-pull wrist motion with the bar spoon to minimize splashing. Stirring helps you to chill the drink while controlling dilution, ensuring that the resulting cocktail is still spirit-forward and clear. To strain from the mixing glass into your cocktail glass, you can use either a hawthorne strainer or a julep strainer (the latter is sleeker and specific to stirred beverages, which don't require the tight coils since they don't have ice shards and fruit pulp). 

There's of course other methods to mixing, such as "building" (when you combine everything right in the glass you'll drink from, like with a vodka soda or G&T) and "throwing" (where you strain the liquid from high to low between tins to maximize aeration, as with some wine-based cocktails). 

Different cocktails require different glasses and should fill at least ⅔ of the glass so that you have a good wash line. Depending on the cocktail's components, it will be served either "up" (no ice) or "on the rocks" (on ice). (There's also blended cocktails, and ones called "scaffa" which are prepared and served at room temperature, but generally speaking, it's up or on the rocks). 

If serving a drink up, it's a nice touch to chill your glass in the freezer ahead of time, so that it doesn't warm up the cocktail you've worked so hard to create. If served on the rocks, you just have to decide on what format is best for your drink (example: crushed ice is typical for many tropical cocktails, cubed ice for highballs, or one large King cube or sphere for spirit-forward cocktails). We carry all sorts of ice molds, including insulated systems for making crystal clear ice!

Our glassware selection need not be overwhelming: if you're building your bar, we recommend you stock the following:

• Tumbler: also known as a rocks, old-fashioned or lowball glass. Usually about 8-10 oz capacity and wide enough diameter to accommodate big king ice cubes. Useful for serving everything from spirits neat, Old-fashioneds, or shaken cocktails on ice.
• Highball: also known as a Collins, these tall glasses are perfect for refreshing serves on ice. Usually 12-14 oz capacity. 
• Coupes: This stemware with a shallow bowl shape is suitable for sparkling wine and any cocktail served "up" (which includes martinis, so if you have to choose between martini or coupe, we vote coupe as it's a tad more versatile). Capacity varies between 4-8 oz usually, with smaller capacity coupes being more appropriate for spirit-forward serves, and larger capacity coupes ideal for shaken cocktails with egg white.
• Wine: There are many varietal-specific wine glasses available. But for the sake of a glass that's also useful for cocktail-making, choose a larger format red wine glass for serving spritzes and other refreshing cocktails topped with sparkling wine.

Beyond that, it will depend on your tastes whether you wish to expand into tiki mugs, beer, and other specialty glasses. Each product page includes care instructions. When in doubt, if the glass is particularly delicate or features a painted colour or metal plating embellishments, then hand-washing with warm soapy water is best.

Garnishes are the finishing touch to a cocktail, for aesthetic, scent, and flavour purposes. The common thought among the pros is that if the garnish isn't good quality, don't bother. Done right, the garnish should elevate the drink. So if the choice is between a sad wilted mint sprig or none at all, choose the latter. We carry a wide array of cocktail cherries, other sweet garnishes, savoury fixings, and cocktail rimmers. And don't forget, those special tools for handling, creating, storing and presenting your garnishes — we've got a range of tweezers, peelers, misters and more!

While we tend to preach about functionality first, we do swoon over a good-looking bar set-up. Browse our housewares and decor collection for some ideas on how to make your bar or tabletop shine!