Editor’s Note: This product was provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. This in no way, per our editorial policies, influenced the final outcome of this review.
A Bar Above is a husband and wife duo who design bar tools. They’ve also hosted the A Bar Above podcast (formerly Mixology Talk and currently on hiatus), consult with bars and build online courses.
I tested out their Stirred Craft Cocktail Kit, which consists of a mixing glass, bar spoon, julep strainer, two-ounce/one-ounce bell jigger and six cocktail picks. It retails on their website and other online marketplaces for $50.99. All components besides the beaker are stainless steel (though they are offered in other finishes on the website). Everything comes tucked in a sturdy and reasonably attractive box. A brief pamphlet explains the function of all the pieces and shares the classic recipe for a Manhattan (though mystifyingly it recommends stirring the cocktail in both directions).
When making a cocktail that’s all spirits (and maybe a syrup), the goal is to introduce as little air as possible. This makes for (everybody now!) a silky mouthfeel once the liquid is chilled to near freezing. For my experiment, I made an improved rum old fashioned with Perpetua Salal Liqueur.
The first thing I noticed was the glass didn’t have a level bottom. I tried using it on every table and counter in my home just to be sure, and it was definitely the glass. This was disappointing from the get-go and aggravating once I started stirring. A rocking bottom wouldn’t last through happy hour in an actual bar. I’ve used a lot of hand-blown beakers and glassware and only ever encountered this issue in ‘seconds.’
The strainer and the jigger had a nice weight. The non-standard measures on the large end of the jigger were a little busy, but deeply scored and easy to see. The welds on the jigger were messier than most I’ve seen. The other metal joins are OK. The bar spoon is a bit short and the edges of the twist are rough in the hand.
While a julep strainer mayhew more closely to tradition, I prefer a hawthorne strainer for the comfy way my hand can hold that tool flush with the top of my mixing glass, executing the one-handed pour seamlessly. I recognize this as personal preference. (But the funnest part about a julep strainer is imagining them in their original use: keeping julep trappings out of the mustaches of the gentry.)
My favorite part of the kit was the picks. They are sharp and a lot of reusable picks are not. They seem hard wearing but do proceed with caution.
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With the exception of the rocking glass, this kit sets a home bartender up well for stirring countless cocktails. There are better quality collections available, but at $50.99 you could do worse. They don’t trumpet made in the USA, making overseas production a good bet.
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