99+ Gifts for the Home Bartender

By / June 15, 2021

You’ve got 99 problems, but gifts for the home bartender ain’t one! Buying gifts for the cocktail enthusiasts in your life is easier than ever with our extensive gift guide. Whether they have a fully-stocked home bar or they just enjoy mixing up a creative cocktail, your friends and family will appreciate these useful and unique gifts.

We have personal recommendations for bar tools, glasses, straws, ice, mixers, syrups, alcohol, home decor, clothing, subscription boxes, and more – all excellent gift ideas for the home bartender or mixologist on your list.

Cocktail Shaker: The Most Essential Bar Tool

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1. The most basic, and most important, tool needed to make cocktails at home is the cocktail shaker. A cobbler shaker has one shaker, a top with a built-in strainer, and usually a cap that doubles as a jigger to measure your ingredients. It’s an easy, all-in-one solution.

2. Then there’s the Boston shaker, which is two pieces and uses a separate strainer. It’s easier to use a Boston shaker when you need to strain out larger pieces of muddled fruit. With the cobbler, the fruit sometimes blocks the strainer and it’s harder to get all the liquid out. We love this Boston shaker set from A Bar Above, which comes in stainless steel or copper.

Related: Read more about the difference between a cobbler and a Boston shaker.

3. If you prefer a full bar set, this Premium Copper Bar Set comes with a Boston shaker, 3 strainers, a jigger, a muddler, a bar spoon and garnish picks. It’s beautiful and a fantastic value!

4. This 10-piece Bartender Kit is both stylish and functional. It comes with a bamboo stand that keeps everything in one place – no more digging in your kitchen drawers!

This Classic Cocktail Tool Crate from Man Crates would also make a fantastic gift for the new home bartender! It includes a 5-piece tool set and holder, plus 12 coasters that showcase classic cocktail recipes.

Basic Tools Every Home Bartender Needs

If your giftee is just starting to build their home bar, there are a few tools that will make mixology a lot easier and much more fun.

1. Many drinks call for juice and we always recommend fresh-squeezed over bottled. This manual citrus press makes it easy. 

2. A good jigger is also essential. You want one that has easy-to-see lines inside so you can measure 1/4 ounce, 1/2 ounce, and 3/4 ounce. Our favorite is this Barfly Japanese Jigger.

3. A bar spoon is a fantastic gift because it’s something not everyone would buy for themselves. I mean, everyone has spoons in their kitchen, right? You could get by without a bar spoon, but once you have this long-handled tool, you’ll wonder how you ever went without it. We love tools that do double-duty and this bar spoon will stir and work for pour-overs, and the opposite end is a muddler!

4. This wine chiller is a gorgeous white marble and will keep bottles frosty while you entertain.

5. An electric juicer is a bit more work than the hand press, but it will extract more fresh juice from your citrus. We love it for making multiple cocktails, or when juicing larger fruit, like grapefruit or oranges.

6. A beautiful addition to any home bar, this hammered copper ice bucket keeps you from having to run to the freezer over and over again.

7. If you spill a lot (like we do), get these bar towels. They keep you from wasting rolls of paper towels!

Glasses and Ice

Choosing the right glass for your cocktail is important. A glass that’s too big can change the aroma of your drink, cause you to add too much ice, or just make your cocktail look unappealing. Or when you top off a drink with tonic water or ginger beer, the wrong size glass can throw off the whole drink. Any of these beautiful glasses would make a perfect gift.

  1. You’ll definitely need a good set of rocks glasses and these twisted whiskey rocks glasses are beautiful!
  2. Forget those long-stemmed margarita glasses that spill all the time! We love these stemless margarita glasses, or try these 16-ounce margarita glasses!
  3. Coupe glasses are perfect for your martinis or whiskey sours.
  4. Copper mugs are essential for your Moscow Mules!
  5. Highball/Collins glasses are great for your mojitos and other mixed drinks over ice.
  6. These pyramid-shaped highball glasses are also really beautiful and unique!
  7. These elegant pink highball glasses are super pretty, come in different colors, and are sure to make your drink taste even better.

1. This nugget ice cube maker is so awesome! It basically makes Sonic or Chick-Fil-A ice in your own kitchen!

2. Clear ice is something every home bartender covets. This Iceology system uses directional freezing to remove impurities and bubbles and make crystal-clear ice. They come in square and round.

3. These United States ice cubes would be a fun party gift!

4. This set of two silicone ice trays makes large, square cubes and ice spheres – which look so cool in your drinks!

Speaking of ice, everyone could use a good cooler! 

  • The REYLEO Ice Chest is a 21 quart, bear-resistant cooler that comes with a built-in bottle opener, cup holders and a fish ruler – perfect for the outdoorsy person on your list.
  • The GiNT Rolling Cooler has oversized wheels to save your back when your headed to your campsite, built in cup holders, a handle that doubles as a small table, and an interior tray to keep food items dry.
  • For something on the smaller side, we love this Arctic Zone Titan Deep Freeze 30-Can Insulated Tote Bag. Chrissy rarely leaves home without hers!
  • Arctic Zone also has different size coolers to accommodate your every need. The Titan Zipperless Hardbody 16-Can Cooler has high-performance insulation with a radiant heat barrier reflects heat rather than absorbing it, and it’s water- and stain-resistant.
  • Never struggle to find your beer in the dark with Coghlan’s Inside Cooler Lid Light. This handy little thing mounts inside your cooler lid and will automatically turn on and off when the lid is raised and shut. Great for camping!

Straws and Garnish Picks

Presentation is a big part of making cocktails. These straws and garnish picks will help!

1. Spoon straws! These are fantastic for drinks that need to be stirred and are not strained, like the mojito. We are hoping to find these in our stockings this year.

2 & 3. These reusable gold straws or copper straws come in a 12-pack of both bent and straight, and in two different sizes to accommodate all your different glassware. And they look super elegant.

4. Glass straws are another pretty option. We love that you can see how clean they are!

5. For more whimsical drinks, try these colorful straws. These (and all the other straws we list here) come with a cleaner brush.

Great for adding olives, cherries, pineapple chunks, or any other garnish, there are lots of different picks to choose from.

1. Prodyne has a big selection of fun styles – we love the super cute tropical birds.
2. Every little boy’s favorite… the sword garnish picks.
3. This set of five martini picks caught our eye – octopus, owls and bears, oh my!
4. If your giftee loves the classic look, go for this stainless set garnish pick set.
5. Bamboo picks are great if you’re looking for something less expensive and need a lot.

Gifts of Alcohol, Mixers, Bitters, and Syrups

Cocktail syrups and mixers are used to give cocktails extra flavor and sweetness. And there are some really amazing and delicious options out there. For a great gift idea, put together a gift basket of syrups, bitters, and mixers with a bottle of their favorite alcohol.

Royal Rose Syrups

Royal Rose Syrup is one of our favorite products. These all-purpose, natural syrups are gluten-free, corn syrup-free, and made with USDA-certified organic ingredients. They are perfect for cocktails (like our Hot Ginger Mule!) and mocktails, but also useful in cooking, baking, desserts, teas, coffees, and seltzer.

Bitters are like the salt and pepper of cocktails. They are used to add a wonderful hint of flavor to any spirit and balance out a cocktail. Agnostura Aromatic and Fee Brothers are two well-known brands, but we recently discovered (and LOVE) Scrappy’s Bitters Essential Gift Set, which includes Orange, Chocolate, Aromatic, and Firewater bitters! We also recommend their New Classics Set with Lavender, Cardamom, Black Lemon, and Orleans bitters. And like syrups, bitters can be used in your kitchen in many other ways – they can even be medicinal.

A few of our other favorite mixers and syrups include:

  • ROOT Mixers: Made with natural, organic ingredients, ROOT Mixers come in several unique flavors such as hibiscus/elderflower, pear/lemon, grapefruit/cherry and more. Just add your favorite alcohol.
  • PROOF Old Fashioned Syrup: This syrup is a great gift for Old Fashioned lovers. Made with organic cane sugar and bitters, it makes cocktail mixing effortless. Just add your favorite whiskey and BOOM – perfect Old Fashioned.
  • Tait Farm Foods Shrubs: A shrub is a fruit-infused vinegar. These syrups add a unique tang that any mixologist will love to experiment with! We love the Ginger shrub!
  • Q Mixers: A variety pack of Q Mixers will be appreciated by any cocktail enthusiast. We love ALL their products.

A bottle of their favorite alcohol always makes a great gift, but if you want to offer them something new to try, we recommend the following – along with some cocktail recipes you can print out and attach!

Unique Gifts for Home Bartenders Who Have Everything

So your home bartender friend has ALLLL the things? Here are some more unique gift ideas for the mixologist:

A smoker will liven up any bartender’s cocktail creating! It’s fun, it’s impressive, and smoking the glass adds a delicious twist to your drinks. Use it on its own or pair it with these Smoking Gun Cup Covers. Bonus – the smoker can also be used to smoke meats and cheeses!

For your friend who loves to create cocktails, the next logical step is creating their own flavor-infused alcohol (like we did with this cayenne pepper-infused tequila)! This Infusing Kit is the perfect gift.

You can’t go wrong with a personalized gift! Check out this variety of engraved glasses, decanters, flasks and more.

Unique and Exciting Bar Gifts

The entertainer will love this Party Ice Luge! It takes a little skill to freeze this mold on a perfectly flat surface, but once you get it, you’ll have hours of party fun!

For the beer lover, this stunning copper carbonated growler will keep your beer fresh for weeks … not that you’ll take that long to drink it! 😉

How about a book? These are some of our favorites on the craft of mixing drinks:

  • Cocktail Codex: A comprehensive primer on the craft of mixing drinks.
  • Camp Cocktails: Filled with recipes, bartender tips and tricks, and even a whole chapter on foraging and mixing with found ingredients.
  • The Drunken Botanist Book: A fascinating tour of the biology, chemistry, history, etymology, and mixology of alcohol, with more than fifty drink recipes and growing tips for gardeners
  • Tequila Mockingbird Book: 65 delicious drink recipes paired with wry commentary on history’s most beloved novels.  
  • The Ultimate Bar Book: An indispensable guide to classic cocktails and new drink recipes. Loaded with essential-to-know topics such as barware, tools, and mixing tips.

Alcohol Gifts and Subscription Boxes

We love Cratejoy subscription boxes. Getting something special in the mail every month makes a gift last beyond the holiday season! But almost all boxes can be purchased as a one-time gift, so don’t let the phrase “subscription” scare you. Most gift boxes from Cratejoy are mom and pop shops – so you are also supporting small businesses.

Home Decor and Bar Accessories

These items are great gifts to help the cocktail enthusiast decorate their home bar and show off their passion for cocktails and bartending.

This 3-Tier Rolling Bar Cart is beautiful, high quality, and perfect if you don’t have a lot of space! Shannon owns this and it has more than enough room for all her tools, glasses, and alcohol. But if you’re looking to splurge on something luxurious, this Rustic 80″ Home Bar from Pottery Barn is gorgeous!!

Looking to update your bar seating? We’re obsessed with these bar stools. With all the different color options they can go from modern to rustic to anywhere in between.

Wall art for the home bar can be hard to find! Shannon has spent hours hunting through the aisles of Home Goods and Hobby Lobby without a lot of luck. Here are some favorites we’ve found online.

This whiskey decanter globe set is beautiful and would make a wonderful gift for someone who loves to travel the world.

Let’s talk coasters. We can’t have drink rings ruining our counters and bars.

For the one-the-go cocktail lover (or when you want to hide your wine at your kids’ sporting events – not that we’ve ever done that!), an insulated tumbler is essential.

Clothing for Home Bartenders

And finally, no gift guide would be complete without some fun clothing!

And that’s it – 99+ gifts for the home bartender on your list! Cheers and Happy Holidays to all!

For more recommendations, be sure to check out our other gift guides below:

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