Ice

While it may not be an immediately obvious piece of “equipment”, no self-respecting cocktail bar, or home bar for that matter, could ever do without the unsung hero of all well-made cocktails. Even badly made cocktails can be forgivable if they are cold enough. However, even the best-made drink would struggle to impress you with its complexity, elegance, or finesse were it not for the chill of the humble ice cube. It is no coincidence that the development of the domestic freezer in the early nineteenth century accelerated the development and appreciation of cocktail culture.

Ice should play a pivotal role in all your cocktail-making decisions. Ice is a friendly element, and generally behaves better when it is surrounded by its fellow ice buddies. In short, ice needs friends. Lonely ice - that is to say the odd one or two ice cubes dropped reluctantly in your vodka and tonic down at the local - will wither and fade away much faster than if the drink is full to the brim with ice. This basic principle of thermodynamics ensures that when using lots of ice, your drink is conversely not warm and overly diluted but instead bright and cold and flavoursome.