Bar Spoon

What is a bar spoon?

The bar spoon is the bar's precision tool: a long spoon with a twisted shaft, and depending on what is happening, it measures, stirs or layers. It is noticeably longer than a teaspoon from the dinner table, so it reaches the bottom of shaker and mixing glass, and for many bartenders it is an extension of their own hand.

Shapes and styles

• The classic bar spoon: slim, with a twisted shaft and a small bowl, usually 20 to 30 centimeters long, the standard model in most bars
• The Japanese school: heavy, flat bowl and usually a pointed end, Japanese models are considered exceptionally well crafted and are loved by bar professionals around the world
• The extras at the handle end: some spoons carry a small muddler for herbs and sugar there, others a small trident fork with which cherries and olives find their target
• The material: stainless steel is the standard because it is sturdy and adds no taste, which is exactly what a tool touching every drink should be

The twisted shaft

The spiral gets the most attention, and every theory has something going for it: the twist is said to make stirring more fluid, because the spoon glides around the ice with the rotation instead of catching on the cubes. Others simply see a comfortable grip for the fingers. The spiral is also practical as a small channel: for layered drinks the shaft is held against the glass at an angle, and the next layer runs gently down along it without destroying the layer below. Symbol or tool: the bar world has never settled the question, the twisted shaft simply works for everything.

Three jobs, one spoon

• Measuring: depending on the model, one bowl holds roughly 2.5 to 5 milliliters, about a teaspoon. For fine adjustments of bitterness and sweetness, recipes call for a quarter or half bar spoon, and this way of measuring has a long history: in Jerry Thomas' first great bar book of 1862, ingredients are measured in teaspoons.
• Stirring: in the mixing glass the spoon does the actual work, cold and dilution are created along its spiral, the technique behind it is in our mixing glass entry.
• Layering: for floats and layered drinks the new portion is guided over the back of the spoon or along the spiral so it stays on top, how that works is in our float entry.

You know the counting method from our dash entry: the drop gets counted, the dash gets shaken, the splash gets poured, the bar spoon gets measured.

Remember: one spoon, three jobs: measuring for balance, stirring for cold, layering for looks.

At our lounge

When you watch us work: the spoon circling through the mixing glass and the one gliding over the rim of a drink are the same. Feel free to ask, the bar spoon is the least conspicuous tool behind the bar and at the same time the most versatile.