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Detox-Retox New Year’s Bar Cart Styling

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Detox. Re-tox. Whatever your tox. Let’s update that bar cart for 2019.

New year New Bar Cart: Detox-Retox Bar Cart Styling // stirandstrain.com

Time to refresh for the new year. Resolutions? Yes. No. Maybe. A juicer for carrot beet cocktails. A cocktail book that will make them taste delicious. Going dry? Well there’s more than more non-alcoholic booze to try. Please say no to plastic straws. Now your options include hay and more. I’d like a bar cart that matches my mid-century home decor with a brass carbonator and a giant stoneware decanter.

1. Stoneware Decanter 2. Slow Juicer 3. Brass Carbonator 4. Seedlip Distilled Non-Alcoholic Spirit 5. Clean + Dirty Drinking 6. Detox-Retox Cocktail Napkins 7. Mid-Century Bar Cart 8. Curious Elixirs 9. Hay! Straws

 

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Holiday Gift Guide: All the Stuff for Your Stockings

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Why yes, a bottle of booze DOES fit in a stocking… or 25 bottles of nips.

Holiday Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffers 2018 // stirandstrain.com

Stuffing a stocking is about quantity, but you should also consider quality too. From tiny cocktail books, to tiny cocktail kits, shakers for your glitter squad and shakers for your grandpa, gadgets for the oenophiles in your life, and a fancy gold jigger just because. You can never go wrong with more bar tools, and did you know you can make your own gin? The kit fits in here too. And if the person is super picky about booze, get them a gift card and let them choose (we’ve got $5 for all of you).

1. The Mini Bar Book Set 2. Gold Jigger 3. Wine Opener 4. Italian Spritz Cocktail Kit 5. Glitter Shaker 6. Wine Bag and Cooler 7. Ginbrew Kit 8. Wine Preserver 9. Opinel Knife 10. Cocktail Picks 11. $5 off your order from Drizly for booze delivery 12. Wood Muddler 13. Enamel Shaker

 

Catch up on all the gift guides here!

Holiday Gift Guide: Christmas in Hawaii

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Mele Kalikimaka! Get your surf board and a Mai Tai, we’re going gifting!

Holiday Gift Guide: Christmas Hawaii 2018 // stirandstrain.com

Cocktail gifts as bright and colorful as a Hawaiian sunset. And slushie machines. And light up fountains. For the person in your life who likes a side of tropical flair with their drinks, we’ve picked out a few of our favorites that would make great additions. Coconuts, pineapples, RUM, and more pineapples. I think all our bases are covered.

1. Mele Kalikimaka Sign 2. Slushie Machine 3. Copper Pineapple Bar Spoon 4. Leaf Glasses 5. Glass Straws 6. Banana Dolphin Pin 7. Coconut Mugs 8. Tiki Bitters 9. Glass Decanters in Yellow and Orange 10. Coconut Rum 11. Light Up Fountain 12. Pineapple Cocktail Shaker

 

Catch up on all the gift guides here!

Holiday Gift Guide: Boozy Books

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After booze, books are always a solid gift choice…

Holiday Gift Guide: Boozy Books // stirandstrain.com

Got a cocktail enthusiast on your list this year? There’s plenty of great books that have been released recently to stir up some creativity. Here’s 9 of our favorites to give as gifts this holiday season for newbies through the professional.

  1. Be Your Own Bartender
  2. The Joy of Mixology, revised edition
  3. The Aviary
  4. Aperitif
  5. pickle juice
  6. Drinking Distilled
  7. Hacking Whiskey
  8. Cocktail Codex
  9. I’m Just Here for the Drinks

Catch up on all the gift guides here!

Thanksgiving Bar Cart 2018

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Picture this: a bunch of grumpy relatives are sitting around waiting hours for a meal, avoiding talking to each other pretending to watch football. You amble in, pushing a bar cart laden with cheese, snacks, and a giant punchbowl filled with holiday booze. Suddenly Uncle Don doesn’t seem like such a jerk anymore. And look!! People are talking and laughing and all that holiday stuff. Let’s plan that bar cart, shall we?

Thanksgiving Bar Cart 2018 // stirandstrain.com

It’s Thanksgiving! Get yourself a cornucopia already! Stuff it with napkins and straws and get ready to look festive. But not my fancy napkins. The relatives get the punny ones. And if you’re using a cart to serve snacks, get yourself one with 3 shelves. It won’t be pretty shoving it all on two. And then hitting a bump in the rug and spilling everything. You’re already stressed, so just upgrade. And since you bought cranberry sauce in a can, fancy that sh*t up with some cranberry bitters. In fact, throw these bitters into everything you cook and drink. Don’t forget, cocktail picks do double duty as cheese picks too. And stock up on some ginger beer. Your stomach will thank you on Friday.

1. Punch Bowl 2. Orange Chevron Glasses 3. Turkey Napkins 4. Wild Turkey 101 5. Red Straws 6. New England Spiced Cranberry Bitters 7. Three Shelf Bar Cart 8. Cornucopia 9. Cocktail Picks 10. Ginger Beer

Crafting a Sweet Cocktail Kit

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Crafting a Cocktail Kit with Truvia // stirandstrain.com

This post was made in partnership with Truvia®. Recipes and ideas are my own.

Halloween may have you thinking about those sweet treats filling up your jack-o-lantern buckets, but today we’re going to be talking about a different kind of sweetness…how we show a little sweetness to each other every day. And we’ve got a fun cocktail kit we’ll show you how to make when you want to give a little sweetness to a friend, partner, or yourself!

Crafting a Cocktail Kit with Truvia // stirandstrain.comWe’ve teamed up with Truvia® to find out “What motivates you to be sweet and kind.” Truvia and Upworthy.com are exploring what motivates individuals to be sweet. Some of the research might surprise you and they have a fun quiz you can take to find out what your sweetness personality type is too. There are four possible types: Purely Sweet, Reciprocally Sweet, Tactfully Sweet, and Graciously Sweet. Curious what kind of sweetness you are? Take the quiz and let me know! I am Graciously Sweet, which means I enjoy doing kind things with the goal of inspiring others to pay it forward. I admit I do love a teachable moment.

Crafting a Cocktail Kit with Truvia // stirandstrain.comSo, today I’m going to use this post as a teachable moment. I’m going to teach you all how to put together a simple cocktail kit to give to a friend, partner or yourself. This could be a thank you gift, a hostess gift, something to give for the holidays, or an extra special treat you can tuck away for yourself when you need a little self-care.

Crafting a Cocktail Kit with Truvia // stirandstrain.comTruvia Natural Sweetener packets now come with uplifting sweet phrases on each pack, the perfect little bit of sweetness to add to someone’s day. They are also a great size and amount to sweeten a cocktail with. Adding these single serve packets keeps everything neat and organized.

Ready to sweeten someone’s day? Let’s look at what we’ll need to create this cocktail kit.

Crafting a Cocktail Kit with Truvia // stirandstrain.comSmall box, tin, or basket
4 ounce amber bottle
1 ounce amber bottle
Whiskey of your choice
Aromatic bitters of your choice
2-4 Truvia Natural Sweetener packets
Label maker
Rocks glass
Mixing spoon
Jigger
Muddler
Index card and markers

For this cocktail kit, I’m putting together a Whiskey Old Fashioned recipe. For one reason, all the ingredients are easy to come by, and everything is shelf stable. Also, if your friend or partner is a novice when it comes to making drinks, this is super easy!

Crafting a Cocktail Kit with Truvia // stirandstrain.comFirst, find a container that will fit everything. A small box or tin works great. You can keep this simple by visiting a craft store or kitchen supply store to find small bottles and bar tools. Also, Amazon has lots of options. Label all the bottles so your recipient knows what’s inside and measure out the amount you’ll need for your recipes. You can choose to create 2 or more servings depending on the size bottles you get. Then create a recipe card with how much to measure from each bottle. You can optionally personalize the items too. Rocks glasses with initials are not hard to come by, and they show the person you went out of your way to find something unique. Finally, tuck the Truvia Natural Sweetener packets in the glass so they can see the sweet phrases on them. Package up everything and deliver to that special someone!

Crafting a Cocktail Kit with Truvia // stirandstrain.comI hope I’ve inspired you to show a little sweetness to someone in your life!

The Fall & Halloween Bar Cart 2018

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What’s black and gold and goes bump in the night? You tripping over your fabulously decorated bar cart. We’re going spooky elegant this year…

Halloween and Fall Bar Cart 2018 // stirandstrain.com

This month let your bar cart transition back and forth from elegant to macabre with a few black and gold touches. And a giant pumpkin punch bowl because DUH! A rich, dark amaro is good for spooky drinks, or sipping neat. And if you’re looking to conjure some fiery spirits, fill your bitters bottle with a tincture that will have your guests spitting fire. And a block of dry ice wouldn’t hurt either.

1. Black and gold jigger 2. Bitters bottle 3. Skull rocks glass 4. Pick your poison coasters 5. Pumpkin punch bowl 6. Black metal straws 7. Amaro D’Abruzzo 8. Gold bar cart 9. Scrappy’s Firewater Tincture

 

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Outfitting a Home Bar Under $50: Rum Edition

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Outfitting a bar under $50: The Daiquiri Edition // stirandstrain.comWelcome to the final installment of our “Outfitting a Home Bar Under $50 (including booze!)” series. These guides are meant to be used either as is, or as a starting point to at least get the essentials in order so you’re not stuck with guests and no cocktails. If you have some extra change we’re also including one way to upgrade it as a bonus at the end of the guides!

Today we’re looking at the rum cocktail, the classic, the Daiquiri. You might only be familiar with the frozen kinds you get at the bar by the beach, but let me tell you, a simple Daiquiri is deceptively good, and super easy to make. And no, you don’t need a blender. (Also, realizing there’s a LOT of limes in these cocktail this week, so if you’re not so into those, shoot me an email or leave a comment below that you’d like a different, easy to make cocktail, and I’ll get back to you!) Hope you’ve enjoyed this series!

Daiquiri Home Bar Under $50 ($47.04)

  1. Rum: there are some great under $20 light rums out there now. Pick one you’d like to drink cause you’re going to taste it in this drink.
  2. Jigger: can’t stress enough how important an accurate pour is.
  3. Sugar: go ahead and make a large batch of simple syrup (1:1) and keep it in the fridge for up to a month.
  4. Pairing knife: there’s lime juice in the recipe so you’ll need to cut up some fruit.
  5. Limes: like I said…limes.
  6. Cocktail glass: again Ikea comes to the rescue. However, hit up some Goodwill shops or Etsy for my creative finds.
  7. Cocktail shaker: no need for a separate strainer as these have the built-in kind (Also, use your refrigerator’s ice maker to fill this with ice. No need for fancy cubes here).
  8. Citrus reamer: you need a lot of lime juice here so get it all out with a reamer.

Upgrade to an El Presidente ($32.05)

**Prices on products are subject to change and we cannot guarantee that you’ll still be able to score all this under fifty bucks come holiday season. Or two years from now. Pricing not including shipping and local taxes.

Outfitting a Home Bar Under $50: Gin Edition

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Outfitting a bar under $50: The Gin and Tonic Edition // stirandstrain.comWelcome to the second installment of our “Outfitting a Home Bar Under $50 (including booze!)” series. These guides are meant to be used either as is, or as a starting point to at least get the essentials in order so you’re not stuck with guests and no cocktails. If you have some extra change we’re also including one way to upgrade it as a bonus at the end of the guides!

Today is for all you gin lovers out there. The Gin and Tonic is another easy to whip up, refreshing cocktail to have on hand for yourself and guests. You’ll just need a few essential bar tools and only three ingredients to make your drink. This cocktail is also easily adaptable to other ingredients on hand, so you can change it up when the feeling strikes.

Gin & Tonic Home Bar Under $50 ($49.60)

  1. Ice cube tray: 1.25″ ice cubes are the perfect size for your highball glass and you’ll need a whole tray for guests and your next round.
  2. Limes: because you’ll need a squeeze of lime. I like to keep at least 3 on hand because I find odd numbered things pleasing to look at.
  3. Pairing knife: a sharp knife will precisely cut your limes and double opening that stubborn wrapper on your gin bottle.
  4. Bar spoon: for gentle stirring of drinks.
  5. Gin: you can splurge for a full 750 ml bottle of Beefeater because it’s good and cheap.
  6. Jigger: 1 ounce and 2 ounces is all you’ll need here for precise measurements.
  7. Tonic water: I’m a fan of Q-Tonic and tonic in cans I find easier to store in my home bar.
  8. Highballs: get yourself to Ikea and get yourself some perfectly acceptable highball glasses in cases of 6 under $5. Sweet deal.

Upgrade to a Negroni ($30.98)

**Prices on products are subject to change and we cannot guarantee that you’ll still be able to score all this under fifty bucks come holiday season. Or two years from now. Pricing not including shipping and local taxes.

Outfitting a Home Bar Under $50: Whiskey Edition

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Outfitting a bar under $50: The Old Fashioned Edition // stirandstrain.comOver the next week we’ll be giving some guides on how to outfit your home bar under $50 (and that’s including booze!) depending on what your house cocktail is. These guides are meant to be used either as is, or as a starting point to at least get the essentials in order so you’re not stuck with guests and no cocktails. If you have some extra change we’re also including one way to upgrade it as a bonus at the end of the guides!

Today’s home bar surrounds the classic Old Fashioned cocktail. You don’t need much in the way of tools or liquor to get this set up quick, so it’s an easy way to start!

Old Fashioned Home Bar Under $50 ($49.07)

  1. Large ice cube tray: a basic large ice cube tray makes enough cubes for you and a guest plus another round.
  2. Sugar cubes: save your granulated sugar for syrups and the kitchen. Place a few of these out in a glass to have them at the ready.
  3. Bar spoon: for stirring cocktails!
  4. Bourbon: you don’t have to invest in large bottles to start your home bar. Get a 375ml to try and you’ll still get 6+ drinks out of it!
  5. Angostura bitters: you need bitters for an Old Fashioned so get an all purpose aromatic.
  6. Jigger: sure you could eyeball it but this way you know exactly how much booze to make the perfect cocktail.
  7. Muddler: a basic muddler will crush those sugar cubes as good as a really fancy one.
  8. All purpose glass tumbler: these are my GO TO glasses right now for cocktails to water to wine. And they’re cheap so you won’t worry when a guest (or, *ahem* you) break one.

Upgrade to a Manhattan ($24.39)

 

**Prices on products are subject to change and we cannot guarantee that you’ll still be able to score all this under fifty bucks come holiday season. Or two years from now. Pricing not including shipping and local taxes.