What’s a Bar Spoon? Uses and Types of Bar Spoons

One of the most useful bar tools behind your home bar or bar is the bar spoon. It's surprisingly more complex than you think. Learn more about them and figure out for yourself why you need it for your home bar or business.

What’s a Bar Spoon?

Bar Spoons are specially designed to simplify the mixing of cocktails. It differs from a regular spoon or any conventional teaspoon. A professional bartender uses these basic tools for bartender tricks. If stirring is necessary, they usually use a specialized shaker tin or bartending spoon. Made from stainless steel, these utensils are durable, easy to wash, and won't affect drink flavors like other utensils.

A Bar Spoon is Equivalent to 5ml or ⅙ oz

Having one lets you use a new cocktail recipe that uses a different unit of measure. As a craft bartender or home bartender, this can be really useful. It is primarily used for stirring drinks but it is also an excellent jigger (jigger uses oz) alternative when measuring out ingredients. 

• One spoon equals 5ml of liquid or one standard teaspoon.
• If the measurements are divided by the right number, the bar spoon can then be used for other units such as tablespoons and ounces.
• Easily measures ingredients since it has five increments. For example, if a recipe calls for 10 ml, you can easily measure two bar spoons and so on.

Different Kinds of Bartender Spoons

The European Bar Spoon

It has a flat end that is used to layer liqueurs and muddle ingredients. Measurement-wise, it only holds 2.5ml or ⅛ oz. of liquid. This basic bar spoon has a sturdier implement with more style and usually has a hammer or disk attached to the end. It has a spiral handle made out of stainless steel.

The Japanese Bar Spoon

A sturdier version with a longer design has a slimmer profile and in my opinion, looks cooler. This Japanese style spoon for drinks has a unique end handle. It can be finished in various ways, including a teardrop shape or a fork for grabbing olive or other garnish. This long-handled spoon is perfect for making any mixed drink.

The American Bar Spoon

The style of spoons differs from their designs. Instead of a disk, the tip of the spoon is covered with a red rubber cap to cover the unfinished tip of the spoon. This stainless bar spoon is perfect for any drink.

Why Use Bar Spoons?

They are Multi-purpose

It is used to mix ingredients that aren't meant to be shaken. They also mix the drinks at an ideal temperature and dilution, since they don't want to break down the ice too quickly to stir cocktails.

The tip of the spoon is where it becomes really interesting due to its weighted flat end which is great for lightly muddling herbs or reducing champagne bubbles. And the spoon itself can be used as a 5ml measure.

Add Style to Your Drink

It doesn't just measure. It can also be used for laying, garnishing, and cracking ice.

To layer a drink, pour liquids of different densities (thicknesses) into the glass one at time, starting with the thickest liquid.

• Place the flat-ended part of the spoon just on the surface of each ingredient. 
• When pouring the second ingredient into the drink with the bar spoon, lift the spoon up as the liquid rises to keep the flat end of the spoon just touching the surface of the liquid so you don't get any air bubbles in the mixture.
• Repeat for the next layer.

To add more drama, gently break the ice, and if you have a bar spoon with a fork-shaped end or a weighted teardrop end.

(See More: Cocktail Recipes)

Earth-Friendly Option to Serve Drinks

Some bartenders tend to use disposable plastic straws to prepare drinks. The bar spoon is way more effective than a straw, it is also much more durable and able to resist bending and breaking. These stainless steel options are also dishwasher safe.

Interesting Facts and History

It is suggested that it came from the Sucket Spoon.

It was invented in the 17th century when the sucket fork was introduced. Designed for consuming sweets and English dessert, it took its modern form in that century. 

A different type of bar spoon, the Mazagran Spoon probably originated as a French apothecary spoon, the “cuillière medicamente”. These beautiful spoons were used both as a tool for measuring and as a muddler to grind up medicines into a fine powder so they could be dissolved in other liquid. It was named after the French military victory at the Battle of Mazagran in 1841, which led to the popularization of a beverage called café au lait. The coffee drink required the addition of hard French beet sugar that the imbiber had to crush with a muddler-ended spoon.

These days, many bar spoons no longer have a fork or a wooden muddler at the end. Rather, you’ll find a simple teardrop or bolt shape.

Okay, I want one. Where can I get it?

Impress your friends and family with your upgraded bartending skills. Here at Culinary Depot, we carry different types of Bar Spoons. Whether you'll be serving fruit cocktails or fizzy drinks, you can find any bartending tools that can help you better serve your guests or customers. Visit our online store or contact us today for more information.