Garnishing tools

Start with what you do most often. If you mainly work with citrus, a zester and a peeler are the two pieces you pick up every day. A zester takes off fine threads of peel to go over the drink, a peeler takes a wide strip that you squeeze over the glass for the oils and then use as a twist. The multifunctional zester combines both and saves space in a small bar.

If speed is what counts, the lime cutter is the gain. It divides a whole lime into wedges in one movement, with a blade you can replace as soon as it goes blunt. For placing the garnish itself you choose between garnish tongs, which grip soft fruit, and a universal clip that lets you hang something over the rim without touching it.

Always squeeze a citrus peel with the peel side facing the glass and from a distance of about ten centimeters, so that the oil is distributed over the entire surface. Then wipe the peel along the rim before placing it in the drink. In an old fashioned , that's orange; in a negroni , orange as well, while lemon works better with gin and sours.

Grate nutmeg over the glass only when serving, not in advance, because ground nutmeg loses its aroma within a few minutes. With the print pens, you can draw a figure or logo on the foam of an espresso martini, on chocolate, or on a slice of dried fruit. Always work on a dry surface; otherwise the ink will run and the lines will disappear.

Stainless steel can go in the dishwasher, but blades and graters stay sharp longer if you rinse them by hand and dry them straight away. Citric acid that dries in the teeth of a zester can only be removed later with a small brush.

Store cutting tools separately rather than loose in a drawer. A zester that rubs against other steel loses its edge, and you notice that when a peel tears instead of coming away cleanly. Replace spare blades for the lime cutter as soon as cutting starts to take force.

If you’re looking for the garnish itself rather than the tools, you’ll find dried garnishes there, including fruit slices and flowers that you can use straight from the bag. For fragrance without anything resting on the glass, see aromas and sprays. Heavier presses can be found under citrus presses, picks for securing the garnish under cocktail picks, and the corresponding glassware under cocktail glasses.