Citrus press

Choose based on volume. For a few cocktails per evening, the handheld squeezer is the fastest: place half a lime cut-side down in the bowl, squeeze the handles together, and the juice runs through the holes while the seeds remain behind. Pay attention to the size, as a lime squeezer is too small for an orange. If you need to prepare juice for an entire shift in advance, the lever press is the sensible choice: the cast-iron or chrome-plated model stays firmly on the counter due to its weight, and you can squeeze a halved fruit completely empty with one arm. The plastic version is lighter and easier to take to a venue. If you then want to measure the juice precisely, use one of the jiggers.

Let citrus fruits come to room temperature and roll them firmly across the counter first; this breaks the membranes and yields noticeably more juice. Halve them across the segments, not lengthwise. Place one half in the squeezer with the cut side facing down and the rounded peel toward the handle: when squeezed, the peel turns inside out and pushes the juice out instead of holding it in. Juice just before shaking. For a daiquiri count on about half a lime per glass, for a margarita just a little more, and a whiskey sour you’ll want lemon rather than lime.

Citric acid is more aggressive than it looks. Rinse a press with warm water straight after use, because dried pulp sticks in the holes and attracts fruit flies. Stainless steel and plastic models can go in the dishwasher. A cast iron press is coated, and that coating lasts longer if you wash it by hand and dry it immediately. On lever presses, check now and then that the hinge moves smoothly and the bolts are still tight. Store the press dry, with the bowl open.

Juice alone isn’t enough. For cutting slices and twists, the tools are with the bar knives and cutting boards, and you do the shaking itself in one of the cocktail shakers. If you still don’t know which glass the whole thing will go into, the cocktail glasses are sorted by shape, from coupe to highball. And if you want to cut the garnish that goes with the juice properly right away, the knives and boards for that are ready with the bar knives.