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An Imbiber’s Guide to Cocktail Kits

Take the stress out of shopping for your favorite imbibers or planning your next party cocktails with one simple step: Order a cocktail kit. At-home bartenders are increasingly showing interest in taking their knowledge and skills beyond classic cocktails. Cocktail kits and subscription services meet that need, providing unique but approachable recipes as well as the ingredients and support.


For Cocktail Geeks: Shaker & Spoon

This Brooklyn-based cocktail subscription service features cocktail bar-caliber recipes and kits created by some of the best bartenders in the industry, such as Sother Teague and Caer Maiko. In addition to offering premium ingredients, quality barware, and helpful how-to videos, Shaker & Spoon has a very active Facebook group where fellow subscribers can share tips, show off their cocktail creations, and ask questions. Shaker & Spoon’s array of cocktail boxes, which can either be purchased as a gift or as part of a subscription, spotlight specific spirits, holidays, and guest bartenders. Recent favorites include the Speakeasy Box with recipes by the hosts of The Speakeasy Podcast, Teague, Damon Boelte, and Greg Benson, and the Pisco Inferno box, which includes steps and ingredients for homemade chicha morada. While alcohol isn’t included in the box, the bartenders on the site offer up their own recommendations for what works well with each cocktail.


Sipsy’s Espresso Martini kit

For Newbies: Sipsy

For those who want to keep things simple, Los Angeles-based liquor delivery service, which also ships nationwide, builds cocktail kits around classic cocktails everyone knows and loves, such as an Old Fashioned, spicy Margarita, and an Espresso Martini. Each one comes in a variety of serving sizes (two, four, and six cocktails) and includes spirits, mixers, garnishes, a recipe card, and a jigger.


Raising the Bar’s Pithy cocktail box

For Spirit-Free Imbibers: Raising the Bar

With the popularity of NA cocktails, the zero-proof category has grown exponentially over the past decade. Nowadays, bartenders have a wide variety of ingredients to play with, taking spirit-free drinks beyond the Shirley Temple. But for home bartenders who aren’t sure how to use alcohol-free spirits, there’s Raising the Bar. This booze-free subscription service offers kits with the fixings to make 10 servings of two featured NA cocktails, including a playlist to queue up while mixing. For December, the holiday-inspired kit contains an NA bourbon, cranberry-vanilla mix, ginger beer, fig-rosemary jam, and two copper mule mugs. Buy a single box or subscribe for one, three, six, or 12 months. Those looking for more guidance can find it on the site’s blog as well as the private Facebook page.


Saloon Box’s December box

For Party Hosts: Saloon Box

Overwhelmed party hosts will welcome Saloon Box’s cocktail kits, as each one features simple twists on classics, with alcohol included and enough ingredients for 12 servings of two different drinks. Cocktails include Margaritas, Martinis, and infused Old Fashioneds. When ordered with alcohol, the kits arrive in two separate shipments: one for the cocktail mixers and the other for the liquor. For visual leaners, Saloon Box hosts a monthly virtual cocktail session for subscribers with their in-house bartender and recipe developer, Kyle Wright. Their subscriptions and newly released “Cocktails for Two” boxes, a smaller, non-subscription offering, are their most popular.


Cocktail Courier’s Merry Margarita kit

For Discerning Drinkers: Cocktail Courier

With Cocktail Courier, you can customize your subscription by alcohol preference and choose which, out of three cocktails, you want for the month. Each subscription box also includes enough mixers, seasonal ingredients, and fresh citrus to make six to eight cocktails. Meanwhile, gifty non-subscription kits are available in a range of serving sizes: mini (two to three cocktails), classic (four to eight cocktails with or without alcohol), and deluxe (eight to 16 cocktails). Brand-loyal drinkers can shop kits featuring their favorite bottles thanks to Cocktail Courier’s brand partnerships. For guidance, the site has a blog as well as videos on techniques, such as how to dry shake and how to flame with a citrus zest.


Crafted Taste’s gin kit

For Stocking the Home Bar: Crafted Taste

Unlike most, Crafted Taste cocktail kits include full-size bottles versus minis. Their aim is to provide subscribers with enough product to not just make the cocktail recipes but to also experiment with. The cocktail boxes are inspired by the seasons and trends as well as classic cocktails, and they feature quality ingredients by brands such as Liquid Alchemist and Filthy Mixers. “We love using their products, and in turn the home experience is at a really high level since the ingredients are amazing,” says Crafted Taste owner Jeannie Cho. Subscriptions are available month-to-month with the options to upgrade, downgrade, or skip. Crafted Taste also has low-proof and spirit-free kits.

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