The 8 Best Gifts for Bartenders in 2022, According to Bartenders

Best Overall

Godinger Monterey Iridescent Punch Bowl & Ladle Set

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"The one thing I’d wish for someone to buy me [is] a punch set,” says Washington, D.C.-based bar pro Chris R. Martino. According to him (and many other bartenders out there), you’re much better off skipping the tools (most have their go-tos) and going for something your recipient might not typically stock up on.

You can find some great punch bowl sets out there (the more vintage-inspired, the better), which typically include a punch bowl, ladle and matching teacup-like drinking vessels. This 10-piece Godinger set is a perfect example: its elaborate etching on the pedestal punch bowl and matching cups will give a luxe feel to your favorite bartender’s new centerpiece.

Best Budget

Barrel Aged in a Bottle Oak Infusion Spiral

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Many bars these days feature barrel-aged drinks: finished cocktails that are rested in a small barrel for some number of days in order to add rich, luscious woody notes. But barrels aren't cheap, and their potency is diminished after being used a few times, so most bartenders won't ever have much opportunity for a whole lot of R&D with new or unexpected cocktails they'd like to try barrel-aging. This holiday season, why not give your favorite barkeep the gift of experimentation? The infusion spirals from Barrel Aged in a Bottle, which are made from American oak and charred to a robust level of #3, fit conveniently through the neck of any 750 ml. bottle. Now the budget-minded bartender in your life can experiment with oak-aged flavors without burning one of their precious barrels.

Best Splurge

Euhomy 40-Pound Countertop Ice Maker Machine

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It’s quite possible that the bartender you’re shopping for relies on silicone molds to make his or her ice, which can take forever in terms of prep. An ice maker, whether countertop or built-in, would be a dream gift for many bar pros, like Leah Schoenburg, a bartender at The Dandy Crown in Chicago. “When you’re actually making cocktails, ice trays are never enough,” she says.

Euhomy’s countertop ice maker can produce 24 ice cubes per 18-minute cycle—meaning you could make up to 40 pounds of ice cubes every day, if you were truly motivated. It also includes features like an automatic cleaning function and a water-saving recapture system. Best of all, your favorite bartender can adjust the thickness of the ice cubes according to their needs. Picture-perfect Negroni on the rocks, anyone?

Related: The Best Gifts for Gin Lovers

Best Stocking-Stuffer

Corkcicle Whiskey Wedge Glass

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After a long shift, your favorite bartender deserves to relax with a pour that's not only delicious but also aesthetically pleasing. Enter the Whiskey Wedge kit from Corkcicle. To use, just place the angled silicone ice mold into the borosilicate double old-fashioned glass, fill the mold with water, and freeze for a few hours. The resulting glass-ice combo offers about as little surface area contact with the ice as possible—ideal, as melting ice speeds dilution, and your favorite bartender deserves to relax after an arduous night behind the stick! It also creates a truly one-of-a-kind visual presentation of his or her preferred post-shift tipple.

Related: The Best Whiskey Decanters

Best Gadget

Breville PolyScience The Smoking Gun Pro

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"The smoking gun is popular with some chefs as a tool to add cold smoke aromas and flavors to food, but it’s great for bartenders as well to make terrific smoked cocktails,” says Victor Bautista, bar manager of Concord Hill in Brooklyn. “You can use various types of wood chips like apple, cherry, or hickory but also teas or other dried ingredients." He adds, "The hose is flexible and allows you to fill any vessel with smoke—a glass, bowl or a small decanter, which is what I like to use for our Smoke Break cocktail."

To make this cocktail, Bautista first mixes the drink (fig-infused Elijah Craig bourbon, Cardamaro, Braulio, walnut bitters and maple) and pours it into an ornate decanter before adding smoke from apple wood chips using the gun. Then, once enough smoke has accumulated inside the decanter, he removes the gun’s hose from the neck and closes the decanter with its topper.

Bautista’s weapon of choice is this compact Breville model, which features dual air speeds, a detachable silicone hose, a stainless steel burn chamber (also detachable) and a built-in stand.

Most Unique

Flavour Blaster Black Mini Kit

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Several bartenders highly recommend the Flavour Blaster, a cocktail-specific gadget that, well, blasts flavor into your drinks. Bautista elaborates: “You can make smoke bubbles to place on top of cocktails [for a] very cool effect—when the bubble is touched, it turns into smoke. The Flavour Blaster is super easy to use as it skips a step of burning the chips; however, it’s a lot more expensive.”

This starter kit is a great investment, which includes one Flavour Blaster gun, a USB charging cable, one aroma tank, five bottles of Cocktail Aroma, five tank coils (a separate one for each aroma), one bottle of Bubble Mixture (Bubble X) and a one-year limited warranty on the gun. Choose from a variety of colors.

Related: The Best Home Brewing Kits

Best for Back/Neck Relief

BalanceFrom Acupressure Mat and Pillow Set

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Bartender wellness is key at any time of year, so if you’d like to get something that can be used over and over again (versus a one-time gift like a massage), consider Kanjo's memory foam mat and pillow set. Both pieces are designed to relieve tension, stress, muscle soreness, and knots that inevitably build up over time when bartending. Plus, it comes with a convenient roll-up storage bag.