Rusty Barrel Cocktail Gift Guide

A good gift should still be useful long after the wrapping paper has disappeared. A proper cocktail shaker fits the bill. It turns making a drink into part of the evening and gives the recipient something they can enjoy again and again.

The trick is choosing the right set. A beginner needs something complete and approachable. Somebody who wants to learn the bartender's technique will appreciate a two-tin Boston shaker. If they already own the main tools, better ice, proper glasses or a good recipe book can improve every drink they make.

This guide will help you choose the right Rusty Barrel gift for the person, occasion and budget.

Free UK mainland delivery is available on orders of £10 or more. Every order is sent Royal Mail Tracked, and you can add a free gift message before checkout.

Cocktail gifts at a glance

• Best all-round gift: Mayfair Cocktail Making Set, Gift Box, £45, named Best luxury cobbler cocktail shaker by BBC Good Food
• Best for an aspiring bartender: Bloomsbury Cocktail Making Set, £45
• Best copper finish: Belgravia Cocktail Making Set, £50
• Best rose gold finish: Chelsea Cocktail Making Set, £50
• Best complete present: Cocktail Making Set Bundles, from £75
• Best useful addition: Mayfair Ice Trays, £16
• Best smaller gift: Mayfair Metal Straws Gift Set, £15

Or shop by budget

• Under £20: ice trays, the Ultimate Bar Book, metal straws, pourers or a bar apron
• £20 to £50: a complete cocktail-making set or a pair of cocktail glasses
• £75 and over: a Cocktail Making Set Bundle with the tools, book and ice trays together

The one to choose if you are not sure: Mayfair Gift Box, £45

BBC Good Food named the Mayfair Best luxury cobbler cocktail shaker in its guide to the best cocktail shakers. It is also our original and bestselling cocktail-making set.

The three-piece Manhattan-style shaker has a strainer built into the lid, so there is no separate mixing glass or two-tin seal to master. You add the ingredients, shake and pour.

Inside the box are the shaker, a jigger, bar spoon, pourer, wooden muddler, Hawthorne strainer, recipe booklet and carrying pouch. The built-in strainer handles a straightforward pour, while the separate Hawthorne strainer gives the recipient the option of double-straining drinks made with fruit, herbs or small fragments of ice.

Presented in its black gift box, Mayfair feels ready to give without requiring you to know exactly which cocktails the recipient likes.

Shop the Mayfair Gift Box, £45

Prefer a slimmer presentation? The Mayfair Gift Tube, £45 contains exactly the same shaker, tools, booklet and pouch in a tall presentation tube. It takes up less room than the traditional gift box and provides a useful place to keep the tools afterwards.

For someone who wants to learn the bartender's technique: Bloomsbury, £45

If they have watched a bartender working with two metal tins and thought they would like to try it themselves, Bloomsbury is the set to choose.

The polished silver, two-tin Boston shaker is the format used behind the bar in cocktail bars around the world. The tins chill quickly, form a secure seal and hold enough for two drinks at once. Learning to form and release that seal is part of mastering the Boston-shaker technique.

Everything needed to measure, mix, strain and serve comes with the set.

Shop the Bloomsbury Cocktail Making Set, £45

The Mayfair and Bloomsbury Pourer Three-Pack, £9 is a useful matching addition for frequently used spirit or syrup bottles.

For a home bar worth showing off: Belgravia or Chelsea, £50

Some people want their bar tools on display rather than hidden in a cupboard. Belgravia and Chelsea bring more colour to the bar while retaining the full set of practical tools.

Belgravia Cocktail Making Set, £50

Belgravia pairs the professional two-tin Boston format with a hand-plated copper finish. It gives the recipient the same bartender-style technique as Bloomsbury with a warmer, more distinctive appearance.

Shop the Belgravia Cocktail Making Set, £50

Chelsea Cocktail Making Set, £50

Chelsea uses the approachable three-piece Manhattan format in rose gold. It combines the convenience of a shaker that strains as you pour with a decorative finish that looks equally at home in use or on display.

Shop the Chelsea Cocktail Making Set, £50

For somebody starting from nothing: Cocktail Making Set Bundles, from £75

A bundle is the easiest choice when the recipient does not already own any bar equipment and you want the main pieces together in one present.

Each bundle pairs a complete cocktail-making set with the Ultimate Bar Book and two Rusty Barrel silicone ice trays. That gives the recipient the tools, more than 1,000 recipes and moulds for making generous cubes and ice spheres.

It also works particularly well as a shared present for a couple building a home bar together.

Choose from:

• Mayfair Cocktail Making Set Bundle, £75
• Bloomsbury Cocktail Making Set Bundle, £75
• Belgravia Cocktail Making Set Bundle, £80
• Chelsea Cocktail Making Set Bundle, £80

For someone who wants to learn: The Ultimate Bar Book, £19

A recipe book helps ensure a new cocktail set continues to be used after the first few drinks.

The Ultimate Bar Book contains more than 1,000 cocktail recipes alongside practical guidance on techniques, ingredients, glassware and garnishes. It is a natural companion to any Rusty Barrel cocktail-making set.

Shop the Ultimate Bar Book, £19

A useful upgrade for any home bar: Mayfair Ice Trays, £16

Ice is an ingredient that is easily overlooked. Large cubes and spheres generally melt more slowly than smaller ice cubes, helping a drink stay cold with less dilution.

The Mayfair mixed two-pack contains one tray that makes six 48 mm cubes and another that makes six 45 mm ice spheres. A filling funnel is included for the sphere mould.

Both trays are made from flexible, food-grade, BPA-free silicone and are dishwasher-safe.

If the recipient already owns a shaker, this is a gift that can improve every drink they make.

Shop the Mayfair Ice Trays, £16

Cocktail glasses, from £32.50 per pair

A finished cocktail deserves the right glass.

Our cocktail-glass collection includes selected Riedel and Nachtmann designs for classic cocktails, short drinks and sours. Glasses are available in pairs, with prices starting from £32.50.

Browse cocktail glasses

Smaller cocktail gifts, from £3

Smaller bar accessories work well on their own or alongside a larger cocktail gift.

• Mayfair Metal Straws Gift Set, £15, presented as a complete gift in its own right
• Rusty Barrel Apron, £12, for when the shaking becomes enthusiastic
• Mayfair and Bloomsbury Pourer Three-Pack, £9, for frequently used bottles
• Long Metal Straws, four-pack, £4
• Short Metal Straws, four-pack, £3

Still deciding?

They have never made a cocktail: choose the Mayfair Gift Box, or a bundle if you want to give them the main tools, book and ice trays together.

They want to learn the bartender's technique: choose Bloomsbury and its two-tin Boston shaker.

They care about how it looks: choose Belgravia in copper or Chelsea in rose gold.

They already own a shaker: choose the Ultimate Bar Book, Mayfair Ice Trays or a pair of cocktail glasses.

You have £20 or less: choose the ice trays, Ultimate Bar Book, Mayfair Metal Straws Gift Set or a smaller bar accessory.

Buying with confidence

Rusty Barrel is an independent British brand established in 2017 and is rated 4.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot.

Our Trustpilot reviews cover the experience of buying from Rusty Barrel, including service, delivery and customer care. The Judge.me reviews displayed on our product pages focus on the products themselves, helping customers choose between the different sets and finishes.

Read more customer reviews

Every Rusty Barrel cocktail-making set comes with 100-day free returns and a two-year replacement warranty. Every order is sent Royal Mail Tracked, and you can add a free gift message before completing your order.

Which means the only thing left to decide is what they will make first.

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