Shaking & Mixing

Bar Spoon

A bar spoon is a long spoon, 30 or 40cm in Urban Bar’s own Drop spoons, with a small bowl that holds roughly 5ml and a shaft that is often twisted. It stirs drinks in a mixing glass or a tall glass, floats one liquid on top of another, and measures small amounts such as a spoon of maraschino. Our Manhattan and Martini are stirred with one in the mixing glass, and a Tom Collins finishes with a single lift of it.

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A stainless steel bar spoon with a twisted shaft, a small oval bowl and, at the opposite end, a flat disc, on a white background.

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Essential Equipment

Recommended for every home bar

The tool

About the Bar Spoon

A Barspoon Is About a Teaspoon

The bowl holds roughly 5ml, close to a kitchen teaspoon. Our recipes use it for small, strong amounts: a spoon of crème de violette in the Aviation, maraschino in the Illegal, absinthe to rinse the coupe for a Corpse Reviver No. 2.

Bowls vary from maker to maker, so a barspoon is a seasoning rather than a precise measure. Where a recipe needs exactly 5ml or 10ml, a measuring spoon is the surer tool.

Stir Against the Glass

Rest the back of the bowl on the inside of the mixing glass and spin the shaft between thumb and two fingers. The ice turns as one block, chilling and diluting the drink without breaking up.

In a mixing glass full of cubed ice, stir for 20 to 30 seconds: that is how our Manhattan and Martini are made. A drink built over one large cube in its own glass gets 15 to 20 seconds.

What the bar spoon does in our recipes

Stir in a mixing glass

How: 20 to 30 seconds against the glass wall
Example: Manhattan, Martini, Negroni

Stir over one large cube

How: 15 to 20 seconds in the serving glass
Example: Drinks built over a single cube

Lift a long drink

How: One slow lift from the bottom after the soda
Example: Tom Collins, Americano

Float a layer

How: Pour slowly onto the back of the upturned bowl
Example: Penicillin, White Russian

Measure

How: Roughly 5ml
Example: Aviation, Illegal

Job	How	Example
Stir in a mixing glass	20 to 30 seconds against the glass wall	Manhattan, Martini, Negroni
Stir over one large cube	15 to 20 seconds in the serving glass	Drinks built over a single cube
Lift a long drink	One slow lift from the bottom after the soda	Tom Collins, Americano
Float a layer	Pour slowly onto the back of the upturned bowl	Penicillin, White Russian
Measure	Roughly 5ml	Aviation, Illegal

Soda Gets One Lift

A drink topped with soda or sparkling wine loses its bubbles to a full stir. Our Tom Collins and Americano get a single slow lift from the bottom of the glass, which carries the base up through the soda and stops there.

Floats Land on the Back of the Bowl

Turn the spoon over, hold the bowl just over the drink against the inside of the glass, and pour slowly onto it. The liquid fans out across the surface instead of diving in.

A float holds only if the top layer is lighter than the drink beneath it, which usually means less sugar. A smoky Scotch rides on a sweet, sour Penicillin for that reason.

Using it

Using the Bar Spoon

Usage

Stirring spirit-led drinks in a mixing glass for 20 to 30 seconds, or 15 to 20 over one large cube in the serving glass; lifting a long drink once after the soda goes in; floating a spirit or cream over the back of the bowl; and measuring a barspoon, roughly 5ml.

Pro Tip

Count the stir. Twenty seconds feels long the first time, and a Manhattan stirred for half that comes out warm and too strong.

Professional Tips

Keep the back of the bowl against the glass and let the ice turn as one.
Spin the shaft between thumb and two fingers; the wrist hardly moves.
For a float, turn the spoon over and pour slowly onto the back of the bowl.
Give a soda-topped drink one slow lift from the bottom, not a stir.

Alternatives

Budget Alternative

A plain stainless spoon with a twisted shaft and a disc end. If the length is right, it stirs as well as an expensive one.

Premium Option

A Japanese-style spoon with a long, finely twisted shaft and a teardrop weight. The balance makes a long stir easier on the hand; the stir itself does not change.

Specifications

Material
Stainless steel, sometimes plated
Capacity
Bowl roughly 5ml (Urban Bar gives its Drop spoon’s head as an approximate 5ml measure); not a precise measure
Details
Shaft 30 or 40cm in Urban Bar’s own Drop spoons, often twisted, with a disc, fork or teardrop weight at the far end

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

How much is a barspoon?

Roughly 5ml, about a teaspoon, though bowls vary between makers. Our recipes use it for small, strong amounts: crème de violette in the Aviation, maraschino in the Illegal, absinthe to rinse the glass for a Corpse Reviver No. 2. Where exactly 5ml matters, use a measuring spoon.

Why are bar spoons twisted?

The twist lets the shaft spin between your fingers while the bowl runs round the inside of the glass, so the hand stays almost still. It also helps when layering, because liquid poured down the twist spreads gently across the surface instead of plunging.

How long should you stir a cocktail?

In a mixing glass full of cubed ice, 20 to 30 seconds, until the outside of the glass is very cold. A drink built over one large cube in its own glass needs 15 to 20 seconds. Keep the bowl against the glass so the ice turns rather than breaks.

How do you float a layer with a bar spoon?

Turn the spoon over and hold the bowl just over the surface of the drink, against the inside of the glass. Pour slowly onto the back of the bowl so the liquid spreads across the surface. That is how the Lagavulin sits on our Penicillin and the cream on our White Russian.

What length of bar spoon should I buy?

Around 30cm suits most mixing glasses and tall glasses, by our guidance. Choose 40cm if you stir in a tall jug or a large tin. Hold it against your tallest mixing glass: the bowl should reach the bottom with a hand's width of shaft clear of the rim.

Can I use a teaspoon instead?

For measuring, yes, since a teaspoon is 5ml. For stirring, it is too short to reach the bottom of a mixing glass, so your fingers end up in the ice and the wrist does the work. A chopstick stirs better than a teaspoon if you have nothing else.

Why stir a Collins only once?

Because the soda is the last thing in and the bubbles are part of the drink. One slow lift from the bottom brings the gin, lemon and syrup up through the soda. Stirring round and round mixes no better and leaves the drink flat.

Sources.

Correct as of 18 October 2026.

Urban Bar, “Drop Stainless Steel Bar Spoon 30cm” (head gives approximate 5ml measure).
Urban Bar, “Drop Stainless Steel Bar Spoon 40cm”.

Master the Technique

Core techniques: how to make cocktails at home How to stir a cocktail

Make something

Made with the Bar Spoon

Used In These Cocktails

Tom Collins Penicillin Long Island Iced Tea Americano Aviation White Russian

Related Equipment

Updated 18 October 2026

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