Citrus press

Choose by volume. For a few cocktails an evening the hand squeezer is fastest: you lay half a lime cut side down in the bowl, close the handles and the juice runs through the holes while the pips stay behind. Watch the size, because a squeezer for limes is too small for an orange. If you have to juice ahead for a whole service, the lever press is the sensible choice: the cast iron or chrome-plated model stays put on the counter thanks to its weight, and one pull of the arm empties half a fruit completely. The plastic version is lighter and easier to take out on location. If you want to measure the juice precisely afterwards, work with one of the jiggers.

Let citrus come up to room temperature and roll it firmly across the counter first; that breaks the membranes and gives noticeably more juice. Halve across the segments, not lengthways. Put the half in the squeezer cut side down and the rounded peel towards the handle: under pressure the peel turns inside out and pushes the juice out instead of holding it in. Squeeze just before you shake. For a daiquiri count on roughly half a lime per glass, for a margarita a little more, and a whiskey sour calls for 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 is not enough. The tools for cutting slices and twists are with the bar knives and cutting boards, and the shaking itself happens in one of the cocktail shakers. If you do not yet know which glass it all ends up in, the cocktail glasses are sorted by shape, from coupe to long drink. And if you want to cut the garnish that goes with the juice properly straight away, the knives and boards for that are ready with the bar knives.