Cocktail smokers

Start with the question of what exactly you are smoking. If you want to treat one glass at a time, a compact smoker that sits on the rim of the glass is enough; the lid seals it off and the smoke stays put until the guest lifts it. If you work with plates, carafes or a serving board, you need the glass cloche, because a loose lid is too small to fill a larger volume.

Then look at the controls. The battery models work with a single button and are light enough to use at the table without a cord, which makes all the difference at a busy bar. The wooden version with a torch works without electronics and suits a classic speakeasy look, but does mean keeping a torch to hand. Watch the size of the smoke chamber too: the bigger it is, the more often you can smoke without refilling.

Put a small scoop of wood chips in the chamber, no more than covers the bottom. Set the smoker on the glass or under the cloche, light the wood with the torch and switch on the little fan. Within ten to fifteen seconds the glass is full of dense, white smoke.

Let the smoke sit for half a minute so it clings to the surface of the drink, and only lift the lid at the table. Smoke works best on drinks that already have wood in their flavour: whisky, rum, mezcal and the classic stirred drinks. On fresh citrus drinks it takes over quickly, so keep it to a short five-second puff there.

Use only dry, untreated wood chips meant for food. Oak and cherry are the safest starting point; hickory and whisky-barrel chips are a good deal heavier. Damp wood does not smoulder but belches, and that gives a sharp smell that ruins the drink.

Knock the chamber empty after every service while it is still lukewarm and wipe the little sieve clean with a dry cloth. Ash left sitting attracts moisture and starts to smell of old fires in time. The housing and the electronics do not belong in the dishwasher; the glass cloche can go in.

The smoking chips you fill the smoker with are listed separately, so you can pick the wood that suits the drink. Smoke comes into its own in heavy glass with a wide opening, so have a look at the whisky glasses and the roomier cocktail glasses. For the drinks themselves, the Old Fashioned, the Manhattan and the Negroni are written out step by step, and the complete kit is over at the bar tools.