Condiment holders

Start by counting how many garnishes your menu calls for. A holder with three compartments is enough for lime, lemon and one standing garnish. If you run an extensive cocktail menu, a six-compartment version is the logical choice. They come in lengths of around 24 to 26 centimetres, which means they fit almost any bar without eating up your working surface.

The material determines how the holder looks and how easily it stays clean. Stainless steel and chrome are near indestructible and belong on a classic bar. Walnut looks warm and suits a venue where the bar itself is on show. Plastic is the lightest and the easiest to replace. Removable inserts are the detail that counts: you lift them out and put them straight in the dishwasher.

Put the compartments you reach for most on your pouring-hand side and the rare garnishes on the outside. A fixed order everyone sticks to is worth more than the prettiest layout, because in the dark you reach from memory, not by sight.

Refill per service, not per day. Citrus left in the open air for hours dries out at the cut face, and you taste that in a negroni whose orange peel no longer releases any oil. Herbs have it even harder: mint for a mojito should sit cool and slightly damp, not in an open tray under a spotlight. Keep a second set of inserts to hand so you can swap halfway through without bringing the bar to a halt.

Garnish is fresh produce and therefore falls under temperature control. So work with small quantities in the holder and the rest in the fridge, rather than the other way around. Cover the compartments as soon as the bar closes.

Removable inserts go in the dishwasher; the holder itself depends on the material. Stainless steel and chrome are fine. Walnut is not: wipe it with a damp cloth and let it dry, otherwise the wood warps. With plastic, check whether the model can take a hot cycle, because thin plastic distorts in a dishwasher running at high temperature.

If you cut your own garnish, the garnish trays are one category further along, together with the containers you prep in. For the picks, look at the cocktail picks, and pick up ice with ice tongs rather than with a glass. If you are not yet sure which glass goes with which garnish, start at the cocktail glasses, where the shapes are set out drink by drink.