Stirred, Not Shaken

(Image courtesy of Ken Johnson)

If you’re like us, you know it’s the little details that bring any great social gathering together. Of course it’s important to have a great menu but it’s the little details that let your guests know that you really took the time to prepare for them. Though they may not say it, all guests love to feel appreciated!

For that reason, it may be a fun project to craft your own stirrers for your next cocktail party. Adding a little unique flair will help a little fun - not to mention your guests may be able to tell their drinks apart! These ideas courtesy of apartmenttherapy.com are sure to give you the inspiration you need to get started. Keep reading to learn more:

The Crafted Cocktail Stirrer

While this may take some arts and crafts experience and a trip to the art store, it will also create a fun project for you to do over an afternoon before a get together or a party. First, you will need pieces of wood or plastic as your actual stirrers. They must be long enough to reach the bottom of the glass and still stick out of the top of the drink by a good few inches so that stirring can actually be done. Ideally, nothing should be added to the portion of the stirrer that will be immersed in the drink itself, as this could come off in the drink. But above the drink line, if you will, there’s nothing but creative freedom. Maybe attach rubber pencil holders to the end of each wooden stirrer, or small different colored puff balls of yarn for a fun addition to each drink. The creative crafting is only limited by imagination here.

Edible Cocktail Stirrers

Being able to eat your cocktail stirrer is a whole new level of drinking, if that makes sense. This has been done with specific drinks before and is always fun, as long as it adds to the flavor of the drink itself. For bloody mary’s, for example, consider using celery as your cocktail stirrer. For a sweeter drink, like a white Russian, consider using a stick of hard chocolate as the stirrer, though this might ultimately dissolve if left in for too long. A toothpick of olives works well as a stirrer for a martini, as does a strip of carrot, which will make a delicious bite or two after the drink is finished. This might take some experimentation to totally get right, but it’s very memorable when you do.

Found Cocktail Stirrers

There are items at your disposal that will work well as cocktail stirrers. Small plastic or wooden gardening dowels actually make excellent cocktail stirrers—just let your guests know they are totally sanitary. Long dull nails could also work, though they should be stainless steel and clearly cleaned to assuage any fears of unsanitary stirring conditions. These are more extreme ways to come up with your own cocktail stirrers, but if used with the right drink and the right crowd can be really cool.