These days multifunctional living is very popular. Many people, including us, appreciate products that serve multiple purposes. These multitaskers simplify our lives and offer great value for our money. For example, a coffee table that holds drinks and snacks when you have guests over is convenient, but if it also has storage to keep things tidy when those same guests come over…that’s multifunctional living at its best.
When we discovered that our handcrafted cocktail picks are much more than your average bar accessories, we were thrilled. So, raise your glass and get ready to learn 6 uses for our artisan-made cocktail picks that just might surprise you.
Cocktail Garnishes
The first use will come as no surprise. All you have to do is ask yourself which you prefer, an olive hastily dropped into your dirty martini or a trio of olives neatly skewered on an olive/cocktail pick.
From citrus wheels and sugared fruit to classic olives or cherries, delicious, decorative garnishes add flair and personality to your cocktails. And since these decorative bar accessories are stainless steel, you’ll never have to worry about a piece of wood splintering into your drink and being consumed!
Photo credit: @ermindacelebrates
Crowd-Pleasing Appetizers
While a bar cart may be your bar accessories home, taking your cocktail picks out to serve appetizers will give your charcuterie boards, cheese platters, and pickle plates a special touch.
These delicious marinated cheese and olive bites look extra appealing on our Full Polished Olive/Cocktail Picks. Check out our Recipes page for more culinary delights using these stylish stainless steel skewers.
Cheese Markers for Cheese Boards
These handwritten cheese markers help your guests identify each cheese while adding a personal touch to your cheese platters and charcuterie boards.
Photo: pexels-rachel-claire
Cookie and Cake Decorating Scribes
If you’ve never heard of this cookie-decorating tool, you’re not alone. Those into cookie decorating know it is a sharp, pointy tool used to smooth out the icing and distribute it evenly to the edges after flooding the cookie with royal icing. The pointed end pops and breaks apart air bubbles for a smooth surface. Scribes also etch cookies with designs or lettering, either directly on the cookie or dried icing.
The photo below shows someone using a sharp wood scribe, but professional cookie artists prefer metal or hard plastic scribes as the icing doesn’t stick to metal as it does to wood. Finally, a scribe tool can help fix any sections of the icing that may need cleaning or redoing.
Photo: pexels-nicole-michalou
Many online retailers sell scribe tools with decorative tops, bead accents, and danglers. Cookie decorators tend to prefer scribes that are easy to hold and maneuver, opting for solid scribes with less movable parts. Our handcrafted stainless steel cocktail picks will make a sweet addition to your cookie and cake decorating ensemble.
Bonus Use: Have you run out of toothpicks? No problem. Head over to your bar accessories and grab a cocktail pick. When your oven timer goes off you can test to make sure those muffins are done!
Photo: pexels-olenkabohovyk
Latte Art
The art form that began in Italy and then spread to North America in the 1980s and 1990s is now one of the leading coffee trends throughout the world. Social media has added to this trend, with everything from step-by-step tutorials to try at home to latte artists displaying their latest designs.
Baristas are always coming up with new ways to create designs, which involve using steamed milk on a latte’s surface. Baristas manipulate the flow of the microfoam to create patterns like Rosettas, hearts, and teddy bear faces.
One common method used is free pouring. The barista pours the milk from a small metal jug from a specific height while moving the jug around to create a design. A combination of milk foam and coffee crema (reddish brown foam that forms on top of espresso) comes together to form the design.
The other technique called etching (shown below), involves a toothpick or special stainless steel latte art tool. After pouring the milk, the barista uses this pointed stainless steel tool to etch out more elaborate designs. The milk and crema are more easily separated using the etching technique.
Photo: pexels-marta-dzedyshko
From the home bar to the coffee bar, we can’t think of a better multi-tasking tool than these bar accessories to practice your latte art at home.
Teabag Holder
After water, tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world. Known for its health benefits, different teas require different steeping times. Knowing the proper steeping time for your favorite tea will up your tea brewing game.
While green tea is ready to drink after 1-3 minutes, herbal teas need to steep for 5-7 minutes.
This neat trick will keep your tea bag in place by anchoring it to the edge of the mug. If your teabag has a string you can easily drape it over the cup so it doesn’t end up in the brew when you’re pouring in the hot water.
Once your tea steeps to perfection, remove the cocktail pick teabag holder and enjoy!
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Along with opting for multifunctional products, many of us want to be more mindful of the environment. Our stainless steel cocktail picks are infinitely reusable, so load them up with fresh fruit and take them on a picnic. Whatever you use them for, you’ll be creating less waste.
Photo credit: @ermindacelebrates
The Perfect Gift
While it’s not another use for our cocktail picks, we just have to mention that they make the perfect gift. If your partner loves creating unique cocktails or you know a friend who is studying mixology or you need to choose housewarming gifts for a friend/family or you have a family member who enjoys a good cocktail, our olive/cocktail picks are the perfect gift.
Twig Leaf Olive/Cocktail Picks include a pair of copper, gold, and silver-finished leaves.
Each handcrafted set comes with an etched stainless steel container, so you can place them on top of your home bar next to your bar tool set. We have three different styles of cocktail picks, two styles with appetizer forks which are ideal for charcuterie boards, and the Full Polished Olive/Cocktail Picks.
When you order a set of our handcrafted bar accessories, you’ll be helping the talented artisans we partner with who share our vision of creating heirloom-quality pieces that you’ll use for generations.
Head photo credit: @ermindacelebrates
