5 Bartending Gadgets Tested by Design Expert | Well Equipped | Epicurious
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- Опубліковано 13 січ 2021
- Design and usability guru Dan Formosa returns to evaluate and improve upon 5 gadgets meant to make you the best home bartender you can be. Watch as he puts each gadget through the gauntlet - from the innovative to the underwhelming - weighing in on what works, what doesn't and what he'd do to improve their design.
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5 Bartending Gadgets Tested by Design Expert | Well Equipped | Epicurious - Розваги
17 years in bars, nightclubs and restaurants and ive never seen a square strainer 🤣
Right? It’s probably 1 of those daft display/gift set ones. But ALL manual ice crushers are so wobbly and terrible.
Hawthorne, Julep and Fine Mesh. That's it. Nothing else.
😬is your name Gary Gray..... 😂😂😂
Same man
@@SpaceGlizzy he meant the copper strainer at the start
As a bartender I must mention that it is a damn weirdly shaped strainer
As a Bartender I must mention he is barely shaking the drink at all which I guess makes sense for a martini to keep it from making micro shards but no true barman does that kind of dead fish shake
@@dylanisley4873 don’t think he’s a bartender lol
@@dylanisley4873 that's what a fine strainer is for😃
@@dylanisley4873 He's not a bartender, but is a person trying to make a drink.
But I guess we bartenders are the same.
@@dylanisley4873 He's shaking it as if it was a Christmas present, what's the point of shaking it if you're going to be gentler than a stir?
Maybe the “left hand oiled up test” could be redesigned to be the “drunken left hand oiled up test”
Drunken left hand oiled up test is just a regular Friday 😆
Yes
what would he do? tape a vibrator to his hand and use drunk glasses?
@@dawizad3598 get drunk, duh
@@noiz1762 thats not logical duhhh
lets be honest, this is a reasonable demonstration on how most kitchen gadgets are absolute trash
Especially when they're designed for one specific purpose
Yeah
A lot of people don't realize a lot of those gadgets are designed for limited use/disabled people.
@@nukiesduke6868 dan actually does, thats why he does the left handed oil test and in many episodes he's talked highly of gadgets that are made specifically with disabled people in mind.
i think they design them for people who think it would be easier with them but really for more advanced people in the kitchen is just a pain to use them. But some are great.
Honestly the ice crusher had great comedic timing, just dribbles of water and then _POW_ ice shower everywhere!
Right!? I was cracking up every time it happened!
I agree, I laughed both times.
It was funny the first time and the second time I actually laughed out loud 😅
Come on! Admit it! You're just trying to make him drunk. First wine, now bartending.
lol
What’s next Guns
@@Wildtooth-mg9sl ah yes, Americans favorite drink.
no one else comment after this one, the reply section is already perfect
@@ShufTheXD ok no problem!
I love that he liked the muddler so much, he used it to one-up the next device.
So badass it can do another device's job better than it was designed to.
Its so badass that even mugglers will fear it
can't go wrong with a rod, that stuff does a lot of things
I laughed so hard when he pulled it out, I expected him to pull out a mallet or something..! but yeah that thing is so massive you could give someone a concussion.
@@stone5against1 good for muggling, and when the bouncer needs a little help
As someone who paralysed his left arm, which never fully recovered, I really appreciate the slippery hand test!
@@jonpendragon2066 lmao
Next on epicurious: Dan testing gadgets to get rid of a hangover.
The Corpse Reviver #2
Gadget number three: a bed
First off: a deagle!
Det. Briscoe: "Do we have a cause of death on the bartender?"
Dr. Rodgers: "Blunt force trauma, probably muddled to death."
Lol
Det. Briscoe: "wait it cant be the badass muddler killer again"
@@itsmeomon424 Dr. Rodgers: The Autopsy report came up before I met up with you. The wounds were definitely inflicted by some badassery. He was left with badass scars and was muddled Rigor Mortis.
"He was.... muddled!"
@@itsmeomon424Well, I'm inspired.
*Finally Dan has been designing kitchen gadgets for 40 years now!*
@@json2582 They didn't sell, but that's because none of them were ever turned into a product as all he does is crudely draw stuff on paper and that's the extent of the design. That's like drawing a stickman and saying you designed a character and have been designing characters since you first got hold of crayons as a child. /s
@@LordDragox412 what does /S mean?
@@ChapoChaos It means you're way too smart to use Google to find answers to your simple questions. /s
@@LordDragox412 this is not twitter why use /s its dumb enough
@@swaggster_9000 I really can't tell if you're really that dumb, since sarcasm switch was created long before both Twitter and you came into existence but hey, I can't blame you for not knowing since you spend most of your life on Twitter...
Dan should do antique kitchen gadgets! I've always see them everywhere and it seem to be a better version of current gadgets. Which I am not surprised sense they are purposely made to be cheap just so they can break and forces you to buy more.
I'd love this
Got to love that planned obsolescence
the "woooaaahhh that's gonna be a good mojito" on the heavy pour got me 😂
There's a detail with metalware that wasn't explained too much, but when those get cold they contract more than plastic or glass (or, well, uncolded metal). So when things get iced, it can stuck with other pieces. In the shaker is a good thing, because it doesn't drip. But the ice crusher gets difficult to get open after used.
Hmmm that’s an interesting/good thought def true to a degree but I think the objects are just too small to have that be the only reason. Huge structures that are hundreds of feet only shrink a few inches and this is so much smaller but idk
@@monhi64 there is literal evidence in both of the metal objects in the video that get cold getting stuck... but continue to be suspicious of it if you like lol
@@monhi64 These objects literally start in contact with each other, so they don't need much differential shrinking to turn from a slip fit to interference fit. In stainless steel the difference between those fits can be as little as couple thousandths of an inch.
@@tylisirn Y’all don’t have to get angry that I’m not sold on this, yeah the math works out to a few thousandths of an inch. Doubt these are even manufactured close to those tolerances, it would take more than a video of them getting stuck. There are so many reasons things get stuck, the materials are more rigid at that temp etc. If there’s proof it’s purely the new size differential I’m all for it
My mom had this ice crusher. I can’t tell you how many times it fell over and the crushed ice fell everywhere.
I love this series so much and I can't really put my finger on why. Dan is just so straightforward while still being personable.
The last thing a faulty product hears before its death: *"Time to oil up"*
He really loves that badass muddler
Just because you seemed confused at the purpose of the spring - the spring is actually what's doing the straining here. The holes in a strainer like that are large and don't do much - So when you think about it not fitting well, you must consider the real important part is that the spring is tight & meets the sides of the shaker.
Why would they ever...I dunno, ask a bartender what the stuff is for? It'd ruin the point of the video
Why are those strainers always sized for the mouth of a pint glass instead of the big side of the Boston shaker? They're all too small.
his "woahs" were the best part!
WwoOaAHH
True art
12:42 don’t know why that was so hilarious to me but I LOLED.
If you want a simple, cheap, effective ice crusher there's always the mallet and Lewis bag.
well...he'd have to know what he's doing to know what that is though. Guy talked about a Boston Shaker like it was some new innovation.
gotta love when "just a stick" and "just two cups" are demolishing overengineered appliances.
Speaking as a lefty with dyspraxia, it was borderline traumatic watching him try to use/open that ice crusher, lol.
I didn't think dyspraxia had anything to do with dexterity
@@fudge2836 from a quick google sounds like it can cause problems with coordination
@@ashrowan2143 I see
@@fudge2836 some people with severe dyspraxia cannot even fasten buttons.
@@fudge2836Are you thinking of something else? Dyspraxia is explicitly a disorder of dexterity.
Can't really blame the seltzer bottle for lack of carbonation. That really has to do with temperature of the water, how much you shake it, how long you let it sit, etc.
All true. The main issue I had with this was that I was never happy with cleaning it. whenever you have such narrow devices it’s always dubious how good the cleaning is if you’ve got something flavorful in it.
@@SpaceGlizzy Hot water and soap will do the trick most of the time of taking out odours and dirt of this kinda bottle. If the recipient is glass, you can use bleach too, but then you need to rinse it well after use.
And how ungodly hard it vomits the newly carbonated water out, yeah?
I mean, that sprayed about as hard as if you poured a beer or a soda from the roof of a small office building. If that was anything but just carbonated water, you'd have nothing but sparse foam in the glass. Instead, with nothing to form bubbles or foam, really, you just end up with not-so-carbonated water. I bet if you took it apart and just _poured_ the water out, it'd be fine. But then, you'd have just reinvented a fancier, more expensive, single-use-cartridge SodaStream.
@@SpaceGlizzy You really shouldn't use that style of carbonator for anything but water, there are other devices if you want to carbonate flavourful stuff.
@@barefootalien How surprised would you be to discover it's actually designed to eject the gas straight into a balloon?
The spring on the strainer is to hold ice back.
You shake the soda siphon as you SLOWLY add the CO2.
The gadget is basically an ISI gun, right? I only saw those in videos, but...
I don't like long handled strainers makes it harder to use one handed
The first test. That Bond vibes, it suits you well Mr Formosa. Just perfect.
The seltzer bottle isn't instant. It takes time for the carbon dioxide to dissipate into the space of the water from the pressure. Not really a fair compare. It's the literal OG soda stream with 98% less waste.
Wait is the soda stream more or less waste? Neither seemed particularly wasteful but this uses single serve cartridges so that aliens pushing it lol
Oh? You’re saying less waste than a bottle?
@@monhi64 Yeah i meant less waste than buying club soda bottles because you have just the small recyclable charger.
"Worse than a bloody hand is an oiled one." -Gadget Developers
I like how this series has devolved into "how can we get paid to drink on the job?" 😅
probably should have left the seltzer longer and shook it for most carbonation.
I was thinking the exact same thing
When I was a kid, my parents had a similar ice crusher to that. Except it had a lever-action suction cup on the bottom and latches to hold the otherwise loose lid in place. It wouldn't move at all when engaged and would come apart at the slightest touch when you wanted it to.
Came here to say exactly this. Our parents must have had the same model. I had forgotten all about it until I saw this video.
THIS GUY. I'm always happy to see Mr. Formosa!
Idk why lots of the bartenders are frustrated. We’re not all professionals, or drink very often!
I think it gives a good example of how most people will use these!
It’s more like, don’t comment on how you think a tool doesn’t work if you don’t read into how to use it. That’s like complaining about a wrench being too loose without sizing it to the nut. The square Hawthorne strainer was actually just terrible though.
This is a good example of why you need to buy your equipment from the same manufacturer. Notice how he wasn't too happy with the seal of the round strainer either, most decent bar companies will match the shape of the their strainer to the shape of their shaker for a nice seal this preventing the problems he was having.
I hate this because as a bartender it hurts my soul
@@Spider-ew2gc Well a lot of designers believe in intuitive design, meaning that product/tool itself should reveal its functions. So they'd argue that you shouldn't need any prior knowledge about it, and I think for the most part that is really valid approach.
“Vod-cur”
I love regional American accents.
Coming from a bartender you have to hit your shaker on the sealed edge and then it releases you can’t just try to pull them apart. The way he made the mojito really bothered me 😅
Same thoughts lol 😂
i feel you... it hurt looking at how he did it
How you should make a mojito?
@@TheCharkan you don’t muddle the sugar and mint with the alcohol. Grind the mint into the sugar dry to release the oils, add the lime and THEN add the alcohol.
Not an expert. But I'm getting the impression he isn't very experienced with most of these tools
What I find interesting about this is that the choice of devices ranges from the exact same tools that some of the pickier pros use to hilariously bad products designed for people who are afraid to hit ice with a hammer. There are some re-designs of the cocktail shaker which have some type of improvement over either the cobbler or the Boston design, but I have my doubts as to whether any of them are worth their increased price tags given that you can get a full set of (some of) the best shaking tins in the world for under 20 bucks.
"you should wear gloves" - when it's too cold to hang on to comfortably that's when you know it's shaken enough! It's a feature, not a flaw!
15:30 "HEY SQUIDWARD!"
"Patrick! Your glass is full!"
If this is testing what the average person with no technique would do, it's a good test. Any pro bartender knows that you don't grip any muddler like that. The rounded top is the end you grip, and you hold it against the palm of your hand and push down to crush.
Why on earth would they design home kitchen tools for professional bartenders?
@@esla1885 The tools that are being tested in this video are mostly professional quality (not the ice crusher). The line between “home” and “professional” tools gets especially blurry for bar ware because the cost of professional tools is still relatively low and anything cheaper is usually of extremely low quality. That all said, a muddler is not exactly an advanced tool, but there is a technique to using it. He does not use the proper technique. This is user error, not poor craftsmanship. I’m nit-picking since he gave it a good grade anyways.
@@esla1885 Better question~ why on earth are they using professional tools in a home kitchen video?
@@eugenetamo8611 Because there isn't really any way to make versions that are different, "home-bar-appropriate", and still functional. A muddler is a stick. It doesn't matter what kind of curvature you put on it, it won't eliminate the need to use proper technique. There isn't really any way to make a home-bar-appropriate Boston shaker either - if using a Boston shaker is too difficult or fussy, the cobbler shaker already exists as an alternative, as the video showed. You could say the cobbler is the home bar alternative (and it admittedly looks more iconic than the Boston when displayed with your alcohol stash), but really, learning to use a Boston shaker only takes a minute, so such a differentiation is rather pointless.
@@jarydgallant1348 I wonder if he gets to read the instructions. It seems like he doesn't.
Epicurious is building up a really likeable team of people and formats. Love it.
Just a comment on the ISI sofa siphon, if you’re making multiple drinks at once then the soda siphon is better as you don’t have to open multiple bottles and reduce plastic waste. If you also make the water cold and shake the siphon like it saids then you carbonation will be much much better
I think I prefer my sodastream to buying so many isi cartridges though. Was expecting him to pull one of those out to compare.
I've broken a few glasses while bartending muddling with metal muddlers. It's not even the weight, it just feels like if you knock it at the angle it'll crack a glass. I've always preferred wooden muddlers.
Trying to watch these videos at night is like staring into the sun with the white background.
CO2, like anything else you want to add to water must be dissolved into the water. You got some dissolved when the water agitated during the charging process, but you must shake the bottle to get the pressurized CO2 to dissolve into the water and create a seltzer.
I've used iSi whipping siphons for carbonating drinks and it always required two cartridges. First charge with one charge, then let all the air out so all the air is replaced with CO2, then put in another charge and shake it a little bit. Then it's properly carbonated. Works great with homemade cola-syrup, water and rum for example as you get a lot more carbonation than you would get from adding regular rum to the cola. On a festival I was working we had kegs with the same principle but then with gin and tonic. The fully carbonated kegs tasted a lot better than adding gin to tonic by hand while maintaining the same mixing ratio. The carbonation really adds something to the mix.
Friendly reminder that he did not need to use real booze for this
he just did it because he wanted to
The reason Bond orders his drink shaken is so more ice melts and his drink weaker, while he is on the job.
That's never made much sense to me, the amount of alcohol is still the same its just more diluted. I guess it being a bigger drink means he can work on it for longer before getting another but dtill5
@@jorgetello3961 well normally the ice is used to cool it and then strained out
@@ezraclark7904 But during the shaking process it does get a bit diluted
ua-cam.com/video/GD5m5EcdTwA/v-deo.html
@@tandemAT no need to spam on a video. Bad taste.
Worked with one of those manual ice crushers for years. There's a nuanced art to using it that is not immediately obvious.
Momentum is important for crushing the ice. Allowing the ice to skirt the blades to allow yourself to pickup speed before the ice catches is a big part of using it quicker. It can stall out like you experienced but you can mitigate that with the power you get from experience. You need to put a decent weight onto the top to prevent the tipping when it stalls, but it's way easier to just use one as opposed to crushing ice with a muddler all the time.
To dislodge the lid from the base, a palm tap along the join normally does the trick. Failing that, a slight jab against the lever. It looks built to take that abuse. They probably designed it like this because most bartenders constructing cocktails would have that muscle memory from dislodging glassware from the metal mixing cups.
You need to shake the ice - palm taps on the base and give it a quick shake - before trying to pour it out. When you pour it out, you need to tap the base on the side to control the ice flow.
The flared base would get in the way when attempting to dislodge ice and would reduce it's durability in a professional scenario. The curve in the handle wouldn't make a difference; we normally applied down pressure with the palm and used the finger tips to return it back to tdc. That extra flare would just hurt fingers/palms and I'd probably end up cracking it off for comfort. In fairness, the rubber pads are a good idea, and the pour spout I can picture it kind-of working but it's redundant if you're allowing the ice to remain clumped when pouring it out. Shake it apart before tapping it out using the corner of the base; that's why they're rounded. The spout, if not covered, would allow ice to fall out when the unit wobbles during use for large batches (have had it happen to me with broken units that left the base with an opening up the top).
From a home users perspective your ideas definitely hold some merit, but they're counter-intuitive for the professionals, whom that item is designed for.
We also had a very similar stone muddler. Wasn't a huge fan and I would *never* have used it inside of glassware at work. Always in a metal mixing cup. Thumb/index over the rim of the metal cup creates a pilot hole to guide the muddler, then use your other hand to apply good power into the ingredients. You should never risk glassware in the prep area with all your open ingredients; one shatter and you're ruined. There's no way I'd use a tea towel from a bar to crush ice - they're never clean enough.
Nobody:
Dan in every video: Maybe they should add some shape
“Some were created while drinking” 🤣
“Lets oil em up”
“My aims a little off”
“could have more grip”
*The weird filthy side of my cerebrum started to work. Making me very hog over the sentences you have stated from this video*
😂 That's my new favourite phrase, "its 5 o'clock somewhere "
"It's up to you, and the glass." Your a better comedian than you'd think.
the mojito from muddler test #1 is killing me lmaooo he used Sandra Lee's two shots
I thought he was going to walk over to the fridge and press the crushed ice button 🥶
Is the fire extinguisher thingy like a SodaStream?
I think that the soda maker thing is like Sodastream. But I think Sodastream is more expensive than the gadget used.
The seltzer bottle is the predecessor to the sodastream! Old school cool
As a bartender I have the need to tell you I'm a bartender
Bartender here:
- i don’t know ANYONE who uses a square shaped strainer like that. In fact, the same brand actually makes the kind of design he’s referring to; i have several of the aforementioned model, and they’re great. The spring is there to hold back ice, and also give the user a degree of control over how fine or loose they want their strain to be; this is especially helpful for drinks with egg white.
- please, do not shake a martini. You over-dilute your cocktail, as well as change the texture from silky and smooth, to watery. You shake to aerate, you stir to retain the clarity of the spirits you’re using.
- that particular muddler is a wonderful product and even stands up to liquid nitrogen. If you hold it properly, you wouldn’t need a redesign. Also with mint you don’t want to muddle for as long as he did; you end up extracting chlorophyll along with mint oils. Just gently press the mint and it will express the oils.
- don’t use an ice crushing machine. Use a Lewis bag and a hammer. It’s cheaper, way easier, and cathartic.
- just buy soda water. Or make sure your water is cold as hell before you carbonate it.
Thank you. Agree with alm of that.
You just saved me some time, i dont have to write all this 😀
It's another lockdown in my country please dan is the only being that will help me through it please keep em going
"no mr. Bond I expect you to die" 🤣🤣🤣
“Vodker”
Are we going to just ignore Mr.Dan van the Gadget tester perfect James bond villain impression ?
My dad has one of these ice crushers still from the 80s but it has a rubber suction cup on the bottom which you can tighten and release with a little lever. Excellent grip on a smooth countertop and works perfectly.
Dan said that it was 5 o'clock some where and he was right
Looks like he knows his way around a bar!
As a bartender I can tell that he doesn't know shiet.
@@j.columbus9240 agreed, there were a few things that really bummed me out
That shaking is way too weak. And a Martini should never be shaken ;)
@@benniaa isn't that more of a preference thing?
@@TheSparker96 Yes, it ultimately is. If a guest wants their martini shaken I will shake it for them. It is however breaking one the fundamental rules of when to shake and when to stir. If the drink only contains alcohol it should be stirred, but if you have ingredients that have to be forced in order to mix (citrus etc.) you shake.
I love this guy so much I subscribed just for him ❤️
Haha same
Me too
Me too
this man is a treasure, I love him
I'm not a bartender, but my alcoholic dad had me make his drinks so I learned to make a few. You can actually strain with a Boston Shaker without needing to use a strainer, just crack the two cups and use the gap to filter out large chunks. Better if you prefer some tiny bits of crushed ice in the drink (which my dad absolutely did). It's actually faster than the "all-in-one" because the ice travels further, having the length of 2 cups rather than just 1, so it gets colder faster. The one we had had a rubber seal around the lip of the smaller cup too which made it a breeze. Easily the best shaker I have used.
I don't drink but you make drinking from the isi siphon look so fun! Where's the party at?!
Good to see this back.. luv this
Lovely E. I like Dan. He tries to prove his point and gives alternatives
Dan is a national treasure!
14:34 omg no wonder its so familiar, its Squidward's soda dispenser from the Naughty Nautical Neighbors episode. As a kid, I always wondered how THAT is considered soda.
Lol
I still wonder that to this day, I hate sparkling water lol
Mom! Dan the Gadget man is drinking n redesigning stuff in the kitchen again...
*keeps watching*
I love how every time something just messes up he goes "wOah!" XD
The isi seltzer is a great product. Tips for better carbonation.
Keep everything as cold as possible from the water to the bottle itself.
Shake vigorously for 10-20 seconds after charging to help dissolve the CO2
Let it sit for a few minutes before using.
Also, it’s designed so that you can adjust how much carbonation by using additional charges. I like to use 2.
My favourite thing to do is carbonate the whole cocktail. Juice, alcohol, etc...
We all love Dan. Anyone who dares disagree can be a solid 1 on the buy rating.
He was objectively wrong on the seltzer bottle though.
I feel like these would be really good segmented within the video, like how some videos on youtube are? I can't recall the actual name of it. But since they're long it gives it better rewatch ability/picking up where you left off
I absolutely love this guy
My grandmother had, probably an original, ice crusher like that. It was mounted on the wall of her kitchen and I loved it. It probably didn't work all that well, but, hey! I was 5.
I didn't think of smashing ice in a folded towel. I wonder if it works for candy canes too!
It should, but watch out, because sugared things are gonna stick to your towel. And because of sharp ends it might make holes. (I know from experience)
@@puetwa That's good to know, thanks for sharing your experience.
You would think with this many "left hand usability tests" he would already be good at using his left hand
He is so cute with his suit - like the uncle every kid deserves!
15:56 "It's got the Moe, Larry and Curly vibe to it"
Yes! I knew he reference the three stooges with the last item
“5 bad bar tending products walk into a bar”
Just an advice “ don’t drink and drive after this video”.
That ice crusher with the oiled lefty test, is like trying to pick up a gold bar
Sometimes YT's algorithm truly nails it! This channel is awesome, Dan, my honoured namesake! Not only do I get to chuckle at some of the, ehm, interesting inventions from across the pond, you also come with constructive criticism, with a balanced amount of sass. Keep up the good work, mate -- and, yes, you did indeed just score a new subscriber! 😎😉🙂
As a lefty, I appreciate the left-handed tests!
He sometimes gives me Bernie vibes for some reason
Even though they have different NJ/NY accents and ethnic backgrounds, could be that east coast swagger lol
Elmer Fudd for me.
THE SUIT! This is perfect
I have a manual ice crusher I use at my bar. It’s called a burlap bag and a wooden mallet.
And the way this dude uses a Boston shaker gives me ulcers.
0:44 What's "vodker"? is that like vodka but even more? Lol
It’s a specific NJ version of vodka.
I think horizontal lines would be the way too go but placing you thumb on the top would solve the problem I think
You guys noticed he said "she loves me. She loves me not." While plucking the leaves?? He knows the game!!!
The manual ice shaver reminded me of my 90s Snoopy Sno-Cone machine. Truly too difficult to use physically as a small child lol. Thanks Dad for all the manpower....shoulda just bought a food processor instead 🙃
When was the last time frank was here?
Have you seen his new channel? Proto Cooks! I watch it all the time
Ik but i kinda missed him on the channel
I miss the salt master...
Today! They did a 4 Levels chowder video, and he was the level 3 chef. So good to see him!
I missed this guy
The videos with you in them really are the best.
One major take away from this video, the badass muddler is really BADASS
I was waiting for him to smash a glass with it lol