by popular demand (@anintelligentoctopus) my cocktail shaker collection and a general barware tour. i drank a lot more before i went on my current cocktail (lol) of medications and i really love making a fussy little drink. unfortunately all my friends are basic bitches who love vodka with a mixer or a jack and coke. so very little of this sees any real use. anyway! my biggest thrifting weakness is Kitchen Stuff, and i really really love midcentury "here's a whole bunch of drink recipes on the side for easy reference!" shakers. a very charming and utilitarian feature, and i love seeing the normal cocktail normal cocktail normal cocktail and then sometimes something utterly strange on the side of one of these bad boys.
the two on the left, the boston shaker and (not pictured but separately estate saled hawthorne strainer) and the dishwasher-damaged (not by me!!!) aughts cobbler shaker on the left are the ones i actually put out at parties bc they are 1) easy to use and 2) actually food safe. this is not to fearmonger about lead in vintage glassware (a pet dead horse by one specific mommy blogger) but that a lot of the metal tops and innards of older shakers are corroded beyond what i would be comfortable using.
anyway. from left, after the daily drivers:
rooster-themed shaker with horrendously corroded top
soda. pump? dispenser? this would hold sparkling water or club soda for (usually) whiskey sodas. they pop up a lot in film noir if you're more focused on office decor and office plants than the plot
shaker (thrifted without top) with various toasts in various languages
deco penguin shaker, my pride and joy, no good way to clean this and very roughly finished and also kind of corroded inside so she is display only forever
a martini pitcher etched with OURS which made me tear up in the consignment shop (i had started two different hormones earlier that week and was deranged at the time [i am not stealth announcing a gender transition they are to control other maladies])
not convinced this oranges and frost glass is a cocktail shaker (it has two small juice glasses i have lost track of) but it does have oz markings down the side
they're all jammed in one cabinet with most of my barware (i tend to use pint and collins glasses as water glasses so they just live with the regular dishes). i am hoping the man who drank the last of my whiskey brings me more whiskey the next time i invite him to my house bc i do Not want to cough up for a good whiskey and he makes WAY more money than i do lol. and of course the vodka and campari and vermouth and syrups and cherries and whatnot live in the fridge. there's probably some mead in there too.
it is really difficult to take good photos of glassware in my kitchen without this being one million photos lol. if anyone would like a closeup on something let me know! something i love to do is acquire lone individual pint, whiskey, and collins glasses. almost got a nyc worlds fair collins glass today at goodwill but it was Very Orange. the vast majority of these are thrifted or gifted bc i love to drop a fucking glass and shatter it. also there is literally infinite glassware in the thrift and they are constantly desperately trying to get ride of it. i do not own margarita glasses bc i am not a tequila girl.
beautiful crystal martini glasses (set of four, thrifted for $3 each in a goodwill that is now a 24/7 pickleball place)
i think these are parfait cups but they have my initial. so they hold alcohol instead. two of them!
MLM initialed...i don't actually know what this one is. it's not quite a snifter, it's not quite a nick & nora, some sort of goblet thing for one specific drink made for eighteen months in one bar maybe. i have two of them whatever they are
beautiful crystal wine glasses from an old roommate who left them when she moved out. i tried to give them back to her twice but it never quite happened so all five are mine now
cognitive surplus night sky wine glasses. these two want to be just a little bit greasy and grimy all the fucking time. i got these on clearance bc they switched manufacturers and don't offer the exact same shape
pressed glass to look like cut crystal coupe (two)
behind and to the side are representatives of the pint and collins glasses.
nautical signal flags and their meanings rocks glass (i actually have two of these!)
cognitive surplus voyager 1 whiskey glass (this shows water stains like no other glass i own. not sure what's up with their fine glass, the three collins glasses i have from them are perfectly normal)
K etched old fashioned glass (two of these, love to have milk and cookies with them and then toss them in the dishwasher bc they're etched i can't really fuck them up in the dishwasher)
B etched whiskey glass (this one did get a little fucked up in the dishwasher bc it was nicer glass than i thought it was. oh well)
beautiful beautiful genuine cut crystal whiskey glasses from a family friend. four of them. shipped to me at great expense. these are the only glasses i own that i am genuinely scared to use.
we might as well look at some odds and ends.
incredibly charming hiball glass with places to mark someone's name and preferred hiball mix in grease pencil. there were four of these at the thrift but the other three were horribly dishwasher damaged so i only took the one home.
this might have been part of an ice bucket? it holds extra masks on my entry table
another little hiball glass with space to mark someone's preferred mix
and fan favorite the jupiter (what was sold to me as bakelite but idk) drink dispenser. the innards are SO nasty and corroded. i would have to replace the entire innards or buy a second drink dispenser and carefully insert it in. i would also be very nervous about people actually using it due to the fragility of this ancient plastic sphere
anyway yeah i would love to have all this in a china cabinet on display bc i do like looking at it! and it would save me from putting a towel down on my stovetop and setting it all out every time people come over lol. unfortunately the space i have available is about 32" wide and i will probably be moving in the next year and a half bc my landlord will be selling this apartment, so i am reluctant to buy anything super custom. people are constantly trying to get rid of china cabinets and hutches for basically nothing so i am not super worried about 1) finding one at all and 2) finding a really cool one once i move into a slightly better configured for hosting apartment.
other stuff i would love:
like two more coupes. those avon red pressed glass vampire goblets. champagne flutes for When It Happens. copper mugs. if i find extremely good and not racist margarita glasses i would consider becoming a tequila girl.
