Shaken, and also stirred

• Published date: 19 December 2020
• Author: Ali Dunworth
• Date: 19 December 2020

But these days, thanks in part to 2020 of course, we are drinking, shaking and stirring cocktails at home like never before with many of us swapping the drinks press for dainty drinks carts, if Instagram and Pinterest are anything to go by.

Keelin Counihan, a solicitor who has been working from home since March, tells me she has loved embracing cocktails this year having previously only ever mixed a gin and tonic at home. "It's a nice way to mark the end of the working week in the house when there's nowhere to go." She started off buying cocktails from local businesses but then decided to start making her own creations from scratch. "I've purchased a slick cocktail shaker but I'm not sure it's necessary. A jam jar also works pretty well. Other than that you just need loads of ice and some decent glassware for the inevitable photos."

The jam jar Counihan started out with came from one of the earliest at-home cocktail kits I'd seen, the Quarantini Box, brainchild of Catch Events, a company that usually specialised in catering some of the most glitzy parties around Dublin. Back in March they launched their Quarantini Box as a simple idea to cheer up their friends, says co-owner Federico Riezzo.

"It's gloom enough as it is - we thought, 'Let's do something to cheer them up' and it snowballed from there." Now they offer a weekly cocktail box delivered to your door containing the ingredients for four cocktails and a shaker jar and glasses should you need them. So there's no need for any specialist equipment? "Of course, if you have the equipment certain things are easier but what's more important is the quality of the produce and how you make the drink."

And the quality of the ingredients seems to be an important factor for many of the cocktail-at-home businesses popping up. Chef and publican Seáneen Sullivan, who runs L Mulligan Grocer in Stoneybatter, Dublin 7, started boxing up cocktail bundles earlier this year in a bid to keep her business and brand alive.

She was determined to stay true to their sourcing and sustainable practices, making sure to change up their offerings often to showcase as many local suppliers as...