Welcome to "A Little Bit Twisted - Cocktail Picks and Stirring Sticks"!  We are so excited you're here!  Have you ever thought about using your jewelry skills to make utilitarian objects?  It's like jewelry - for your home!  In this fun course, we'll teach you simple ways to put your metalsmithing skills to use by making cocktail picks and stirring sticks.  We'll use the hydraulic press and impression dies to create decorative elements.  We'll cover twisting and forging to make the stems and sticks, and we'll show you how to finish your pieces as well.   

In this section, we'll cover the basics that will apply to both projects (cocktail picks and stirring sticks) in this course.  The focus of this class (when it comes to impression dies), will be pressing solid.  This means you are going to press a solid piece of metal into an impression die, and get a solid impression in silver from your die.  While you can press sheet metal rather than solid pieces, that will not be the focus of this course.  You'll learn to recycle silver scrap metal into small ingots which can then be pressed into impression dies.  You'll also learn how to remove excess metal from those pressings through sawing, filing, and sanding.  

In this section, you'll learn to make decorative silver cocktail picks using wire and solid elements made from impression dies. We'll cover decorative wire twisting for the shaft, forging for a more skewer-like shaft, fork alternatives, as well as soldering decorative elements to whatever shaft style you choose to make.  We'll also cover cleanup and finishing techniques.  

In this section, you'll learn how to make various types of stirring sticks and bar spoons.  

Bar spoons are used to make cocktails. Generally, they are much longer than a typical spoon, ranging from about 7"-12″ long (but can even be up to 18" long), and very often have a spiraled handle. The spoon bowl itself is typically relatively small and not meant to hold significant amounts of liquid. 

While the origins of bar spoons are not definitively known, it is thought that they possibly originated from the sucket spoon.  A sucket spoon was originally named after an English dessert it was commonly used for and had a spoon on one end and a fork on the other, often with a spiraled shaft as well.  Another spoon attributed as a predecessor to the modern bar spoon also hales from bygone days and is called the Mazagran Spoon, which was a French apothecary spoon used for measuring and breaking up medicines into powders that could be dissolved into liquids.  

In modern times, most bar spoons no longer have forks or muddlers on the end, instead favoring a more minimalist spoon shape on a single end.  

Most commonly, bar spoons are used for stirring stirred cocktails.  Sometimes, however, bar spoons are used for measuring more powerfully flavored liqueurs.  If used for measuring, traditionally, bar spoons should be calibrated to 2.5ml, which is roughly 0.035 of an ounce (which is somewhere between a dash and 1/4 oz).

While you may think the traditionally spiraled handle is purely decorative, there are some practical purposes as well.  Twisting the shaft work hardens the metal, making it stronger and able to withstand daily usage and the accompanying wear and tear.  It also is used when mixing layered cocktails, as liquids can be poured down the handle, allowing the liquid to land on top of the drink, rather than sinking to the bottom.  

When making a bar spoon, it is important to note that heavier spoons are actually easier to stir, and quieter as well.  

Just in case you'd like to try out your new cocktail picks, stirring sticks, or bar spoons with a new cocktail, this section includes a handful of favorite beverage recipes from some of the PotterUSA employees.  Feel free to snap a picture of your own favorite beverage with your newly made utensils and share it in our Facebook group along with your recipe, we would LOVE to see it!

In this section you'll find various extra resources that may be helpful to you as you go through this course.