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.