Cocktail Spoon Zefiro Swizzle 30cm, Satin Stainless Steel

For bartenders who want a spoon that stands out without colour. A satin finish sits between polished steel, which reflects everything and shows fingerprints, and coloured plating, which needs hand washing. There is no coating to protect here, and the surface stays discreet on the bar top.

A simple spiral is a wire wound around the shaft. A twisted handle has several grooves running in parallel, so the fingers find more points of grip. In practice the spoon turns more smoothly and stays under control when the hand is wet with condensation, which behind the bar is most of the time. That grip is what the Zefiro Swizzle is built around, and why it costs more than a basic spoon.

• Length: 30cm
• Material: stainless steel
• Finish: matt satin
• Handle: twisted
• Opposite end: star

Thirty centimetres: which vessels it suits

Low mixing glasses, tumblers and highballs built in the glass. In a 28oz tin or a deep mixing glass the length leaves little margin and the hand ends up close to the liquid: bartenders who work in those vessels choose a 40cm or 45cm spoon. The rule does not change: choose the length on the tallest vessel on your station.

The satin finish, and how it ages

It is a surface treatment, not a plating: it does not flake or wear through, it only takes fine scratches, and those show far less on satin than on polished steel because the surface is already textured. After two years a satin tool looks used rather than worn, and the Zefiro Swizzle can be washed without the care that coloured spoons ask for.

How to stir with it

The shaft turns between thumb and forefinger while the bowl rests against the wall of the glass. The spoon moves, the arm does not, and the ice turns as a block without knocking or chipping. Twenty to thirty turns are enough, and the reference is not the clock but the frost forming on the outside of the glass.

What a swizzle is, and where the name comes from

The original swizzle is a stick cut from a branch of Quararibea turbinata, a Caribbean tree whose twigs end in a ring of short prongs. It is spun between the palms inside the glass and churns crushed ice rather than stirring it, which is where swizzle drinks take their name. The Zefiro Swizzle is not that stick: it is a steel spoon that borrows the idea of the spinning motion.

FAQ

How long is the Zefiro Swizzle? 30cm, the length for low mixing glasses and for building in the glass.

What finish does it have? Matt satin: it does not reflect or show fingerprints the way polished steel does.

Is it a spoon or a wooden swizzle stick? It is a stainless steel mixing spoon, with a star at the end.

Does the twisted handle make a difference? It gives more points of grip and a smoother turn with wet hands.

Does the finish need special care? No. It is worked into the steel, not applied on top, so there is no plating to protect.

Dispatched from Rome, Italy. To compare models, see the bar spoon guide.