Shaker & Spoon is a monthly subscription box that sends you everything you need (except the alcohol) to create bar-worthy cocktails at home.
Each box focuses on a particular spirit and includes step-by-step original recipes and specialty ingredients.
You can skip boxes at any time, so there’s no need to worry if you don’t like a particular spirit. If you don’t like gin, for example, you can skip boxes that feature it.
Shaker & Spoon also strives to make all of their boxes naturally vegan. If a box is not vegan, it is their policy to explicitly mention it when the box is announced.
This box was sent to me at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
Subscription Box: Shaker & Spoon
Cost: $40 per month or $110 for 3 months
The Products: All of the ingredients (other than the alcohol) to make 12 cocktails from 3 different recipes.
Ships to: US
Check out all of our Shaker & Spoon reviews! Looking for other boozy boxes? Check out the Drink Subscription Box Directory!
Each Shaker & Spoon box is created to showcase a different type of liquor. This is the “Winter Bourbon Box.”
Cocktail #1- Inca Berry Sour
Ingredients: demerara syrup, inca berries, bourbon, lemon juice, and Angostura bitters
The first recipe featured this month updates a classic whisky sour with the addition of inca berries, a sweet and citrusy fruit grown at high altitudes in the Andes. I received this box right before heading out of town for the holidays, so, sadly, I wasn’t able to utilize the inca berries within the timeframe recommended by Shaker & Spoon. I still wanted to try out the cocktail, though, so I made the recipe with a slight substitution. Instead of inca berries, I used cherries. I’m a fan of sours, and this one was tasty.
Note: the photos of the drinks in this month’s box are taken from the Shaker & Spoon website. I made my cocktails one evening, and the lighting just wouldn’t cooperate. Sadly, my photos turned out a little dark and grainy, so I thought I’d share Shaker & Spoon’s beautiful snaps instead. While their pictures are much better than mine, I can attest that our cocktails looked pretty much the same.
Cocktail #2- Fire ’n Your Belly
Ingredients: bourbon, kukicha twig syrup, hellfire tincture, celery bitters, and an orange zest spiral
In addition to the ingredients needed to make this month’s cocktails, Shaker & Spoon included a citrus twist peeler in this box. I love receiving kitchen and bar tools in subscription boxes, so I’m very pleased by the addition. For the Fire ’n Your Belly cocktail, Shaker & Spoon kicked up a traditional Old Fashioned with the addition of spicy hellfire tincture, celery bitters, and kukicha twig syrup, a concoction made from the twigs and stems of the tea plant. I like the spicy and sweet notes in this cocktail. I think it’s a really fun update on a classic, and I love the incorporation of unusual syrups and tinctures!
Cocktail #3- Oolong Toddy
Ingredients: oolong tea, orange wheel, demerara sugar, bourbon, cardamom bitters, orange-ginger splice syrup, and a star anise pod
I love tea, so I couldn’t wait to try this oolong-based version of a Hot Toddy! The flavors of orange and anise meld beautifully with the bourbon and oolong, and the presentation suggestion is great. This is a perfect winter cocktail, and I definitely plan to make it again soon.
This month, I was excited to discovered that Shaker & Spoon posts instructional videos to assist subscribers with the mixing of their cocktails. I think this is such a helpful idea, and it really does help to de-mystify some of the techniques they use. If you’d like to check them out, they’re all available here.
Verdict: I really enjoy trying new experimental cocktails and mixing up drinks at home, so this box was a lot of fun for me. The Fire n’ Your Belly was really unusual (in a good way!), and I loved the Oolong Toddy. This is my second box from Shaker & Spoon, and I’ve been thrilled to see both boxes packed with some great recipes and truly unique ingredients. Value-wise, I think it’s important to point out that this box is all about curation. The actual cost of the ingredients is likely fairly low, but the creative recipes and inventive syrup flavors help turn this box into something special.
What do you think of Shaker & Spoon? Are you a fan of experimental cocktails?
Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.