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Most cocktail shakers in the 1930s were made out of metal. They came in a variety of sleek art deco designs. Pictured is the skyscraper design.
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Handles for beer taps started out as small, round knobs that had the name of the beer or brewery on them.
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Simple tools made of metal. Most basic design. Came in hand held and wall mounted versions. The Starr corporation started manufacturing wall mounted bottle openers.
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This bar spoon has a spoon on one end and a small fork on the other. It became popular in America in the mid-late 19th century along with the popularity of cocktails with fruit at the bottom and stuck around. This is no longer the most popular bar spoon, but it is still used today.
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Muddlers were used to crush up ice and other cocktail ingredients at the bottom of the glass. They're bluntly shaped instruments and were made out of various materials including wood, metal, and glass.
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This spoon became popular in bars in the mid 19th century. It is no longer really called by this title, but still a staple bar tool today. Now it goes by the simple name of the Bar Spoon. This particular spoon has a spoon on one side and a muddler, or sometimes a mallet for crushing ice, on the other.
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Bar spoons have remained fairly consistent over the years. They have been made primarily of metal, are long, and come in a few different styles. Some have a twisted center, some have muddlers on one end, some have a fork on one end for eating the fruit at the bottom of cocktails.
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At the beginning of the 1940s shakers were often still made of metal. Pictured here is an advertisement for a few different styles of cocktail shakers with handles and spouts. These would have been more for at home use.
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In the 1940s, the shapes began to change and vary between brands. They remained fairly simple.
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Like most other tools, these originally all metal tools were made more out of other materials like wood during the war. Wall mounts became more popular and thus the 1940's saw a 73% drop in tendonitis in bar tenders.
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Of course the 1940s saw a decrease in the use of metal in this tool as well as many of the others due to war efforts, although not all muddlers were made entirely without it (pictured muddler is part metal). Muddlers were made a bit more ornate in the 1940s.
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During the latter half of the 1940s, glass shakers took the place of metal ones while most of the United States metal supply went towards war efforts.
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Even more variety of shapes and sizes. They remained on the smaller side compared to todays standards and were wider than they were tall. Most were still made primarily of wood, however more materials like acrylic were used as well.
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The "bar blade" (flat bottle opener design) became very popular in the 1950s. Advertising took advantage of all different styles of bottle openers.
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In the 1950s we see the integration of the muddler with other tools. Pictured is a muddler with a bottle opener on one end. Again, they came in a variety of materials.
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Cocktail shakers dipped in popularity in the 1950s but came back in the 1960s. Still often made of glass.
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Taller tap handles, more variety of materials including more use of metal.
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Another example of an elongated tap handle from the 1960s.
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The 1960's brought on the funky and fancy designs.
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The trend of tap handles becoming taller continued. Since it was a good form of advertising, the bigger the better
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The 1970's took the old tool and made it fun with some funky designs including characters. Form took the forefront to function.
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Plastic muddler/swizzle sticks became popular. Colored glass was also a big hit.
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1980s cocktail shakers returned to metal. The designs from the 1930s generally remained the most popular.
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Most commonly made of acrylic. Didn't get taller in this decade.
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Not much changed, continued on the path of funky shapes
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Once again tap handles got bigger and longer to form what is known as the "shotgun" style.
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More fun shapes and characters like Mickey Mouse
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Stainless steel became a very popular material for muddlers. Fashioned with bumped at the bottom like some of the older glass ones but better designed for crushing.
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Sleek metal designs continued, the use of stainless steel increased. Pictured is a shaker set with accessories.
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The shotgun style remained. Tap Handles can be found made of all different materials, shapes, sizes, and colors.
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In the 2000s the stainless steel muddlers started being made with both stainless steel and plastic. The way the plastic is used varies, with some having a plastic handle and others using plastic at the bottom. Both metal and plastic bottoms still usually have ridges.
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The 2000s saw mostly more of the same styles of bottle openers, with the main exception being the "Be Open" bottle opener invented in Japan in 2001 and sold in America shortly after.
