Sip smart: the 9 best drinking gadgets for bartenders and alcohol lovers

Coravin Model Two (£249)

That cellar of vintage vino might one day be worth its weight in gold, but future returns won’t quench your present thirst for a Pinot Noir from ’93. Slake your hankerings with this handy clamp from Coravin.

Simply stick the Model Two atop your chosen bottle and its nifty needle will neatly pierce the cork, letting you pour out a portion without popping the top. Once you’ve had your fill, just remove the clamp and the cork will re-seal itself, leaving potential investors none the wiser.

Worried your vin rouge will go vin rogue once you’ve tapped the bung? Fear not: the Coravin keeps things fresh with a little dose of argon gas – so you can dip into your collection whenever the tipple tickles your fancy.

Brumate Hopsulator Trio (£25)

Lukewarm lager might be fine for the louts down the park, but when you’re quaffing craft beer then nothing but cool cans will do. Because Bittersweet Rhino just isn’t as refreshing at room temperature.

Keep your hops heat-free with this all-metal insulator: a handy jacket of stainless steel and copper, simply slot in your tinny, secure it with the gasket and enjoy chilled beer long after the ice bucket goes all watery.

Better yet, stick the bundled freezable insert beneath a 330ml can and you’ll have foamy refreshment that’s cooler than any mini fridge.

The Porthole Infuser ($120)

Sure, you could use an ordinary jug to infuse spirits with fruity flavours and all sorts of spices, before straining off your zingy punch to enjoy a unique and aromatic cocktail. But an ordinary jug wouldn’t look like a porthole. For that, you need this Kickstarter-funded infuser.

Submarine chic and just as watertight, fill the stylish disc with the ingredients and alcohol of your choice, then behold as it steeps your concoction in plain sight. When you’re ready to drink, simply roll it forward and the built-in strainer will see that you just get the juice. Who says good design isn’t intoxicating?

Zanmini Electric Wine Bottle Opener (£20)

You go in straight. You twist firmly but carefully. You start to pull. With a sickening split, the cork crumbles around the screw, your efforts at finesse rewarded with tiny pieces bobbing in the wine. Your in-laws avert their eyes in disgust as you attempt to dig out the remnants with a fork, your thin facade of refinement cut down by the humble bung.

If only you’d used this electric number instead. As pocketable as your average opener and less likely to cause embarrassment, it’s a two-button exercise in corkscrew simplicity. Just remember to charge it beforehand, or you’ll be just as red-faced and no closer to the wine.

The Sub Compact Edition (£99)

Work behind a bar and you’ll soon get bored of pulling pints for demanding punters. Install a domestic draught pump, on the other hand, and you’ll never tire of delivering fresh, foamy beverages to your grateful mates. Until they start badgering you for bar snacks.

Skip the nuts and keep the beers coming with this home handle from Heineken: smaller and sleeker than the standard Sub, this compact edition delivers chilled beer of your choosing whenever you pull the lever – and looks darn fine doing it.

The best bit? Changing the barrel doesn’t mean heading for the basement. Just flip the lid, drop in a 2-litre Torp keg and you’ll have pints on tap.

Qelviq Professional (€399)

Tepid tipple is the nightmare of every amateur sommelier, but shoving your Chardonnay in the snow won’t get you anywhere. See, every type of wine has an ideal serving temperature, determined by grape, region and a reclusive French oracle. Probably.

Get it wrong by a single Celsius point and your wino pals will laugh you right out of the vineyard, sending you and your six-degree Sauvignon packing like it’s supermarket plonk.

For a reliable solution to room-temperature Riesling, pop your bottle in Qelviq’s ice-free chiller. Find the right figure from the partner app’s library of 350,000 varieties, set the temperature and watch as it cools your wine in minutes – all without soaking the label.

Menu Beer Foamer (£14)

For beer-themed banter that’s guaranteed to get you in with the lads, try shaking up Dave’s lager before serving. When he cracks the can, it’ll be foam all over and laughs all round. What japes.

Alternatively, for a more flavoursome experience that won’t stain a friendship, pour a portion of Dave’s lager into this compact foamer. Designed to add draught-like head to any beer, simply push the button and it’ll froth up a treat in seconds, ready to top off a pint like it’s fresh from the barrel. Delicious, and a lot less messy.

ZOS Wine Preserver (£50)

Too much wine and you might find yourself in need of fresh air. Too much air, on the other hand, and you’ll find your wine is well past its best: crack open your favourite grape juice and you start a ticking clock of oxidation. Leave it a week and you’ve basically got vinegar.

Unless, that is, you drop one of these clever stoppers in the top. Fitted with a clay cartridge, they absorb all the oxygen in an open bottle, preventing the wine inside from going bad for up to eight weeks.

What’s more, each cartridge can service as many as 15 bottles and there’s a handy indicator to let you know when it’s finished. As most of us would be after that many.

Pico Still ($349)

Distilling your own spirits is a pretty risky business. Get it wrong and you’ve got chemicals that’ll give you more than just a headache – which is why you usually need a licence to do it.

Got the right paperwork? Bolt PicoBrew’s Still attachment onto one of its homebrew machines for small-batch spirits on your countertop. It’ll sift the dodgy stuff from the drinkable and keep all the temperatures under control, delivering low-volume liquor in a jiffy.

Haven’t got a licence? Ditch the moonshine and pair the clever coil with the Pico C – a brewing box that churns out craft beer at home from handy packets – to create aromatic hop oils that’ll add gallons of flavour to your DIY drink.