BAR

Shot Glass Chess Set The thinking man's drinking game... Shot Glass Chess Set. It was a very good - if slightly messy - evening's work when the idea of the Shot Glass Chess Set popped into Firebox's spinning, thumping head. Perfectly combining two of the world’s oldest and greatest pastimes, shot glass chess is also a game that can be played by two people of vastly differing skill levels, thanks to an 'ability leveller' inherent in every match. Imagine forcing all 11 members of an opposing football team to wolf down a meat and potato pie every time they win a corner, or it being a requisite of promotion for the ladder-climber to immediately send chain emails of a dubious nature around the company with several board members included on the Cc list. A similar 'one step forward, two steps back' principle applies to those who think they’re winning a game of shot glass chess. The natural handicapping at work in every game means that the player who takes the most pieces drinks the most grog, and so – unless you're playing Marion out of Raiders Of The Lost Ark – that person will be under the influence quicker than their opponent. Thus, any kind of ability gap is swiftly bridged with a few games bolstered by a couple of bottles of something strong. That makes it the ideal game for fleecing cocky first-timers out of a few quid. After extensive research and development, we've discovered some very playable combinations of drink. We're very fond of red wine versus white wine and black Russians against white Russians, or for that authentic 60s feel, two garish alcopops. They turn everything a lovely shade of Technicolor. As for Absinthe versus Cuervo Gold tequila – that’s a combo best left to the grandmasters.

Pull-It Corkscrew What a corker! Green Blue Black Red. Tough on corks, tough on the causes of corks, the Pull-It Corkscrew is cherished and adored by everyone at Firebox. Although it looks suspiciously like something that could take your spleen out, the Pull-It is really rather useful if you want to open a bottle of wine. And boy does it help the medicine go down quickly – three seconds flat, if thousands of satisfied customers are to be believed. Playboy looks and laid-back neo-tech style belie the fact that it's a masterpiece of (very) civil engineering. We don't know how it works, but we know that it does, which is the important bit. It's been a long and arduous task testing it out but your brave and dedicated Firebox crew have been doing just that. Plonk it on top of an unassuming wine bottle and seconds later, you're in. No huffing and puffing, no embarrassing spills, and best of all, no broken teeth, because we’ve been thoughtful enough to include a free foil cutter. What could be better? So, arm yourself with a tasteful vintage (or failing that, something from the bargain basket), some appreciative company and off you go. With this little beauty, pulling is believing...

Key Bottle Opener The key to happiness Key Bottle Opener. "I'd rather have a frontal lobotomy instead of a bottle in front of me" as someone once said, or was it the other way round? Either way, they could've done worse than invest in one of these nifty little numbers. Straight from the fertile (i.e., twisted yet innovative) minds of design team Suck UK, this key-shaped bottle opener is the best example we've seen of a handy utility masquerading as... another handy utility. Made from hardened satin nickel steel (which means it's very hard indeed), the key-shaped bottle opener allows for much party-time fun. Watch bemused expressions form as you brandish what looks like a house key over a beer bottle. Watch those expressions drop even further when you stylishly remove the unsuspecting bottle top. Pour beer and sit back smugly, revelling in your elevated social status. Well, we can't guarantee the latter, but this product manages to combine use-value with entertainment value, which can't be bad. It's so key-like, it even arrives on a ring, complete with a bright red Suck UK nylon tag. Plus, it fits perfectly into any handbag or breast pocket. You can put it on your usual bunch of keys and be prepared for anything. Move over the Swiss Army Knife – the Key Bottle Opener cometh!

Shot Rocks Fill with water, freeze for a day and abracadabra - ice shot glasses Shot Rocks. Slugging back a drink from a glass made from solid ice is an event that needs to be experienced at least once. And, in a similar vein to what happens when you ingest those highly addictive crisps packed in tubes, once you’ve tried a Shot Rock, it won’t be long before you’re at it again. Simply add water - widely available from taps and bottles - to the Shot Rocks mould; put the mould in the freezer and wait. You’ll be left with four solid ice shot glasses. You can do more with Shot Rocks then merely filling them with a fat shot of spirits. Making coloured Shot Rocks is easy, as a splash of fruit juices and/or fizzy pop added to water in the moulds will give impressively garish results. Combine Shot Rocks with its spherical cousin the Shotfloat, and setting up and swigging perfect shooters is permanently assured. Only one question remains unanswered. Will alcohol freeze, and so allow you to make a solid ice glass that not only holds drink but also contains it? Eating a glass after draining it would add a welcome extra dimension to a solid ice session. For the answer, or at least a guide down the rocky road of below-freezing boozing, you must read the ongoing Great Shot Rocks Debate. Pour yourself a double and read on below...

Minicooler A fridge in miniature, for life's little treats Baby - Silver. The miniature fridge will always be high on the list of male fantasy must-haves, along with a professional beach volleyball player (lady) and a shiny red sports car. Always at arms length or less, from which cans of drink with a thin sheen of water droplets are begging to be plucked. Well, wake up and smell the, erm, chrome door handle, people. There are plenty of places that benefit from a Minicooler and its chilled contents. Imagine being able to call on cooled beverages and chocolate in the office, avoiding the drawing of straws to see who pops downstairs to the shops. Similarly, the constant presence of perfect-temperature refreshments is a plus in the bedroom, next to your favourite chair in front of the telly, or at the end of a really long extension lead as you kick back in the garden. Or, if you’re really rich, you can use it on your boat, helicopter or hovercraft. The silver finish goes with anything, really. Thanks to a provided cigarette lighter adapter, you can also use your Minicooler on road trips and picnics by plugging it into your dashboard. If that's not enough you can even use the Minicooler to perform the reverse - it can even warm your pies nicely to 65° C above room temperature if you're that way inclined. With enough space in the Classic Minicooler for the equivalent of 18 regular soft drinks cans, and up to 8 cans of the same beverage in the new Baby Minicooler, you and your closest associates will be kept refreshed and satiated in places where once you were hot and thirsty.

Fridge Magnet Bottle Opener Avoid shocking dental bills with the fridge magnet bottle opener. Fridge Magnet Bottle Opener. Dentistry’s come a long way in recent years. What would have passed for an A1 set of gnashers 20 years ago, though, no longer cuts the orthodontic mustard. Anyone with a mouthful of chipped, crooked pegs is now about as welcome in social circles as a knife-wielding badger at a stoat convention. With this in mind, Firebox takes great pleasure in introducing the fridge magnet bottle opener from sartorial movers and shakers, Suck UK. Guaranteed to keep those of us with the nifty talent for opening bottles with their teeth well away from that Government-sanctioned sadist, the dentist. Hewn from polished Stainless Steel, the fridge magnet bottle opener sticks fast to any metallic surface and provides year upon year of bottle cap-loosening expertise. Team it with one of our range of Fridgeplay games and you’ve got everything you need for an classic night in without ever having to leave the confines of the kitchen. The bottle opener’s talents don’t stop at merely opening bottles, of course. Looking for all the world like some sort of mirrored CCTV camera, it should stop midnight pantry raiders firmly in their tracks into the bargain.

Litecubes Phenomenally cool in every sense of the word. Litecubes. With the advent of garishly coloured alcopops, certain drinks now seem to lack a certain je ne sais quoi in the ‘Wow, look at that!’ department. But now, thanks to these funky little cubes of genius, even the dullest of drinks will look good enough to, er, drink. That’s because Litecubes are freezable blocks of non-toxic plastic that magically illuminate when gently tapped on a hard surface. Simply pop them in the freezer for a while, give them a tap and hey presto – a red, green, orange or blue light cube is ready to be dropped into the drink of your choice. Perfect for all occasions – just don’t try sucking them as a) they don’t dissolve b) they’re made of plastic and c) you may end up looking like The Godfather’s radioactive offspring. Litecubes are re-usable, easy to clean and last up to 12 hours. What’s more they really do keep your drinks feeling cold and looking cool. Plink, plink, bling bling.

ZapCap Tops off in seconds ZapCap. This is what gadgets are all about. Sure, you can open your beer with any old bottle opener but you certainly won't generate a crowd of onlookers all desperate for a go. Surprisingly this is what happened to us when we took the ZapCap to our local pub to conduct vital research. No more fuss getting the top off your bottle of beer - the ZapCap is a miracle bottle opener that not only removes the top but hangs on to it thanks to a handy magnetic interior. Simply place the ZapCap over the neck of the bottle, slam down the ZapCap with the other and lift off. The bottle top is removed with minimum effort, and held magnetically in the ZapCap for easy disposal. Incredibly simple to use, when when the operator has had one too many...

Bottle Lock Keep thirsty thieves at bay Bottle Lock. Although decency dictates that we should share and share alike, it’s often easier said then done. Especially when you live with a light-fingered dipsomaniac who can’t stop pilfering plonk every time your back’s turned. Thankfully, you can now put a stop to rosé robbery and Lambrusco larceny via the sleek and ingenious Bottle Lock. Like all of the greatest inventions, Bottle Lock is incredibly simple and possesses that elusive ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ factor in spades. Featuring a simple to set (but practically impossible to crack) three number combination, Bottle Lock is a robust, beautifully engineered drinking accessory. Guaranteed to infuriate would be booze bandits, Bottle Lock also acts as an effective stopper - once set, you simply twist the top part of the lock which then expands the rubber stopper to provide an airtight seal. This stylish addition to the drinks cabinet is guaranteed to keep all but the most desperate of drinkers at bay, and, at less than the cost of a decent bottle of vino, is destined to become a must-have item for alcohol aficionados everywhere. NB: Failure to remember the correct combination can result in temporary hyperventilation followed by an uncontrollable urge to sprint to the nearest off licence.

Hangover Pack Save it for the morning after Hangover Pack. This particular knick-knack was once only found in the pages of British comics, and was applied either to lump-ridden foreheads or to aching teeth (via the unlucky hero's cheek). Rescued from the obscurity of the panel strip and made flesh, the Hangover Pack is a welcome addition to the hazy world of post-booze care. Kept in a desk drawer or bedside table, this could easily displace two Nurofen or the mug of coffee as the intital morning instrument of soothing for a hangover-addled central nervous system. It acts like a miniature hot water bottle - but can be filled with hot, boiling or cold water, or even crushed ice, depending on what your brain is telling you to do. And what could be better, brownie-point wise, to ease the pain in the head of a lady with a headache? Unfortunately, the Hangover Pack doesn't offer total redemptiion from a night's drinking. It won't explain - then clean up - unsavoury trouser stains, nor will it remove the black stuff from under fingernails, but its hot-or-cold head comfort does provide respite from the toxins foolishly thrown down your gullet only a few hours before. And there is a second, totally-opposite use for the Hangover Pack. As it's watertight, you can fill it with drink, thus giving you instant and secret access to a shot of the hard stuff when ever it's needed. A device that can banish or bring on the effects of liquor; the dark and the light in one floppy red bottle-bag. Marvellous.

Shotfloats That's 'shot', by the way... Shotfloats. You've gathered an all-encompassing selection of liqueurs, spirits and rich alcoholic liquids with cream or crème in their name. A line of pristine shot glasses glistens afore them, hungry for the sweet-tasting potions that have been promised to them by an eager young thing pretending to be Tom Cruise in Cocktail. Unfortunately, the ensuing attempt at making a shooter results in a thick, messy glug of sickly grog unsuitable for even the hardiest boozehound. Yes, this all-too-common social situation needs never arise again. Enter Shotfloats, cousin to the Shot Rocks and helping hand for the amateur in his/her attempt to recreate the bartending feats of countless, thankless individuals who, Saturday night after Saturday night, pour out dozens of perfectly-formed B52s, Flatliners and other painful-sounding drinks. Instead of carefully pouring the beverage down the side of the glass, a Shotfloat allows you to pile the boozes directly on top of one another. The alcohol flows down the sides of the Shotfloat, you see, and then nestles gently on the layer beneath. Using the provided pourers (just like the ones they have in bars – brilliant!) it's almost impossible to bugger up your Bumble Bees with the introduction of a Shotfloat.

OPTIC The classic drinker's accessory OPTIC. This is the official, 25ml-dispensing OPTIC™, made by Gaskell & Chambers and used in many a public house across the UK. Easily fixed to any shelf, or any wall once you've drilled suitable holes for the provided screws, the spring-loaded mechanism will grip almost all regularly sized bottles of booze. The litre-and-a-half vats of kiwi fruit schnapps that go for 1200 pesetas in Spanish island airports may not fit, but most things will. The single greatest achievement of the OPTIC™ is to provide the correct amount of spirit for cocktails and mixed drinks. It's worth the wait of a few seconds to get accurate measures of your chosen tipple so that your drinks don't taste odd. Too much booze and it's easy to end up sipping on something that tastes as if it has been laced with nail varnish remover; too little and guests will wonder why you've added the alcohol to their glass using a pipette. The OPTIC™ guarantees no shoddy shot shizes. Brilliant at parties - drinks are readily accessible, you don't have to walk around being waiter and no one walks off with two-thirds full bottle for selfish solitary consumption – the OPTIC™ is also a little bit of lounge lizard luxury in an otherwise hectic life. Feet up after a hard day, a hearty dash of something on the rocks – and you don't even have to lift the bottle. Marvellous.

Starr Wall Mounted Bottle Opener A genuine classic Starr Wall Mounted Bottle Opener. There’s no need for drinking anecdotes or an off-kilter description of this particular product. In a totally straight laced and non-quirky way, the Starr Bottle opener removes the top from a bottle of beer. With a total lack of ‘wow factor’ a bottle is inserted into the opener at an angle, followed by a swift downward motion of the wrist, which lifts the top clean off the bottle. There you go – get one, screw it to a wall in your house somewhere with the provided screws, then open beers with it. Marvellous.

Aspirin Cufflinks For the morning after Aspirin Cufflinks. These high quality cufflinks from Simon Carter will see you right when you stumble into work after a heavy night. They unscrew to reveal a tiny compartment that neatly holds your recovery Aspirin. You've no longer got an excuse for missing the office parties.

Stainless Steel Hip Flask Anytime, anyplace, anywhere Stainless Steel Hip Flask. Growing up, it always seemed that hip flasks were only carried by roguish types on TV and in films, who would add a hearty nip to a steaming mug of something or other. Admittedly, the ability to make every coffee an Irish one is a pleasant thought. There are, however, other times and places where a hip flask is very welcome indeed. A swig of something warming while out walking, or when wet and shivering in the noble cause of watching live sport, is a very good idea. In fact, a hip flask was born to combat crappy British weather. There is no shame in showing off this hip flask. It is beautifully crafted from stainless steel, and has the gentle curve that lets it sit nicely in an inside or trouser pocket. The greatest feature of this hip flask – well, the only other feature apart from the alcohol-holding one – is that a hinged arm holds the lid once it has been unscrewed. So even though you may have lost a few of your faculties and a fair chunk of your dignity thanks to the ingestion of 200ml of spirits, one thing you can't lose is the lid.

Exacto Pourers Does exacto what it says on the tin Exacto Pourers. 2 pourers per pack It's all well and good knowing the constituent parts of a Mai Tai, but actually mixing the correct quantities together is much more difficult. Get the proportions all wrong and what should be a fine cocktail fit for any commerical bar ends up tasting like diet cherryade with a generous dash of meths. Enter, from a prominent position in the drinks cabinet, the Exacto Pourer. Fitted snugly to the neck of almost all common and big brand bottles of spirit, the Exacto Pourer dispenses a 25ml shot at every time of asking. Pouring. Exact. You can see what the marketeers were getting it when they named this thing. What you'll be getting is an ideal measure of booze with virtually no effort. That's as important for the humble gin and tonic as it is for the more complex drinks. The Exacto Pourer only comes up short with Baileys and similar cream liqueurs: they're too gloopy for its innards. And it won't fit onto the more esoteric bottle necks - think of those fiery fruit brews in oddly shaped bottles that made much more sense on the shelves of some foreign booze emporium than they do next to the Bombay Sapphire back in Blighty. Otherwise, this is an essential drinking accessory.

Jigger Measure Indispensable drinks dispenser Jigger Measure. Preparing a drink, however complicated, is a mixture of art and science. The art bit is easy. The magic is when seemingly unconnected liquids combine to make something that tastes and sounds much better than the parts used in the creation process. Hence neat vodka and humble orange juice combining to make a Screwdriver. Coke plus rum equals Cuba Libre. It still never fails to impress us. However, get your parts mixed up and it's a very different story. A screwed-up screwdriver tastes similar to Lilt with a dash of lighter fuel while it's easy to make something not dissimilar to fizzy petrol when the rum/cola equation goes awry. Lead crystal glass or plastic Star Wars Pepsi cup from Warner Village - the vessel is irrelevant, getting the measures right is imperative. Which is where the Jigger Measure comes in. Handily made so that 25 ml (at one end, and 50ml at the other end) of booze fits into it, it guarantees that you get exactly one or two UK measures of your chosen tipple. Grandad can't whinge about his 'special tea' being wrong and you'll be thanked for the best sex on the beach that anyone's ever had.

Ice Crusher Cocktail bar classic Ice Crusher. You've prepared the ice in advance. Remembering that part of the plan was easy. But can the pair of you seductively sip your finely blended beverages through blocks of ice large enough to sink a turn of the century passenger liner? In a word, no. Send frozen water through this cocktail classic and drinks instantly become more sophisticated. Sturdily and stylishly finished in chromed steel, it really is just a case of lobbing in a few cubes, turning the handle while you smile politely and then handing over a drink that wouldn't look out of place on the set of Casablanca. Keep the cube-making bags and trays out of sight and you're definitely onto a winner. As well as drinks that demand finely crushed ice, like a frozen Margarita, you can just use it to roughly break up ice whenever you normally use it. It's worth the extra two seconds of minimal effort because, our extensive scientific research has shown, it makes the drink colder much quicker. And that's a good thing.

Yard of Ale Glass A must for any wild party Yard of Ale Glass. Hand made from glass, the Yard of Ale is a must for any wild party. Holds approximately three and a half pints and is one yard in length.

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