The Spirit World

Channel knives are used for removing long slices of zest from citrus fruits. These slices of zest are then used as garnish for many types of cocktails.

I had been looking for a good channel knife to replace the subpar version that I had. Mine was okay but the cutting edge was a bit too shallow and you really needed to apply pressure to be able to get a nice long piece of zest to form the perfect curl. I decided to do a bit of research before purshasing a new tool and started looking at the tools used by bartenders and asking them to show me the tools they liked.

What I found is that each bartender has their own favorite. There didn’t really seem to be consistency or a trend in their preferencs so I just started looking at what was available in shops near me. After a couple of false starts I found the perfect tool! Not only does it have a deep enough channel to make great curls, it comes in nice bright colors!

I found the Zyliss Channel Knife at Crate and Barrel, although I’m sure it’s available other places, too. The large handle fits perfectly in your palm, the knife can be used by either right or left-handed people, and there are also zesting blades to cut little skinny garnishes. Somes times, for the fun of it, I use those in place of a proper curl - they kind of look like confetti streamers in your glass!