The Coolest Wine And Cocktail Products We Saw At TIHS 2024

The Inspired Home Show 2024 in Chicago had no shortage of interesting and unique wine and cocktail-related products. Tasting Table had a front row seat this year's event, and were certainly blown away by some of the innovations on display. Quality alcohol-related accessories can bring the taste of your favorite wine or cocktail bar to wherever you are — and whether you're a beginner home bartenders or a certified sommeliers, there was a range of items on display that would make a great addition to any home bar setup, and we think they should be on your radar. 

Certain touches can elevate your drink from simple to superb, like infusing your old-fashioned with a hint of smokiness or serving a perfectly aromatic glass of wine, and discovering the fine details of serving alcohol can become a fun (and delicious) new hobby. While you don't need fancy things to enjoy yummy beverages, they can certainly make the process more interesting. So we've rounded up the latest and greatest products at TIHS 2024 that will help take your wine and cocktails to the next level, while still being user-friendly.

An underrated factor of a good cocktail is the aromatic notes, though it's often one of your first impressions of a drink. And nothing can help you amp up the aromatic essence of your drinks than adding a smoky dimension. 

The Cocktail Smoker from EvriHolder allows users to easily add a smoky touch to any cocktail. All you have to do is place the smoking puck on top of your beverage of choice and add wood chips to the top part. You then light the chips with a handheld torch, seal with the lid, and let your drink infuse for at least two minutes. The straightforwardness process makes it a fun addition to experiment with for a range of different cocktails — from mint juleps to manhattans, and so much more. 

You may be familiar with the practice of swirling your wine glasses before taking that first sip. There's a practical reason for this. The motion unlocks the hidden aromatics of wine through aeration and allows drinkers to see the wine's true color. 

Vacu Vin's Swirling Carafe achieves this for a whole bottle of wine at once, so you've got a perfect glass of wine right from the first pour. After you empty your bottle into the glass carafe, place the carafe in the cork base and gently twirl it. You can then watch as your wine swishes around the glass container, leaving you with a wonderfully aromatic drink that's tastefully displayed. If you enjoy hosting wine night, this product is functional for showing off your bottles and giving them a better taste.

Sake is one of the alcohols that's commonly served warm to make it more palatable for those less familiar with it. However premium, high-quality sake should be served chilled to get the best flavor profile. 

The Cold Sake Tumblr from Peacock aims to elevate your sake-drinking experience for those finer bottles. The metal cup keeps your pre-chilled sake cold, and the wooden base it rests in is called a masu cup, which is a traditional part of sake drinking in Japan, and is said to help enhance the natural flavors even more. Sake is used in Japan for drinking and cooking, and if you've never tried it before, this tumbler can be an easy gateway into sake culture.

One of the biggest conundrums from wine lovers at home everywhere is how best to save a bottle of wine once it's opened. Vacu Vin answers this question with its Wine Saver Loop. This device functions similarly to a traditional wine stopper but with the addition of vacuum technology. 

No more worrying about if your wine has gone bad after just a day. It pumps out excess air from your bottles, creating an airtight seal that staves off oxidation and preserves the flavor and freshness for much longer. Plus, you can buy multiple stopper pieces to go with the device itself and save more than one bottle of wine at a time. This is great if you're a casual wine enjoyer, or if you've ever wanted to try your hand at curating an at-home wine tasting night.