We test a cocktail maker which is perfect for mixing up a festive tipple

Gareth Butterfield puts the Salter Mixologist Glass Jug Blender through its paces

My wife is a big fan of cocktails. From Mojitos to Cosmos, they've always been a bit of a weekend indulgence for her. But buying over the bar is getting pricey, so the option of whipping her up a glass in the comfort of my own kitchen was very appealing.

Salter has launched a new machine that claims to do just that. It's called the Mixologist, and it looks a lot like a juice blender. Because that's basically what it is.

But because it has a focus on mixing up cold cocktails, it takes things a stage further. It can crush ice and fruit at the same time as perfecting your blend of drinks, which makes it perfect for an evening tipple.

It gets even better than that, too. It comes with a cocktail shaker, strainer and jigger and these allow you to finish off your mix, or add in other mixes you've shaken up by hand.

The blender itself works brilliantly. It has a 1.5-litre capacity, and you need to follow the instructions carefully, to ensure you're chopping fruit up to the right sizes, and keeping the ice-to-liquid ratio correct. But it's very powerful and mixes the ingredients up well.

In practice, I found it was great at providing a base for longer drinks, while the shaker and is strainer was useful for finishing off more refined short drinks.

But it takes away some of the heavy lifting with certain cocktails, and ensures a nice, even mix. And this leaves you free to experiment.

During one evening we made some weird and wonderful concoctions, some of which worked better than others, but that's all the fun of it.

Cocktail making is a bit of an art form, and it's not one either my wife or I would claim to have mastered - but the Mixologist makes it easy to learn. And its £65 price tag means it's also a cheap device to have in your home bar.

We certainly found there are some cocktail techniques that are best left to the professionals, but the Mixologist really does give you a helping hand. And we loved the results.