The Cocktail Shaker

Shake What Your Mama Gave You

The cocktail shaker is a great tool for mixing, not just alcoholic drinks, but for non-alcoholic drinks as well. Just place the liquid ingredients, herbs, fruit, flavors etc. into a shaker, add ice cubes, close the shaker and shake away!

Shaking is absolutely necessary when mixing juice, sugar, or egg white with your cocktail. Plus, shaking a cocktail is fun, so don't be shy! Give a good hoot and a holler! The melting ice and the friction help blend the spirit, juice, citrus and sugar into a smooth cocktail void of separation. It also creates a lovely froth when using egg whites.

Boston Cobbler Parisian Tin on Tin Speed

There are a few different cocktail shakers: the cobbler, the Boston shaker, Parisian shaker, speed shaker, and tin on tin. I am a fan of the tin on tin shaker. For most people, the all-in-one cobbler shaker will be great because they have the build in strainer, the cap can be used as a measuring tool, and they are inexpensive. Sometimes they are difficult to open.

The speed shaker is use more at clubs where quickness is key. Just a quick shake or two and then back in the glass.

The classic Boston shaker has a glass pint glass on one end and some people believe that it's nice for guests to see the ingredients go into the glass.

The Parisian shaker has a curvaceous metal top. To build your cocktails in a Parisian shaker, open the top lid, flip it over and set it back in the large tin to keep it upright.

The Tin on Tin shaker is like a mix between the classic Boston shaker and the Parisian shaker. In the end it's all personal preference. Whatever feels good to you is what you should use, but for all intents and purposes I will be referring to the Tin on Tin shaker on this site.

How to Use:

Add your drink ingredients into the small tin. Add ice into the other tin.To assemble your Boston shaker, you place the small tin at an angle and pour your drink ingredients into the tin of ice. You want the small side of one tin cuddled on the edge of the other. As you look straight down from the top, you see a thin crescent moon shape created by the tilt of the tins.

When you shake, don’t be timid. You can show off with different moves, up and down, left to right, round your head...whatever gets you in the rhythm. You finish shaking after 10-ish seconds or whenever you feel like it's diluted enough.

To release your shaker use the heel of your palm and firmly strike the top part of the bottom tin. You'll want to aim for either the top or bottom of the crescent moon shape mentioned above. Remember, shaking with ice cools your drink and cooling your drink cools the air inside your shaker, thus creating a vacuum seal. Striking your shaker at the right spot breaks the seal, releases the vacuum and the top tin should loosen. If it doesn't work, try again.

Always use your hands and don't get in the habit of banging it on the counter, this will dent your tins over time and they will lose their shape. Always rinse your tin with water after each cocktail and give them a proper clean at the end of your session.

The Beaker - Mixing Glass

The better half to the Boston Shaker

The Beaker/Mixing Glass is used for stirring drinks, usually strong spirit drinks without any juice or fruit. Think of the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Martini etc. The Beaker should be big enough to stir 2-3 cocktails (with ice) easily. This can help expedite the drink making process when hosting parties, it's even great for pre-batching your cocktails.

These mixing glasses are primarily made from glass, crystal, or metal. Some beakers have lines for measurement, some are cut or etched into designs, some are modern and sleek. Whichever you prefer is fine, as long as it gets the job done.

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How to Use:

Combine your ingredients into your cylindrical beaker. Always start with the least expensive ingredients first. If you make a mistake (like using Peychauds bitters, instead of Angostura bitters) and have to start over, it's less expensive to dump a teaspoon of bitters and sugar than it is for 2 -3 ounces of top shelf booze. Next add cubed ice and stir approximately 10 times clockwise, then about10 times anti-clockwise.

Using a slender long-handled bar spoon, slide the back of the spoon against the inside of the beaker. Get right between the mixing glass and the ice, and be sure the cavity of the spoon always points to the center of the glass when stirring.

When finished stirring, taste your drink for appropriate dilution by dipping your metal/reusable straw into the beaker. Cover the top of the straw to suction the liquid inside the straw and put the bottom of the straw into your mouth, then let go of your finger to release the suction. Stir again if you prefer more dilution, but if you stirred 20 times then it should be ready to go.

Grab your cocktail strainer and place it on top of the beaker to hold back the ice. Strain into your chilled cocktail glass.

Enjoy your creation.

Mad Vanilla Grapefruit

Grapefruit, Thyme, Vanilla

Here we are again with grapefruit juice, only this time we are pairing it with vanilla and thyme. The sweet essence of vanilla and the subtle earthiness from the thyme combined with the tartness of the grapefruit, is sure to intrigue. Be careful not to over power the drink with vanilla, especially since this recipe calls for vanilla extract. A couple of drops is all you need. I originally made this drink with 5ml of extract and the vanilla was too strong for my liking.

I've decided to make this recipe with vanilla extract because you can find it at almost every grocery store. You can also use fresh vanilla beans for a more natural flavor, but they can be expensive and hard to find. When using fresh vanilla beans, slice the bean in half lengthwise and spoon out the beans. The shell can also be used for flavoring.

This is a great afternoon drink to enjoy in the summertime while hanging out on the porch.

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Tools:

Grapefruit Juicer

Barspoon or eyedropper

Cocktail Shaker

Hawthorne Strainer

Coupe

Ingredients:

2 ½ oz Fresh Grapefruit Juice

1-3ml (drops) of Madagascar Vanilla Extract (a little goes a long way)

1 oz Simple Syrup

2 stems with leaves of Thyme, only use the leaves

2 oz filtered water

Process:

Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake. Strain into a coupe glass...or in a rocks glass with ice.

Garnish with a thyme stem.

Enjoy outside with the sun shining on your beautiful face!