Bar technique
How to shake a cocktail
Shaking chills a drink, waters it down to the right strength and beats air into it, all in about ten seconds. Use it for anything with citrus, juice, syrup, cream or egg, which need force to come together.
A drink made only of spirits, vermouth and bitters is usually stirred instead. Shaking one turns it cloudy and full of tiny bubbles.
How to do it
- 1Pour into the small tin, cheapest ingredients first: juice, then syrup, then spirit. A mistake then costs you lemon, not gin.
- 2Fill the large tin about two thirds with cold, hard ice.
- 3Tip the small tin in at an angle and tap it once to seal. The tins should hold together when you lift by the top one.
- 4Shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds, so the ice travels the full length of the tins. The outside should frost over.
- 5Break the seal by striking where the two tins meet with the heel of your hand.
- 6Strain straight away. A drink left sitting on ice keeps diluting.
Common mistakes
- Too little ice. Half a tin melts faster and leaves a warmer, more watery drink than a full one.
- A gentle or short shake. The drink comes out under-chilled and flat.
- Shaking, then taking an order before straining.
- Shaking a spirit-only drink like a Manhattan, which should be clear and silky.
Related: fine straining, dry shake, measuring and balance, ice and dilution.
