Next in our series of ‘How To’ videos with professional bartender Jumbles St Pierre, we take a look at one of the most important cocktail tools of all – the shaker! Jumbles will break down all the do’s and don’ts of using a cocktail shaker like a professional, ensuring each and every cocktail you make is the best it can be!
We will cover everything, from where best to apply pressure to your cocktail shaker to break the seal between tins or the tin and the boston glass, to how much ice to use. Once you have conquered the cocktail shaker, the rest is easy when it comes to cocktail preparation. Although this will depend on what cocktail you are making…
Anyway, that’s enough from us – time to hand you over to the professional for some top tips:
Take a look at all the cocktail shakers Jumbles talks about in the video, below:
3 piece cocktail shakers
The first to be covered in the video, our 3 piece cocktail shakers are a big favourite for the home or casual cocktail creator. The unique thing about the 3 piece is the fact that it has a strainer built into the lid, meaning unless you are double straining, that no strainer is needed. Handy! Made from stainless steel our 3 piece deluxe cocktail shaker will stay strong and shiny under many a use. With a 750 ml capacity this shaker is for making a good number of cocktails in one shake.
The Mezclar Piccolo 3 piece cocktail shaker below is the perfect shaker for that more personal touch. At only 600 ml capacity it wont make as many cocktails in one go as the Deluxe, however what it lacks in capacity it makes up for in style. This stainless steel beauty looks like the type of thing you could carry around in your inside pocket, it’s certainly compact enough!
The Parisian
The Parisian is a style of two piece cocktail shaker. Unlike the boston tin style, the Parisian is one solid construction – or like having a standard cocktail tin with its own lid. The advantages of this are of course that it makes using the cocktail shaker as easy as can be, the only disadvantage versus a cocktail tin-on-tin shaker is that it will hold less ice – and as Jumbles says, the more ice in your shaker the better!
Below is the 550 ml Art Deco shaker, made using stainless steel (also available in copper) and our multi-point welding to ensure a strong and lasting cocktail shaker:
If the Art Deco doesn’t take your fancy then we also have the 600 ml French Shaker (also available in stainless steel).
Tin on tin cocktail shakers
One of the more modern and most used style of cocktail shaking is the tin-on-tin – or tin on glass. But as Jumbles says, a lot of professionals have moved away from using a boston glass with the cocktail tin so you don’t have to worry about breakages. The tin-on-tin method is a favourite of professional bartenders around the world, so if you want to make your cocktails like a real pro then this is what you want…
We have many individual cocktail tins, as well as tin-on-tin sets, to choose from. If you are getting your tins individually, just remember to get one large tin and one smaller tin. The larger tins are 28 oz – 30 oz, whereas the smaller tin or glass is 16-18 oz. One of our more recent cocktail sets and beautifully embellished is the Tiki shaker set:
For something a little more traditional we have many different styles of 28 oz cocktail tins to choose between. From the strong and sturdy stainless steel option, to our black vinyl coated shaker for extra grip. There is also our 28 oz Orange tin if you want something a little louder, or our Mezclar patterned style which comes in pink or black!
If you are looking for something a little more fancy then we have you covered with the polished copper plated option – or the Brushed Antique Brass set…
If you are a flair bartender, we have something special for you too. Our 30 oz ‘Flair Top’ boston can is perfect for practising, with a slightly larger design it is great for ensuring your bottles slot in every time.
Finally, this copper plated cocktail set is weighted – which is the cocktail shaker of choice for a lot of flair bartenders.
