Cocktail Shakers & Strainers

One of the more common instruments behind the bar, the cocktail shaker is used to shake a drink with ice before serving. There are two benefits to using a shaker, one is that it obviously serves to mix the ingredients of the drink, but probably more important, is that it aids in very quickly chilling the drink. The shaker is used by removing the top two sections of the shaker, adding the ingredients and the ice, then replacing the top sections and shaking the contents well. You then remove just the cap that is on the very top of the shaker, revealing the built-in strainer, and then simply strain the contents into the glass.