My favourite (booze-related) things: Part II— How to shake
How to use that pesky Boston shaker to craft your cocktails.
As a former professional dancer, I have a deep love and appreciation for proper technique. Knowing the proper way of doing things in the studio will help you avoid injury, make your moves crisp and precise, and make you come across as more professional all around.
Observing proper technique in bartending is similar. Understanding how, why, and when to use certain techniques when crafting certain cocktails will result in drinks that reach their full flavour potential, look their best, and make you look like you really know what you’re doing. Awesome!
Here I’ll begin talking about some of my favourite behind-the-wood practices that you can use in your favourite cocktail preparations. Or at the very least, you’ll understand why your bartender just ignited that orange peel before throwing into your old fashioned (hint: it’s not just because it looks so cool).
But first up, we learn about how to use that pesky Boston shaker. Then tomorrow, read on to learn my preferred technique for creating one of my favourite styles of drink — a favourite because you can make it using things easily found or made in your home (booze, lime/lemon juice, simple syrup, and egg. Yes, egg).
Shake it up, baby
or — How to use your Boston shaker
I am a devout fan of the Boston shaker. So if you read my story about essential bar tools, certainly you’ve already wandered blindly into your bar tool supply store (or gone online) and bought one, muttering to the salesperson (or your cat) that you’re only buying it because some chick on the internet told you to.
So now let me tell you how to use the darn thing.
As a general rule, we shake cocktails that contain any ingredients that will “cloud” the drink — citrus/fruit juices, egg (again, yes, egg — we’ll get to that in the next post), cream, milk, or syrups. There is a time and place to shake and to stir, and as I go on in the next post, you’ll see that James Bond got it wrong.
Seal it to make a banana!… Wait, what?
The Boston shaker, once properly sealed (tin to glass), should not come apart. To create this tight seal, ingredients and ice get poured in the glass, and the tin is placed on top. The base of the tin is then struck once or twice sharply with the heel of your hand. If you pick up the tin end, the glass should lift off the bartop no problem (trust me, I know it seems scary, but it will stay in there if you strike it with feeling).
Don’t fret — as I did when I first used a Boston — about connecting the two perfectly straight up and down. Besides this being pretty difficult to achieve, I find the “banana-esque” curve that usually happens when you strike the tin actually makes grasping the shaker in the middle much easier. But either connection is fine, as long as the seal is tight enough to lift the glass off the bar.
Then flip the shaker so the glass is facing back, and the tin is pointing forward, with your thumbs, index, and middle fingers grasping round the glass, and the rest of your fingers holding up the tin. Shake with the shaker above either your left or right shoulder (whichever feels more comfortable). Note: if you’ve achieved the more common banana shape with your shaker, make sure the flat side is the one facing down towards your shoulder. It should lay flat on your thumbs.
If anyone’s bum’s getting wet, it’s yours
When shaking with this type of middle grasp, you should always hold the Boston so that the glass points back over your shoulder, away from your guests. In the event that the glass becomes dislodged (which can happen if the glass or your hands are wet, by the way), the mess will go backwards and all over you, not your adoring crowd. Take one for the team. That’s hospitality, man.
Once you get comfortable with feel of a sealed Boston, you’ll find switching to one-handed shaking pretty simple, though right now this is really only necessary when you’re dealing with high volume cocktailing, and having one hand free to reach for glassware as you shake is helpful to save time.
Of course, you can always just flip the shaker so that it is glass-side-up and hold it with one hand on either end (palming the base of the glass with one hand and the base of the tin with the other) until you get used to the feel of assembling the Boston. This is how most people start Boston shaking, and some bartenders even prefer this method.
Either method works to create a proper basic shake, but you’ll notice many bartenders prefer to grasp the glass and tin in the middle. Holding it this way allows for a faster and more vigorous shake since you create the shake action with an added flick of your wrists, rather than just by pumping your forearms up and down, as you do when you hold it with one palm on each end.
You’re almost there
It’s time to stop shaking when the tin becomes frosted over and icy cold to the touch.
To dislodge the shaker glass from the tin (the tin is usually the vessel you want to strain the liquid from — most Hawthorne strainers fit tins more easily than glasses), place the shaker down on the tin base, glass-side-up, so that the glass is tilting towards you. Then give the tin a firm hit or two with the heel of your hand while holding the tin firmly in place with your other hand. The glass should loosen and you can pull it right out.
Of course, the key to perfecting your shaking technique is to practice, which means make a delicious cocktail or ten!
Next up, I’ll show you how to put your shaking knowledge to mouth-watering use. So stay tuned, stay thirsty, and practice your shakin’ in the meantime!
UPDATE: Click here for my next story in the favourite things series.
