Many cocktail recipes call for the ingredients to be shaken using a cocktail shaker. Of all the cocktail preparations, shaking is by far the most enjoyable and entertaining for you and your guests. Shaking is a simple technique that, with a little practice and by following a few tips, you'll master in no time. Once you get your personal shaking style down your cocktails will emerge crisp, cool and concentrated.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 2 minutes
Here's How:
- Place ice cubes in the shaker first. This will chill the shaker and cool the liquids as you add them.
- Use 5-6 ice cubes for one drink.
- When making two drinks at once use less ice to make room in the shaker if needed.
- Don't overfill the shaker. Give the ingredients plenty of room to move around.
- Shake most drinks vigorously to a slow count of ten.
- Shake drinks longer and harder that have many ingredients or ingredients that don't mix well such as eggs or cream. Thirty seconds is a good goal.
- The majority of the time, you are done shaking when the cocktail shaker becomes frosty on the outside.
- Shake to a rhythm. Hum a tune and shake to the beat.
What You Need
- Cocktail Shaker
- Ice Cubes
- Spirits, Liqueurs and Mixers as called for in the recipe
- Strainer (If using a Boston Shaker)
