Cocktail Shaker
One of the more common instruments behind the bar, the cocktail shaker is used to shake a drink with ice before serving. The benefits of a shaker are twofold, one is that it obviously serves to combines the ingredients of the drink, but probably more important, is that it aids in very quickly chilling the drink.

As a general rule of thumb, the decision to shake or stir often depends on if the final cocktail is to be 'clear', or slightly opaque. You can read more about this in my article Shaken or Stirred.

True cocktail shakers have been with us since perhaps 1872, which is when the first patent appears to have been filed. This particular shaker was far more mechanical in nature then what we see these days. Prior to then, most bartenders simply used a mixing glass or pitcher of some sort to mix their drinks in.

Some of these early pitchers probably had a tight fitting lid, and a spout that could either be stoppered, or plugged with a well-placed thumb, and thus could be shaken to mix the ingredients.

Another common method for mixing drinks was known as "Rolling", which is where you pour the contents (including the ice) from one mixing glass into the other, doing this back and forth both mixed, and chilled the drinks quite well. At some point, it is assumed that a bartender was using two slightly differently sized metal mixing containers, and discovered that he could snuggly fit one inverted container over the other, and thus "shake" the drink quite effectively without spilling a drop. And thus the modern cocktail shaker was born.

Today, we have essentially three different types of cocktail shakers, but only two of them are commonly used by bartenders.

Cobbler Shaker
This is the classic cocktail shaker that is normally made of three pieces: a metal tumbler, a snug fitting lid, and a small cap that fits over the lid and covers the strainer that is built into the lid. This is the type of shakers that most folks will have at home because it is so simple and straightforward to use. You will also see this use at many bars, but since I find that it takes slightly longer to strain the drink into the glass, I don't recommend this for professional use in a busy bar.

You use this style of shaker 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, thus revealing the built-in strainer, and then simply strain the contents into the glass.

Boston Shaker
A variation on the Cobbler shaker, and one which more closer resembles what bartenders would have originally used, is the Boston Shaker. This is a shaker whose lid doesn't have a built-in strainer, thus it only consists of two parts. One part is a metal mixing tumbler; the other is a slightly smaller glass tumbler (often just a pint sized beer glass).

To use this style of shaker, you measure the ingredients, and then the ice, into the glass tumbler portion, then carefully positioning the inverted metal tumbler over top; give it a swift and firm slap with your hand to seal the two together. You then lift the now sealed shaker, and holding it so that the metal tumbler is below the glass, and gripping firmly with two hands, shake it well until the chill that makes it through the metal tumbler is almost painful.

Now, holding just the metal tumbler firmly, slap the metal tumbler just below the rim, right about the point where the glass comes in contact with it with the heal of your hand. This can be the tricky part, but the secret is to choose "where" you slap the shaker carefully. Almost always, the glass will be "leaning" to one side or the other, you want to slap it on the side that the glass is leaning to, and this will almost always allow you to open the shaker with just a single slap.

Never... Ever... tap the shaker against the edge of the bar or other solid object in order to open it. This will often result in just cracking the glass, usually right above your ice bucket, and just causing you a lot of work.

Cocktail Pitcher/Shaker I suppose it would be safe to say that there are two different types of such pitchers. One is glass Martini pitcher, which can be found in many homes, and the other is the more classic metal cocktail pitcher, which is either found in antique shops, or as classic re-creations of antique pitchers.

The glass Martini pitcher was more common back in the 40's and 50's when coming home and having a couple of Martini's was standard practice, at least in the movies. Bringing the construction of Martini's home to the consumer might have been one of the reasons that caused the Martini recipe to be simplified to remove the orange bitters, and reduce the amount of dry vermouth to barely a whisper.

The metal cocktail pitcher was more common in pre-prohibition days, but survived until briefly following prohibition. I expect that the slightly more difficult operation of this style of shaker was responsible for it gradually losing favor amongst consumer.

What and Where to Buy

There are a wide variety of Cobbler style shakers available almost everywhere you look. The important thing to pay attention with these is that it is relatively easy to remove all of the parts. One of the most common problems that people have with this style of shaker is that the middle (strainer) section gets stuck on the lower metal tumbler. This can be due to the uneven expansion and contraction of the two metal parts, or sticky residue, or simply because the parts were manufactured far too tight. But then if they are too loose, then the shaker will leak. This is just another great reason to stick with the Boston style shaker instead.

BarAccents.com

Personally, I find that Bar Accents currently provides the best selection of great cocktail shakers. They may not be the cheapest shakers around, but frankly it is the cheap ones which will cause you the most problems. Cobbler Shakers 18 Oz. "Dot" shaker Price: $23.95 (31-Aug-2003) 18 Oz. "Convex" shaker Price: $25.95 (31-Aug-2003) ...and several others as well. Boston Shakers WMF "Boston" Shaker (Manhatten Collection) Price: $24.95 (31-Aug-2003) WMF "Duo" Shaker Price: $29.95 (31-Aug-2003) This particular shaker combines the simplicy of use of the Cobbler shaker, with the two part construction of the Boston shaker. This is one of my favorites.

Amazon Bar Tools & Glassware

Various Styles of Shakers You can find a variety of different styles of cocktail shakers available from Amazon.com, their selection can vary from month to month, but they usually carry a pretty good selection.

Classic Shaker Co.

Metal Pitcher While not a location to check out for spur of the moment shopping decisions, if you are looking for a new "Metal Pitcher" style of cocktail shaker, then this is probably the best place to check. Prices range from $160 to $3,500.