Cocktail shakers

The Boston set is what almost every bartender uses: a large tin of 80 cl and a smaller one you knock into it at an angle. It closes with a tap, opens with a tap and has no parts that can freeze shut. You do need a separate strainer with it. The cobbler shaker of 50 cl already has that strainer built into the lid, plus a measuring cap, which makes it the logical choice at home. The drawback is that the lid sometimes freezes shut when you shake hard. The Parisian of 55 to 65 cl is a two-piece shaker without a built-in strainer, with a cleaner line than the Boston.

On capacity, 50 cl gets you a long way for a single cocktail. If you want to make two at once, take 70 or 80 cl, because plenty of ice has to go in as well. Stainless steel is the standard and the easiest to keep clean. Copper and gold are a finishing layer: handsome behind the bar, but keep them out of the dishwasher.

Fill the tin two thirds with ice, pour in the ingredients and close it. Use large ice cubes, because small ice melts too fast and makes your cocktail watery. Shake hard and briefly: ten to fifteen seconds is enough for a margarita or a daiquiri. Anything with juice, egg or cream goes in the shaker; cocktails made only of spirits you stir instead, because shaking makes them cloudy.

An espresso martini is the exception that wants shaking hardest: without that force you never get the crema layer it should have. Strain into a chilled glass straight away, because the ice keeps melting in the tin. For drinks with mint leaves or pulp, double strain through a fine tea strainer.

Stainless steel can go in the dishwasher, but it is best to rinse a shaker out straight after use. Citric acid and sugar syrup dry into the seam between tin and lid, and that is exactly where a Boston set starts to jam. Take the parts apart, let them dry separately and do not store them inside each other.

Copper, gold and matt black are finishing layers that go dull from dishwasher tablets. Wash those by hand and dry them off with a cloth. The vinyl version gives grip and dampens noise, but does not take boiling water. A glass Mason Jar shaker is the most fragile of all and does not belong in a busy bar.

A shaker on its own is not enough. To measure, take one of the jiggers, for stirred cocktails a bar spoon and for straining a Boston set a separate cocktail strainer. What you shake has to go somewhere: the cocktail glasses are sorted by shape. If you are after the recipe rather than the kit, the cocktail pages give the proportions and the matching glass for each classic.