SHAKED... BASIC COCKTAILING TECHNIQUE
SHAKED... BASIC COCKTAILING TECHNIQUE
Close your eyes and imagine: your favorite place, the bartender preparing your drink; Put the ingredients in the shaker and start shaking; precise and harmonious movements, as if it were a ritual and, as if by magic, your cocktail is ready to taste.
But do you know what factors the use of the shaker modifies and contributes to the final result of the cocktail?
- Homogenizes the final texture of ingredients of different densities.
- It modifies the temperature, cooling it by contact with ice.
- Dilute the ingredients, since the melt water is integrated into the drink.
- Modify the texture. Aerating the mixture forms small bubbles and creates a visible emulsion on the surface of the cocktail.
- It intensely oxygenates the ingredients and helps soften the alcoholic notes.
Milk, creams, egg whites, juices, and generally ingredients of different densities, mix better when shaken with ice in the shaker.
Temperature and dilution are as important in the cocktail as using the correct proportions of ingredients.
Tips for shaking a cocktail with the shaker
Many cocktails need to be shaken using a shaker or cocktail shaker. It is, by far, the most used and the most entertaining technique in cocktails. Furthermore, the shaker is part of the basic cocktail equipment.
Using the shaker and shaking cocktails is a technique that, with a little practice and the following tips, it won't take you long to do. Once you get your personal style of shaking and preparing your cocktails, you'll be able to make them fresh, rich, and concentrated.
The difficulty of this technique is easy and approximately the time required is two minutes.
What you need is the following:
- A cocktail shaker or also called a shaker or stirrer
- Ice cubes
- Liquors and beverages that are required in the drink
- Strainer (depends on the cocktail and its ingredients)
Tips when using a shaker
First fill half of the shaker with ice. This will cool the shaker and any liquids being added. If you use a smaller shaker and make more than one drink at a time, then use less ice to make more space.
If you are using a Boston shaker, pour the ingredients into the mixing glass without ice. This gives you a look at how much liquid you are pouring and many professional bartenders use this technique. (We recommend you read: Glassware for cocktails)
Do not overfill the agitator. Give the ingredients room to move. This also helps prevent spills while shaking.
Shake vigorously. Most drinks mix adequately if shaken constantly on a slow count to ten.
Shake drinks that have a lot of ingredients or ingredients that don't mix well, like eggs or cream, longer and harder. Thirty seconds is a good goal. Look for the frost. Most of the time, it should be finished when the shaker becomes cold on the outside.
Shake at a rhythm. An easy way is to hum a melody and shake to the rhythm. Shaking a cocktail is not a sweet thing and too many young bartenders make a feeble attempt at it. It gives the movement strength and power.
A firm grip. Hold the two pieces of any shaker firmly to ensure they stay together while you're shaking.
Shake over one of your shoulders in case the shaker opens. Your backside may get wet, but your guests or clients won't. This also helps add strength to the shake.
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