Cocktail shaker
Encyclopedia
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
) by shaking. When ice is put in the shaker this allows for a quicker cooling of the drink before serving.
A shaken cocktail
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
is made by putting the desired ingredients (typically fruit juices, syrups, liqueurs and ice cubes) in the cocktail shaker. Then it is shaken vigorously for around 5 to 10 seconds, depending upon the mixability of the ingredients and desired temperature.
There are at least three varieties of cocktail
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
shakers:
- The Boston Shaker: A two-piece shaker consisting of a metal bottom and glass or plastic mixing glass. The mixing container and bottom are inserted into each other for shaking or used separately for stirring or muddling. A separate strainerCocktail strainerA cocktail strainer is a metal bar accessory used to remove ice from a mixed drink as it is poured into the serving glass. A type of sieve, the strainer is placed over the mouth of the glass or shaker in which the beverage was prepared; small holes in the device allow only liquids to pass as the...
, such as a Hawthorne or Julep strainer, are required for this type shaker if crushed ice is used. Without such a strainer, some bartenders may instead strain by narrowly separating the two pieces after shaking and pouring the drink through the resulting gap. - The Cobbler Shaker: A three-piece cocktail shaker that has tapers at the top and ends with a built-in strainer and includes a cap. The cap can often be used as a measure for spirits or other liquids.
- The French Shaker: A two-piece shaker consisting of a metal bottom and a metal cap. A strainer is always required for this type of shaker, barring the separation method mentioned above.
History
The cocktailCocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
shaker can be traced to 7000 BCE in South America, where the jar gourd was used as a closed container. Egyptians as long ago as 3500 BCE were adding spices to their fermented grain concoctions before serving, to make them more palatable. In 1520, Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
wrote to King Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
of Spain of a drink made from cacao, served frothy and foaming from a golden cylinder.
By the late 19th century, the cocktail
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
shaker as we now know it was in wide use, invented by an innkeeper who, while using two containers to pour drinks back and forth between, noticed that one container's mouth was smaller than the other's and held the two together and shook them "for a bit of a show".
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
era in the United States, cocktail
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
shakers were produced in many different shapes and designs, including shakers that looked like penguins, zeppelins, lighthouses and airplanes. Cocktail shaker skills and drink rituals became as important in the Jazz Age
Jazz Age
The Jazz Age was a movement that took place during the 1920s or the Roaring Twenties from which jazz music and dance emerged. The movement came about with the introduction of mainstream radio and the end of the war. This era ended in the 1930s with the beginning of The Great Depression but has...
lifestyle as knowing the latest dance step. It was after prohibition however, that cocktail shakers really reached their zenith of popularity. They appeared in movies, and were associated with the glamorous lives of movie stars. Cocktail shakers became de rigueur symbols of sophistication and symbols of the good life.
On December 7, 1941
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, the era of the cocktail shaker faltered seriously, as the United States entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and all non-essential uses of metal were redirected towards the war effort. The same companies and equipment formerly used to manufacture cocktail shakers were used to make artillery shells and other war materials.
In the early 1950s cocktail shakers enjoyed a brief resurgence as soldiers familiar with them returned and became part of the housing boom featuring 'rec rooms' with bars. By the later part of the decade though, shakers were quickly giving way to modern electric appliances that either added a mixing unit to the shaker's lid or did away with the shaker entirely, with the introduction of the electric blender
Blender
A blender is a kitchen appliance for chopping or liquefying food.Blender may also refer to:Media:* Blender , a music-themed magazine* Blender , a free and open-source software program for 3D modeling, animation, and rendering...
.
Patent History
By the mid 1860s, the use of a pair of tumblers to mix drinks was common practice. The patent history involves improvements on this practice:December 24, 1872 --- #134,274 by William Harnett of Brooklyn, New York --- Apparatus for mixing 6 drinks at once (six shakers on a turntable)
February 1, 1881 --- #237,150 by L. H. Williams --- mixer with leak-proof edge flaring
August 29, 1882 --- #263,394 by A. Eggers --- combination shaker which allowed the addition of a tumbler if desired
January 30, 1883 --- #271,350 --- W. H. Murphy --- mixed beverage shaker which included a spring-loaded strainer
June 24, 1884 --- #300,867 --- E. J. Hauck --- the first 3-piece cocktail shaker with a built-in strainer, just as is used today. This design also included an air-vent to allow for faster pouring.
October 30, 1877 --- #196,605 --- W. H. Trepus --- air-vented from the bottom
September 30, 1924 --- #1,509,981 --- Louis W. Rice --- fluted dome interior feature which could be used as a juicer called a "beverage shaker" instead of "cocktail shaker".
April 7, 1925 --- #1,532,681 --- G. S. Bryce --- 3-piece glass shaker with cork, a metal stopper, strainer and metal pouring insert. This was the standard design for the 1920s.
See also
- Shaken, not stirredShaken, not stirred"Shaken, not stirred" is a catchphrase of Ian Fleming's fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond, and his preference for how he wished his martini prepared. The phrase first appears in the novel Diamonds Are Forever , though Bond does not actually say the line until Dr...
- Mixed drinkMixed drinkA mixed drink is a beverage in which two or more ingredients are mixed. Some mixed drinks are alcoholic beverages that contain liquor; others are non-alcoholic.-Types:Some popular types of mixed drinks are:...