I have never made cocktails at home. I saw this stainless steel cocktail shaker on sale in my local supermarket and bought one as a Christmas present for my college-age kid.
It has some aide memoires engraved all around.
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Thatâs really nice! I have a pint glass with drink recipes printed on it.
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Nifty! My PIC is the cocktail slinger, shaker & stirrer @casa lingua, but ours isnât that fancy. Just the basic stainless steel model.
Your kidâs got a fun mom 
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Compare the recipes on the shaker to those: in books, on the internet, cocktail recipes.
Mojitos and Margaritas are very popular cocktails.
The shaker recipes are lacking.
If you want to encourage your college aged child to learn how drink, I recommend liquor store gift cards.
Always the question of which type of shakers are preferred - Boston vs cobbler vs French.
I once bought a lovely metal shaker from Williams-Sonoma, then made the mistake of putting it in the dishwasher right away. A couple of parts are still fused together.
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Oh. Why did that happen? I guess the whole shaker needs to be disassembled before putting in dishwasher?
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What is your preference and why?
Boston shaker is the one any serious bartender is using and it is often the fastest way to make cocktails but it needs some training at the beginning as it can much easier leak. Cobbler is the âsafeâ choice but it has the disadvantage that often after shaking the top and lower part can be hard to separate. Havenât used the French one but it is currently a trendy one
Overall, if someone is kind of more serious about learning to make cocktails I would go with a Boston, otherwise with a cobbler
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Boston, a tool of the trade. If every bar had their own different equipment, it would take time for new empolyee to learn, adjust.
Each gas station uses different equipment, how would that work?
thatâs pretty coolâŚany manufacturer listed on the bottom?
Iâd recommend forgoing the dishwasher altogether for cobbler shakers. But even hand washed, the ones Iâve owned have always started getting tough to work with after some time. So another vote for Boston â and specifically both pieces metal (often one side is glass, which makes everything more difficult and it can break), and weighted (pro models often have added weight in the bottom, which slightly increases the shake force in each direction).
It says made in India for Tesco, which is a UK supermarket chain. The steel cup very much reminds me of stainless steel kitchenware commonly used in Indian households.
Having looked up Boston cocktail shakers, I almost feel I could put together my own homemade one from Indian stainless steel cups I have had in my kitchen for years. Hereâs me with my DIY Boston shaker (please excuse the fingerprints all over)
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As long as you can get a decent seal, youâre good to go. You donât want those things coming apart on you mid-shake. Trust me on this.
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If the shakers are stacked, they will form a vacuum seal. Two metal containers stuck together, bang awayâŚ.One glass, one metal: prepare for breakage.
Probably. It really needed to be handwashed, which is what I do now for both my (usable) shakers.
I have. both kinds of shakers. My first was a Boston-type, but then I bought this top to go on my yeti tumbler:
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Hi! I will suggest two things for your starting voyage.
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Even though you have a nice shaker, the basic rule is if it has citrus, shake it, if it doesnât, stir it. Which means investing in a set of bar spoons and a fliter thing - if not a full-on stirring vessel - will cover the other half of your home coctails. now that general rule is a bit disputed and you can shake anything you like, but itâs a starting point.
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For me, the critical element in a shaker is whether it stays watertight while shaking, but then also opens up easily when youâre finished. I ended up going through all the shakers in a couple stores to find a brand that I found satisfactory on both closing securely, and opening with minimal fuss (to avoid spilling). [ I would also not buy something with two layers like that, itâs already hard enough to keep up a good shake, but youâve already got your shaker and the looks are AWESOME!)
And as a bit of catnip, look up dry shaking, if you havenât run into that term yet
Regards â
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FWIW, using bar spoons have a âtechnique â
