Hey everyone I am on the hunt for the best cocktail shaker for home use and could really use some advice. I love making drinks for friends and family, and I want something that’s well-made, easy to use, and actually helps craft great cocktails — not one that leaks, sticks, or feels cheap.After digging through reviews and user feedback, a couple of shakers keep popping up as solid choices:
I will be using it mostly for classics like martinis, margaritas, and mixed drinks, so durability, grip, and how smoothly it seals/chills are all things I’m paying attention to. Bonus points if it’s easy to clean and feels good in hand.Has anyone tried either of these? How do they perform for regular home bartending? Any pros/cons I should know about — like ease of use, tightness of the seal, durability, or overall feel? Or would you recommend something else entirely in this category?Appreciate any input or tips from fellow cocktail lovers and home bartenders
Long story short, cocktail shakers are a very personal matter. It’s a bit like finding a good running shoe where the fancy marketing chat actually matters a lot less than what feels good to you.
Most professional bartenders use two piece tin on tin Boston style shakers nowadays instead of the 3-piece with the built in strainer.
(The Koriko brand is quite well loved all round)
Regarding the seal and leaks, this is less about the “quality” of the shaker and more down to your technique and ice use. Of course, a really low quality shaker will always be shit, but the seal itself comes down to a vacuum being created due to the temperature difference from inside and outside the tin.
If you do get a two-piece Boston style shaker, then remember to also buy a strainer (such as Hawthorne) and optionally a fine one too (Basically a fancy tea strainer on a handle).
Best of luck with your home bartending journey. Do shout if you need help with classic recipes
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As a side note, I didn’t know OXO did cocktail shakers. They’re a dope company from a consumer quality perspective hence they absolutely dominate a lot of the market. I might actually get one just for fun!
I have the insulated version of the OXO and it’s fine. But I seldom use it as I much prefer the two-piece Boston style. The two-piece Boston-style takes a little bit of learning of technique to easily seal and unseal, but once you do they’re far easier IMO, especially for opening/unsealing. A good, hard shake with the double-walled OXO I have will make it a little fiddly to get that top off because of the vacuum seal, whereas a good, firm thwack in the right spot on any of my two-piece Boston-style shakers usually gets them apart easily.
The separate Hawthorne strainers tend to clog less (the built-in ones can do so at times, I’ve particularly seen some concerns on that with the “elevated” one, which IMO is quite overpriced). With a separate strainer you can also decide how fine-strained you want it to be. Lastly, a measuring device that doesn’t include 0.25 oz is not versatile enough for me, which makes the built-in cap measurements not consistently useful (my OXO model is also not super accurate, but the non-insulated one may be better).
In short I think it’s worth the investment of slight learning time to get comfortable with Boston-style set. You can see the technique here:
If you prefer the Cobbler-style, the OXO is probably as good an option as you’ll find. And certainly don’t pay $75 for a shaker! If the price didn’t put you off, the straining performance I saw here would for me (though I guess most people encounter this given the positive Amazon reviews?).
@Oshyan which OXO jigger are you referring to? While their Steel Double Jigger is a bit unsuited for speed, I’ve dug the variety of measurements and how it perfectly sits on top of a Boston shaker when pouring ingredients.
Secondly, I completely agree with @Oshyan and @BookofMorten ‘s promotion of a Boston shaker. I just think it’s the best in the long run but necessitates more equipment (Hawthorne and fine mesh strainers) and a technique learning curve. I think a lot of people who get into cocktails are turned off but that initial curve, which is sad but it’s a far smaller barrier than more complicated techniques and proper ingredients.
The thing with the Boston shaker is you need to understand what you’re going and then find the way that works best for you to do it. I recommend watching YouTube videos from a few bartenders because they all shake in different ways. Find one that doesn’t hurt your shoulder or arm, then practice the hell out of it. Like any art/artistic hobby, it takes time and effort to make it worth it.
