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Shaker Alternatives |
Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
|  Posted: 2005-07-01 11:46 am Permalink
Shakers are beautiful, elegant, and can go a long ways toward setting the tone when mixing drinks for a party.
However, they are a total pain in the ass. They get cold and seize up, they get slippery... I've *never* been able to get through an evening without having to ask someone to get the sucker open for me, and it's not been unusual for me to see very strong people stuggle mightily with them. Sure, there are all sorts of tricks you can use to get them open without a struggle, but I've not been able to master them.
For years, I used a Boston shaker (half metal, half glass), but they can be hard to open, too (not quite as hard as a traditional shaker), and can be leaky.
Here's what I've started to use:
Rubbermaid Plastic Bottle
It's not fancy, but boy does it do the trick. It's plenty big, and the top opening is wide enough to get ice cubes in just fine. It seals up very well, and the white top cap pops open easily, but only when you want it to. The small spout opening together with the ice cubes act as a perfectly good strainer. Since the bottle is plastic, you can squeeze it and the drink comes out quickly. It has nice grips on the side, and they're super cheap -- I think it only cost me a couple bucks. Hanford & I have a several of them, we we also keep fresh squeezed fruit juice in them.
Anyone else use a non-shaker shaker?
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Critiki - Ooga-Mooga - Humu Kon Tiki
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thejab
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2986
From: Tradewinds Apartments, Alameda, CA
| Posted: 2005-07-01 12:08 pm Permalink
I use a metal shaker because metal chills the drink faster, more thoroughly, and more evenly than other materials. For these reasons metal shakers are recommended by several cocktail guides I've read, both old and new. I realize that they chill the hands very efficiently too, but one can hold them with a bar towel, or use the kind that I use that has a metal sleeve that the shaker fits into which acts as an insulator. It's called a dial-a-drink because you can twist the sleeve to view drink recipes. Silly yes, but the best shaker I've found. And I've never had a problem with a stuck lid or cap.
http://www.homewetbar.com/dialadrink-recipe-cocktail-shaker-p-39.html
For prolonged shaking (like to make a proper Ramos fizz) metal is a must.
[ This Message was edited by: thejab on 2005-07-01 12:20 ]
[ This Message was edited by: thejab on 2005-07-01 12:23 ]
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Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2005-07-01 12:18 pm Permalink
hmmm... I wonder if I could line the inside with a metal insert, or put some other sort of metal framework inside.
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Critiki - Ooga-Mooga - Humu Kon Tiki
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Tikiwahine
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3288
From: Ontario, Canada
| Posted: 2005-07-01 12:48 pm Permalink
This is the one I use.
"Groggy" shaker from Ikea.
It's cheap but does the job nicely, and the glass part has a rubber rim that seals but releases fairly easily.
The sensations are part of the whole mixing experience for me; the cold of the metal, the clink of the ice, the drips, yes, sometimes there are drips. All part of the territory.  If you don't come out wet and sticky, what's the point? 
Now what I'd REALLY like to find is something that pours or pumps with accuracy. Like a 1/4oz pump for my syrups. In chrome. THAT would be the cat's ass.
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Great Minds Drink Alike
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Feelin' Zombified
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 15, 2003
Posts: 1328
From: The Exotic Shores of Lake St. Clair
| Posted: 2005-07-01 1:07 pm Permalink
My Ikea groggy broke 
I probably have about 15 shakers of different materials & styles, but the Ikea cheapo model was my favorite. I'm anxiously awaiting a chance to buy a replacement. Also, a friend once gave me a freebee shaker that came with a drink at T.G.I.McScratchy's (or whereever) and it was one of my faves as well, dispite it's less than swank design.
cheap seems to work much better than high brow for some reason.
-Z
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Rum Demon
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 20, 2005
Posts: 254
From: Portland, Oregon
| Posted: 2005-07-06 9:05 pm Permalink
I only have two shakers. One is a swanky antique glass number with drink recipes and oz markings on the side, but I have a real tough time getting the top off (thanks Humu for making me feel less like a whiner). Now I use a metal bottle shaped shaker that I got in a giftie box set from some vodka company whose name I'm forgetting. BUUUUT, in the past I've found that (and please forgive me) a mason jar or even (gasp) a well cleaned spaghetti jar works just fine as a shaker. And talk about cheap!
-Joe
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martiki
Official Mixologist
Joined: Mar 29, 2002
Posts: 3056
From: http://www.smugglerscovesf.com
| Posted: 2005-07-07 6:43 pm Permalink
Please remember:
Ikea Groggy
and
Iuka Grogg
are two different things!
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Satan's Sin
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 13, 2004
Posts: 729
From: Imperial Beach, CA
| Posted: 2005-07-08 09:51 am Permalink
I bought a plastic replica of a proper cocktail shaker at the .99 cent store and figured it would be my "camping" shaker.
But when I got to my favorite spot in the desert and the Flamingos began their lovely do-wop cover of "I Only Have Eyes" I suddenly realized that wherever I was making drinks, I was on holy ground.
When a military priest lays out the implements of the Sacrament on a footlocker in a combat zone, does he do so with haste or with thought of how a particular rite is inconvenient? Of course not! It is by ritual that we pay respect to our humanity -- and invoke the divine that is within us all.
Condemn your aluminum cocktail shaker to the shelf of unused things? Why not burn down your house and run around the neighborhood screaming nonsense?
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Unga Bunga
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 06, 2003
Posts: 5738
From: CaliTikifornia
| Posted: 2005-07-08 10:14 am Permalink
WTF?
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Tikiwahine
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3288
From: Ontario, Canada
| Posted: 2005-07-08 10:44 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2005-07-08 09:51, Satan's Sin wrote:
I bought a plastic replica of a proper cocktail shaker at the .99 cent store and figured it would be my "camping" shaker.
But when I got to my favorite spot in the desert and the Flamingos began their lovely do-wop cover of "I Only Have Eyes" I suddenly realized that wherever I was making drinks, I was on holy ground.
When a military priest lays out the implements of the Sacrament on a footlocker in a combat zone, does he do so with haste or with thought of how a particular rite is inconvenient? Of course not! It is by ritual that we pay respect to our humanity -- and invoke the divine that is within us all.
Condemn your aluminum cocktail shaker to the shelf of unused things? Why not burn down your house and run around the neighborhood screaming nonsense?
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so you're the one who e-mails me with nonsensical crud! shame on you!
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Satan's Sin
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 13, 2004
Posts: 729
From: Imperial Beach, CA
| Posted: 2005-07-08 11:56 am Permalink
Tikiwahine, whenever you will so kindly please cable unto me the sum of US$5000 for processing fees we will at last be able to forward unto you the fortune of my late ancestor which we have agreed you will be the executor of and as such will be able to claim a management fee of US$10,000,000 before rendering the balance to your humble friend here in Gabon. Bless you.
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Tikiwahine
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3288
From: Ontario, Canada
| Posted: 2005-07-08 12:10 pm Permalink
No thank you, I already have a penguin.
So what you're trying to say, Satin's Sin, is that plastic shakers aren't the greatest?
Lemme know if I'm close.
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Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2005-07-08 12:45 pm Permalink
By all means, if you a) are strong enough to open metal shakers with no problem, or b) own one that for whatever magical reason doesn't stick, more power to you, and keep doing what you're doing.
For me, the most gorgeous, perfect shaker doesn't do me one whit of good if I can't get my drink out of it.
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Critiki - Ooga-Mooga - Humu Kon Tiki
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Satan's Sin
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 13, 2004
Posts: 729
From: Imperial Beach, CA
| Posted: 2005-07-08 12:49 pm Permalink
Tikiwahine, all I'm saying is that mixing a cocktail in a plastic shaker is like having sex with someone you don't love. The baser animal urges may be satisfied, but there is no joy, no grace, no trip to the moon on gossamer wings. Surely you must recognize the simplicity and plainness of this verity.
[ This Message was edited by: Satan's Sin 2005-07-08 12:57 ]
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Satan's Sin
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 13, 2004
Posts: 729
From: Imperial Beach, CA
| Posted: 2005-07-08 12:53 pm Permalink
Humuhumu, this is what I've done with my balky shakers:
Put a drop or two of 3-in-1 oil on the outside rim of the bottom part of the shaker. Smooth it around the rim with a napkin.
Don't worry; the oil won't get inside the shaker.
Then, when you are finished shaking and the shaker is so cold that your hands can't stand it anymore (just as God designed it!) then twist the top off instead of pulling.
Glad to have helped!
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