The shaker: Boston, cobbler and French
Three designs, three philosophies. Which one suits what you make, how to seal it so it does not burst mid-shake, and why the three-piece will betray you sooner or later.
The shaker is the tool that shapes a shaken drink more than any other, and yet almost nobody stops to choose one. The three models you will find in any shop are not aesthetic variations: they change capacity, chilling speed and the odds of wearing half your cocktail.
The three types
The Boston is two pieces: one large metal tin and a smaller one, or metal and glass. It is the professional standard. It chills fast because metal conducts well, holds enough for two drinks and opens with one sharp tap. Its only drawback is that it needs a separate strainer.
The cobbler is the three-piece one with a built-in strainer and cap. It is the most convenient to start with because you need nothing else, but it has a well-known flaw: as the metal cools it contracts and the cap seizes. More than once you will end up running it under hot water to open it, with the drink inside losing its chill.
The French or Parisian shaker is two metal pieces with a continuous curve. It is the most elegant and seals best, but holds less than a Boston and also needs a separate strainer. It is a choice of taste rather than performance.
Sealing and opening it
Fill the large tin two-thirds with ice and pour the liquids into the small one. Seat the small tin inside the large one at roughly a twenty-degree angle, not straight, and strike the base firmly with your palm. You will hear when it seals.
To open it, hold the seam and strike with the heel of your hand exactly where the two pieces meet. Never twist it open: you will warp the rim, and from then on it will never seal properly again.
The three mistakes that ruin a shake
Too little ice. It seems like less ice means less dilution, but the opposite is true: with less ice each cube absorbs more heat, melts faster and the drink comes out watery and warm. Fill to two-thirds at minimum.
Shaking timidly. A shy shake neither chills nor aerates. It should last twelve to fifteen seconds, hard, and end when the outside of the shaker is frosted over: that layer of ice on the metal is the objective sign the drink is ready.
Reusing it warm. If you have just shaken, the metal is back at room temperature inside. Rinse it with cold water before the next drink or you will steal several degrees from it in the first second.