Which Cocktail Shaker is Best for the Home Bartender?
Left to Right: Cobbler Shaker, Boston Shaker, French/Parisian Shaker
There are Three Types of Cocktail Shakers, So Which One Should You Buy?
A cocktail shaker is an important bar tool for any bartender — professional or home bar. But with three different styles of cocktail shakers on the market, which is the best one for the home bartender — specifically, the home bartender who is new to mixology and shakers?
Here is a rundown of all three styles of cocktail shaker, along with tips and thoughts to help you decide which might work best for you.
Cobbler Shaker.
Cobbler Shaker
The Cobbler is the cocktail shaker most often seen in home bars. It is a three-piece unit that has a built in strainer and a cap to cover the top of the strainer while you are shaking the unit. Personally, I am not a fan of the Cobbler shaker because I find that it can be a pain to pull apart the top from the main shaker (sometimes causing spills). This is because it often does not use a pressure seal like the next two shakers, but instead has a ridged lip. Plus, the built-in strainer on the Cobbler doesn’t give enough precision for straining when compared to a Hawthorne Strainer.
Still, it is considered by many to be the easiest to use, so it’s often seen in home bars. It can have a tendency to leak a little while shaking, but that depends on the specific unit you have and also your shaking style (which is another topic altogether).
Boston Shaker.
Boston Shaker
The Boston Shaker is what you see professional or aspiring bartenders use.
The Boston Shaker has two stainless steel (most often) cups, with one slightly larger than the other (sometimes the smaller cup is glass, but I prefer double steel cups). The two cups fit together by pressure and need to be joined at just the right angle in order to avoid leaking while shaking.
Good quality Boston Shakers are available in weighted/weighted (where both pieces are weighted) or weighted/unweighted (where only the larger shaker is weighted). This is personal preference. For the record I prefer the weighted/weighted style.
There’s a bit of a learning curve to using the Boston Shaker, but it is the industry standard. The Boston Shaker will require a Hawthorne Strainer to use when pouring the shaken cocktail out of the shaker and into the glass
French Shaker (also called Parisian Shaker).
French or Parisian Shaker
The French Shaker (also known as the Parisian Shaker) is a cross between the Boston Shaker and the Cobbler Shaker. The French/Parisian Shaker is the newest style of cocktail shaker and it tends to polarize the bartending community as an either love-it or hate-it cocktail shaker.
The French Shaker is a two-piece cocktail shaker that combines the general shape of the Cobbler with the two-piece approach of the Boston Shaker. The main advantage of the French Shaker over the Boston Shaker is that it fits together (and separates after shaking) much easier than the Boston Shaker (or at least requiring less finesse and technique when you’re first starting out). You will need a Hawthorne Strainer with this shaker as well, similar to the Boston Shaker.
Which Shaker is Best for the Home Bartender?
Like anything else, it all comes down to personal choice. Any one of the three will get the job done.
Having used all three of these, I tend to recommend the French Shaker for home bars. It’s easy to use for a newbie (compared to the Boston Shaker), looks great at the bar and it only has two pieces. You will need to buy a Hawthorne Strainer with either the Boston Shaker or the French Shaker, but the Hawthorne is far superior to the small and one-size-fits-all built-in strainer of the Cobbler.
You can’t really go wrong with any of these, as each has its pros and cons. You could, for example, start out with a Boston Shaker, but I would recommend practicing shaking with ice and water until you really get the hang for how it works (you don’t want to have it separate or leak in front of guests while you’re attempting to shake a cocktail).
By Mike Belobradic
Wine, Spirits and Beer Virtuoso
Grand One Lounge