TIPS AND ADVICE
At the Bar Tips
Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake your Cocktail
“Ah, the bartender shake. Nothing else in the beverage world defines
a bartender like his shake. Over the last couple of years and throughout my travels, I’ve noticed a regional trend when it comes to the art of shaking a cocktail. Many great bartenders who handcraft cocktails have an enormous amount of product knowledge and are artists in their own right. But when it comes to shaking their libation it looks like they are either trying to punish the drink or are fumbling around trying to get it over with.
The ‘shake’ should always be hard, never lazy and should have some form of style to it. The newest theory on shaking cocktails invented by Mr. Kazuo, one of Japan’s most famous bartenders, is called the ‘Hard Shake.” The Hard Shake is a completely new way of looking at the art of shaking a cocktail. It takes the ergonomics and geometry of what’s going on in the tin and marries it with Eastern philosophy.
I am by no means an authority on this new cutting edge shaking method but I hope I am doing it justice.”
Anthony Alba
