Have you ever been to a bar and watched in fascination as the bartender tossed bottles and shakers to and fro, marvelling at how they never seem to drop anything? Well, to be honest, I can’t teach you that, but using shakers is just as much an art as it is juggling them. One of the most popular cocktails ordered at bars are martinis and it’s even more popular to have then shaken rather stirred. Here’s how you make the perfect martini with shakers.
• Step 1: Ice, Ice Baby
Shakers don’t always come in the same sizes so start out by finding the three quarters mark on whichever shaker you’re going to be using. Fill the shakers up with ice up to that mark. If you put too much ice in shakers, there won’t be any room for you to shake the ingredients inside. Don’t worry if there’s too much ice though, you can always take ice out of shakers.
• Step 2: Fill It Up, Bartender
Once you’ve gathered the ingredients, pour them into the shaker. Again, when you’re filling shakers, don’t let the ingredients go past the three quarters mark otherwise you won’t be able to shake anything.
• Step 3: Shake, Shake, Shake-it
Step three is always the fun part. Pop the shakers lid on and make sure it’s nice and tight. Then pick it up and shake it like there’s no tomorrow. Well, don’t shake it so hard that the top pops off, but give it a good thirty second shake. While your shaking shakers, make sure that you have one hand on the bottom and one on top. This way the lid won’t come off and you won’t give the people you’re serving an alcoholic bath.
• Step 4: Serve It Up
Once you’re satisfied with that the martini has been shaken enough, pour into a chilled martini glass to keep it cooler longer. Shakers have a smaller cap on top of the lid that is meant to keep the ice in while you pour the drink so unless you want ice chunks in your martini, use that feature. Pop a green olive in for presentation and a contrast in flavour.
Knowing how to make a popular drink really is just the first step. Hopefully, now that you know how to make the perfect martini, it’ll fuel your thirst for knowledge just a little more. Who know, maybe in the future, you’ll start juggling some shakers and gin bottles yourself.
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