FOOD NEWS
The Rule Of Thumb To Remember For Whether To Stir Or Shake Cocktails
By Haldan Kirsch
If you're new to the world of cocktails, it might be tempting to shake every single beverage that graces your home bar as it looks fun and has a fancy feel. Unfortunately, many cocktails don't need to be shaken, and to impress your guests with the quality of your drinks, it's better to learn the difference between when to stir or shake cocktails.
Drinks that need to be stirred — such as martinis, manhattans, negronis, and corpse revivers — are usually either clear or made entirely with spirits, where the purpose of stirring is to cool, integrate, and dilute. Shaking cocktails that are meant to be stirred can damage the texture of drinks and even add small chunks of ice throughout the drink, clouding its clear appearance.
You should shake cocktails like margaritas, daiquiris, and whiskey sours — which are typically accompanied by additives like egg whites, fruit juice, honey, or cream — to aerate the drink, making it look like it's been carbonated and creating a foam on top when high-protein ingredients are used. To shake correctly, mix your drink ingredients with ice into a two-piece Boston shaker, fitting it with a good hit from the heel of your palm.