Cocktail shaker facts for kids

A cocktail shaker is a special tool used to mix different liquids together, usually for making drinks. When you add ice to the shaker and shake it, the drink gets cold very quickly before you pour it out.

How People Use Shakers

To make a shaken drink, you put all the things you want to mix – like different liquids, fruit juices, sweet syrups, and ice cubes – inside the cocktail shaker. Then, you close it tightly and shake it strongly for about 10 to 18 seconds. The exact time depends on how big the ice is and how cold it is.

Types of Shakers

There are a few main types of cocktail shakers:

The Boston Shaker

This shaker has two parts. One part is a large metal cup (about 800 ml). The other part is a smaller mixing cup (about 450 ml) that can be made of plastic, metal, or glass. The two parts fit into each other for shaking. You need a separate tool called a strainer to pour the drink out without the ice. Sometimes, people just leave a small gap between the two parts to strain the drink.

The Cobbler Shaker

This is a three-piece shaker. It has a main body, a built-in strainer at the top, and a small cap that fits over the strainer. The cap can sometimes be used to measure liquids.

The Parisian or French Shaker

This shaker has two metal parts: a bottom cup and a metal cap. Like the Boston shaker, you usually need a separate strainer to pour drinks from this type of shaker.

History of Shakers

People have been mixing drinks in closed containers for a very long time!

Ancient Mixing Tools

The idea of a shaker goes back thousands of years. Around 7000 years before the Common Era (BCE), people in ancient Mexico and South America used hollow gourds as containers to mix things. In 1520, a Spanish explorer named Hernán Cortés wrote about a special chocolate drink served to a king, which was frothy and foamy from being mixed in a golden cylinder. Even ancient Egyptians, around 3500 BCE, added spices to their grain drinks to make them taste better before serving.

The Modern Shaker Appears

The cocktail shaker we know today became popular in the mid-1800s. It's said that an innkeeper came up with the idea. He was pouring drinks back and forth between two containers and noticed that one container fit inside the other. He then held them together and shook them, which also made for a fun show! Over time, people made improvements to the design, adding built-in strainers.

Shakers in the 1920s and Beyond

In the 1920s, during a time when certain drinks were not allowed in the United States, cocktail shakers became very popular. They were made in many fun shapes, like penguins, zeppelins, and even airplanes! Knowing how to use a shaker and mix drinks became a cool skill, just like knowing the latest dance moves.

After this period, shakers became even more popular. You could see them in movies, and they were linked to the exciting lives of movie stars. Having a cocktail shaker became a sign of being sophisticated and living a good life.

Shakers During Wartime and After

In 1941, when the United States entered World War II, the popularity of shakers slowed down. All the metal that was usually used to make shakers was instead used to make things for the war, like artillery shells.

In the early 1950s, shakers had a short comeback. But by the end of that decade, new electric blenders started to appear. These new machines could mix drinks easily, and people started using them instead of shakers.

See also

In Spanish: Coctelera para niños

Images for kids

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  Examples of shakers from the 1950s, left with spun aluminum cap, right with chromed steel cap

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  Men at far right are using a cocktail shaker at a tea dance in this 1920 drawing by artist-reporter Marguerite Martyn for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.