Bartending/Techniques/Shaken cocktails

Traditional Techniques

Shaken cocktails are similar to stirred cocktails, but have the obvious difference of using a shaking motion to combine the ingredients. Drink components are poured over ice into either a cocktail shaker or a Boston Shaker. The vessel is covered, vigorously shaken, and the resulting mixture is strained into a glass of appropriate size and shape. When preparing cocktails that contain syrups, fruit juices, or dairy (including eggs), shaking is generally preferred over stirring, as the violent action will better combine these ingredients.

Some drinkers will prefer to order a cocktail that is shaken regardless of the ingredients, the assumption being that this will result in a smoother, colder beverage. James Bond popularized the idea of a shaken cocktail on screen when he ordered a "Martini. Shaken, not stirred." Some drinkers believe that shaking cocktails will "bruise" the ingredients, meaning the liquor will be overly diluted, resulting in a flat, watery taste.