Kitchen & Bar

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How to get around

The bar across the top scrolls sideways. These are the same stops, with the job of each one written out.

Bar

Shaking and stirring

Both chill and dilute. The difference is aeration and clarity, and dilution is an ingredient rather than a side effect.

What you are actually controlling

  • ice quality
  • ice quantity
  • time
  • agitation
  • final temperature

Naming the dials is most of the difference between cooking and following. Everything below is a way of moving one of these.

How it goes wrong

  • under-diluted and hot
  • over-diluted and thin
  • flat texture
  • cloudy when it should be clear

If your result is on this list, the step it belongs to is named below and so is the way back.

The loop

Shaking and stirring5 steps. Each step shows the cue that confirms it worked below the step, and above it the way it fails together with the correction that returns you to the same step.GOES WRONGA cloudy, bubblyManhattan, or a flat,sluggish sour.1Decide by what is inthe glassLOOKS RIGHTA shaken sour is opaqueand lightly foamed; astirred Manhattan is clear…GOES WRONGHalf-melted cubes sittingin a pool of water beforeyou have poured anything.2Fill with cold, hardiceLOOKS RIGHTIce cubes that clatterrather than clink, with nowet sheen.GOES WRONGA drink that tastes hotand sharp, or one thattastes like a memory of…3Shake hard andshort, or stir long…LOOKS RIGHTThe tin frosts. The mixingglass is uncomfortable tohold.GOES WRONGThe drink is watery by thethird sip.4Strain onto whateverthe drink actually…LOOKS RIGHTA cold glass, and a singlecube that will still be acube in ten minutes.GOES WRONGYou added three things andit is different but notbetter.5Taste afterdilution, adjust one…LOOKS RIGHTYou can name thecorrection in one word.
Read down, not just across. Below each step is the cue that says it worked; above it, dashed, is how it fails and the correction that sends you back to the same step.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Decide by what is in the glass

    Citrus, dairy, egg or fruit purée: shake. Spirits, vermouth, liqueur and bitters only: stir.

    Looks right
    A shaken sour is opaque and lightly foamed; a stirred Manhattan is clear and dense.
    Goes wrong
    A cloudy, bubbly Manhattan, or a flat, sluggish sour.
    Way back
    There is no undoing it. Let the shaken one settle for a minute if you must; the texture is spent.
  2. 2

    Fill with cold, hard ice

    Fill the tin. More ice melts more slowly, which sounds backwards and is not: less ice warms faster and dilutes further.

    Looks right
    Ice cubes that clatter rather than clink, with no wet sheen.
    Goes wrong
    Half-melted cubes sitting in a pool of water before you have poured anything.
    Way back
    Discard it and use fresh. Wet ice starts the drink diluted and there is no way to take water back out.
  3. 3

    Shake hard and short, or stir long and gentle

    Twelve seconds hard for a shake. Thirty seconds smooth for a stir, no rattling.

    Looks right
    The tin frosts. The mixing glass is uncomfortable to hold.
    Goes wrong
    A drink that tastes hot and sharp, or one that tastes like a memory of itself.
    Way back
    Short is fixable — put it back and go again. Over-diluted is not; that one gets poured away.
  4. 4

    Strain onto whatever the drink actually needs

    Up into a chilled glass, or over one big fresh cube. Never over the ice you mixed with.

    Looks right
    A cold glass, and a single cube that will still be a cube in ten minutes.
    Goes wrong
    The drink is watery by the third sip.
    Way back
    Bigger ice, or no ice. Spent shaker ice melts fastest of all — it has already done its work.
  5. 5

    Taste after dilution, adjust one axis

    Judge it strained and cold, because that is the drink. Then move one thing: sweet, sour, or strength.

    Looks right
    You can name the correction in one word.
    Goes wrong
    You added three things and it is different but not better.
    Way back
    Build the next one fresh with one change from the spec. Two changes teach nothing.

Watch somebody do it

Third-party video. Opens in a new tab — nothing is embedded and nothing is fetched from a video platform until you click.

Reviewed video for this technique. Reading a cue is one thing; seeing it is faster.

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