Strain

Technique

Straining means pouring a mixed drink through a strainer so the ice and any solids stay in the tin or mixing glass.

Also called: straining · strained

What strain means

You meet straining at the end of a shaken or stirred recipe. The drink moves from the tin or mixing glass into a serving glass, and the ice stays behind. A shaken drink leaves from a tin, and a stirred one leaves from a mixing glass.

It is easy to assume every cocktail gets strained. Built drinks stay on their ice, and some drinks shaken with crushed ice are poured straight in, ice and all. Strain only when the recipe asks for it, since the drink may be meant to stay on its ice.

Straining keeps the ice behind, so the drink does not keep diluting in the glass. The glass then holds only the liquid, which is the point of the step. When you want extra clarity, a double strain is the next step.

How to strain a cocktail

You need a strainer that fits your shaker tin or mixing glass, such as a Hawthorne or a julep strainer.

1.Press a Hawthorne strainer onto the tin and pour, pushing it forward to hold back more ice.
2.Strain a stirred drink from the mixing glass with a julep strainer or a Hawthorne.
3.Pour into a chilled glass or over fresh ice, and leave the used ice behind.
4.Crack the two halves of the shaker slightly apart and pour through the gap, or hold back the ice with a slotted spoon, if you have no strainer.

Strain compared

Double strainA double strain puts a fine mesh over the glass, so ice chips and pulp stay out. A single strain uses one strainer.
Hawthorne strainerThe Hawthorne has a coiled spring and fits shaker tins. It works for both shaken and stirred drinks.
Julep strainerThe julep strainer is a holed bowl that sits inside a mixing glass. It is made for stirred drinks.

Related terms

Put it to use in your next drink

Garçon explains every step as you make the drink.