Strainer

The cocktail strainer is a bar tool that separates ice and solid ingredients from the liquid cocktail when pouring from a shaker or mixing glass into the service glass. Without a strainer, every cocktail would arrive full of ice and whatever solid ingredients were used in its preparation. Two strainer types serve different purposes in professional cocktail making. The Hawthorne strainer is the modern standard for shaken cocktails. It consists of a flat disc with a coiled spring around its perimeter and a tab handle. The spring wraps around the inside edge of the shaker tin, creating a flexible seal that adapts to tins of slightly different diameters while holding the strainer in place. The holes in the disc and the gaps in the spring allow liquid to pass while catching ice, fruit pieces, and solid ingredients. A hinged tab or "gate" on the side of most Hawthorne strainers controls how tightly the strainer seals: pressing the gate down tightens the seal against the tin for a slower, more controlled pour; releasing it opens slightly for faster flow. The Hawthorne design was patented in Boston in 1892, making it one of the oldest purpose-built cocktail tools still in standard use. The julep strainer is an older design predating the Hawthorne, consisting of a perforated bowl or cup on a handle that sits inside the mixing glass with the bowl facing outward against the glass's rim. It is used specifically for pouring stirred cocktails from a mixing glass, where its bowl shape nests cleanly against the curved interior. For shaken cocktails poured from a metal tin, the Hawthorne is the appropriate choice as the julep does not fit metal tins properly. Both strainers work best in combination with a fine mesh strainer for double straining, which removes the fine particles that pass through the coil or perforations of either primary strainer.