Reader Help: How do I make a good shaken cocktail without a shaker?

By Dani

Who doesn't want booze with fruit in it this time of year? (Don't answer that, beer people.) No, but seriously: a chilled martini glass with some tastfully placed rasperry and mint garnish, fun colors in a clear glass, something that tastes like a fancy restaurant cocktail but is simple enough for a backyard BBQ ... it all sounds perfect to me, but I've been trying without success to create my dream cocktail at home.

My trouble: No shaker. And, although I muddle and stir until my forearms are sore, the cocktails just don't taste quite right, and I'm pretty sure it's because the shaker has magical powers.

Even though I love kitchen gadgets and could just go buy a real cocktail shaker, my tiny kitchen is starting to overflow with one-use items, and I'm hoping all of you can help me find a way around this problem.

So ... what else can I use besides buying a real-live cocktail shaker? Or should I admit that this is one gadget I can't live without and just get one already?

(Photo credit: CHOW.com. WANT.)

Comments

[Airlie]

You can use two glasses stuck together, open end to open end. Does that make sense? Just make sure the seal is tight.

[Kelly]

You can use anything with a lid...and a sipping/or pour spout

I use my reusable coffee cup..you know the ones that look like the paper kind but are really plastic.

Also any kind of beverage container with a top that has an opening for sipping or pouring. My 20 oz Rubbermaid water bottle with a flip top works great. Fill with ice and your mixer of choice and shake and then flip the top and pour into glass.

Heck if you have to..you could use a sippy cup...ha

[Dawn K.]

Do you have pub style glasses that flare slightly at the top? If so, you can take one of those and another glass with a slightly smaller top and turn one upside down to stick on top of the other. I'm usually too lazy to dig my shaker out of the cabinet, so this is my go-to method.

[Jesabes]

My husband uses a plastic cup with a slightly smaller plastic cup over top. They fit together pretty snugly.

[Shannon]

A jar with a lid works just fine. Its even made out of the same materials in the same places as a lot of cocktail shakers. Glass base, metal lid. If you have room for a little gadget, then a cocktail strainer would be good to have with any of the above mentioned options. If not, then you can just tilt he lid to strain. Im a bartender that owns several shakers, and I have used the jar method a time or two, just because my mason jars are more handy in my kitchen =)