The traditional Cobbler shaker is the household favorite. Its sleek design and the fact that its usage is no rocket science makes it the go-to shaker for novices. The Cobbler shaker is an all-in-one solution consisting of 3 parts: a metal tin, cap, and built-in strainer. You don’t even need a jigger to measure recipe volumes, as the cap is usually 1OZ.

A variation of the Cobbler is glass tin with a metal cap instead of a metal tin with a metal cap. If you want to go real fancy you can also purchase the Cobbler in different colors or personalized versions. It will not make your cocktail taste better, but you sure will look good shaking.

To love:

• Sold everywhere in different shapes and sizes
• Simple to use
• No need for additional tools
• Looks nice on a bar cart or home bar

Not to love:

• Takes longer to shake and strain
• Freezes up quickly and becomes harder to clean
• Hard to open
• Strainer has larger holes that don’t hold back all ingredients

The Boston shaker is the Major League. It’s the cocktail shaker of choice for most bartenders and true cocktail apprentices. The Boston shaker consists of a shaking metal tin and a mixing glass tin but has no built-in strainer. For the Boston shaker, a strainer must be purchased separately, which is a Hawthorne strainer. To seal the shaker, you must place the glass tin on top of the metal tin and with a firm grip tap on the back side of the glass tin. To unseal you have to tap the side of the metal tin. This water sealing must be done carefully and perfectly so you don’t either break your glass tin or be wearing a cocktail shirt the rest of the evening.

To love:

• Faster
• Easy to reuse and clean

Not to love:

• Requires more skills (which can also be positive)
• The glass can break
• Requires extra accessories (also positive)

An up-and-coming, but still hard to find, type of cocktail shaker is the Parisian/ French-style shaker. This shaker has been around for centuries, but it wasn’t till recently that it started gaining momentum. Not weird since this shaker is a beauty to look at. The Parisian is in-between the Cobbler and Boston shaker. It has the shape of a cobbler, but like the Boston, it misses the built-in strainer. Though the Parisian is built as the Cobbler, it is a bit easier to open than the Cobbler.

To love:

• Stylish
• Simple to use
• Easy to reuse and to clean

Not to love:

• Difficult to find
• More expensive