Strain like you mean it

Straining is the last chance to decide what the guest drinks. Ice chips, citrus pulp and broken herbs do not become “character” in a coupe. They become grit.

Hawthorne

The Hawthorne is the everyday shaken-drink strainer. The spring sits inside the tin, the gate faces you, and you control the flow with your index finger on the tab. A little pulp from citrus is fine. Shards of ice are not — let the spring do the work, and do not fling the last drop if it is all melt.

Julep

A julep strainer belongs on a mixing glass. It is a perforated bowl. Hold it concave-side in, tight to the ice, and pour in a steady stream. This is the clean finish on a stirred, clear drink. Using a Hawthorne on a mixing glass works in a pinch; it is just clumsier.

Fine strain

A fine (tea) strainer is a second filter, usually over the glass while the Hawthorne does the first pass. Use it when you shook on citrus, herbs, pepper, or cheap ice that explodes into chips. Skip it when you want a little body — some sours look better with a faint haze.

Do not fine-strain a drink that is meant to keep its ice, like a smash served over crushed. You would be filtering out the point.

Small, useful habits

• Strain into a cold glass. A warm coupe melts the work you just did.
• If the drink is going onto fresh ice, strain off the old ice. The ice in the tin is already tired.
• Wipe the tin lip. A sticky rim on the next ticket is how stations get sloppy.

Pick the strainer for the ice you used and the texture you want. That is the whole technique.

All tools and technique notes