The Regulars

CocktailShaker.com wins the sliver

With two solid ideas - 1) that good high quality antique shakers are hard to find; and 2) there a few, if any, new well-made shakers on the market today - LuAnn and Jim Schneider, "The Big Shakers" at Cocktailshaker.com, have created a great site, and even greater products. Oh, and an exceptional company - Classic Shaker Company - to boot.

With the basic philosophy that drinks are better made these days and that more and more people are serving their drinks up with style, the Schneiders decided to "...create high quality, well-designed shakers for cocktail enthusiasts of the modern age..." And that they did.

According to the site, all shakers are built with the same standards, same materials and methods as the first cocktail shakers produced at the turn of the century. All the shakers are hand-made in pewter, silverplate or sterling silver, which is evident in the pricing. Ranging from US$160 to US$3,500 these are truly the crème de la crème of cocktail shakers. You have to pay for style and craftsmanship!

As you click your way through the site, the exquisite silver craftsmanship and beautiful glass-blown designs really jump off the page. From the 1920s jazzy, speakeasy styling of the Signature Model to the slick blown glass design of the Glass Slipper Model, the Classic Shaker Company is truly producing some of the finest shakers [and silver flasks] around.

One of the coolest of shakers is the Metro, with a rugged yet sleek design that is part skyscraper, part tuxedo dinner jacket. Very art deco with sleek pronounced lines. Classic models like the Noble bring about scenes of King Arthur sitting at the Round Table shaking up a storm. And if that doesn't sound cool enough, it has a beautiful hand hammered finish taking much of its influence from the early twentieth century.

Helpful hints like why a well-shaken Martini tastes different than one that is stirred is quite simple: because the aldehydes in the liquor and the Fusel oil create a cloudy but creamier libation. The site helps with your preparation tips, suggestions as well as taking you step-by-step through the all-important ritual of making a nicely shaken cocktail, in this case a Martini.

These incredible shakers can be ordered directly from the company's website, Cocktailshaker.com.