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Cocktail strainers


JAZ

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I've been on a search for a nice looking, yet functional cocktail strainer. For a long time, I used the basic one you see everywhere -- small, stainless and ugly. It worked okay, although I always found that there was nothing to funnel the liquid, so it was easy to spill as I poured. Mostly, though, it just looked and felt cheap and flimsy. I like my bar tools to look nice as well as function well; hence the search.

The problem was that most of the "nicer" strainers, in sets or sold singly, had major design flaws -- the spring wasn't large enough to keep the strainer in the shaker securely, or the handle was long (what's the point of that?). That was the main reason I never bought the Rosle strainer -- that and the price, although I could have gotten a substantial discount.

I finally found one that I'm happy with -- this one by WMF. It looks nice (it's made of brushed stainless), fits the strainer snugly and pours well.

But I'd still like to know if there are others out there worth getting -- after all, I can always use two good strainers. What does everyone else use?

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I really like the oxo mini strainer. It is heavy gauge, closely spiraled spring, well made. I have 2 of them.

John Deragon

foodblog 1 / 2

--

I feel sorry for people that don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day -- Dean Martin

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I have another WMF one that seems to work well.

It was from their "Manhattan" line, which seems to have been mostly discontinued.

I've been intrigued by the Oxo ones, as I've heard they are well made. Haven't really had a reason to pick one up, though. At least, it doesn't appear have the annoying hollow handles that plague most of the Oxo "grips" line.

---

Erik Ellestad

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck...

Bernal Heights, SF, CA

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The Oxo one does look good (and it's certainly cheaper than my WMF strainer) -- what's the function of the black rubber piece on the back? John, is that the one you have, or does Oxo make another?

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I use both the OXO and the WMF--hah!

Both are solid and efficient. In general, I prefer the OXO, but the WMF is bigger and fits some of my bigger shakers (such as, surprise surprise, the WMF Loft-series Boston shaker I've been using).

aka David Wondrich

There are, according to recent statistics, 147 female bartenders in the United States. In the United Kingdom the barmaid is a feature of the wayside inn, and is a young woman of intelligence and rare sagacity. --The Syracuse Standard, 1895

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The oxo one fromm amazon is the one I have. :-)

John Deragon

foodblog 1 / 2

--

I feel sorry for people that don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day -- Dean Martin

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  • 1 month later...

I wonder how the tin of Rösle's Boston shaker compares to industry standard? I've noticed that a lot of the strainers I've seen that look like the Rösle strainer are way too small.

--

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  • 8 months later...
Thoughts? Sources?

http://www.instawares.com/stainless-steel-....jst-31.0.7.htm :biggrin:

However, shipping is a killer for a single item...

Edited by Joe Blowe (log)

So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money. But when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness."

So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

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  • 10 months later...

So, I finally picked up one of the Oxo strainers last week, and although I'm still getting used to it, I do like it. It's a little small for some of my shakers, but so far that's the only downside.

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So, I finally picked up one of the Oxo strainers last week, and although I'm still getting used to it, I do like it. It's a little small for some of my shakers, but so far that's the only downside.

A quick and easy solution is to buy a super cheap strainer with a big fat spring, take the spring out of your OXO, put it *inside* the bigger springs (like a train passing through a tunnel, or whatever less family-friendly metaphor you happen to prefer), and then put both springs back onto your OXO. With a little fiddling to make sure the big spring "sticks out" all the way around, you'll find that the OXO fits more snugly in your 28 oz tins.

(Credit where credit is due: thanks to donbert for the tip.)

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[..]

A quick and easy solution is to buy a super cheap strainer with a big fat spring, take the spring out of your OXO, put it *inside* the bigger springs (like a train passing through a tunnel, or whatever less family-friendly metaphor you happen to prefer), and then put both springs back onto your OXO.  With a little fiddling to make sure the big spring "sticks out" all the way around, you'll find that the OXO fits more snugly in your 28 oz tins.

(Credit where credit is due: thanks to donbert for the tip.)

Since the OXO strainer fits snugly over a 16 and 18 oz metal tin or tempered bar glass, another possibility is to pour the drink out of the smaller tin of your boston shaker set.

---

Erik Ellestad

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck...

Bernal Heights, SF, CA

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Here's my heretic question for the week:

Why do I need to use a julep strainer?

I have hawthorn style strainers that fit in all my tins. All drinks are double strained through a tea strainer.

I just find julep strainers to be a pain. Especially if you're cracking your cubes, little pieces of ice always get around the sides of the strainer.

Other than tradition and they look kind of cool, someone give me a good reason to use one.

---

Erik Ellestad

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck...

Bernal Heights, SF, CA

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Other than tradition and they look kind of cool, someone give me a good reason to use one.

That's usually reason enough for me, I actually can't imagine that a mesh strainer doesn't yield superior results, although (sadly) I don't actually own a Julep strainer, so I couldn't really tell you.

Andy Arrington

Journeyman Drinksmith

Twitter--@LoneStarBarman

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Here's my heretic question for the week:

Why do I need to use a julep strainer?

I have hawthorn style strainers that fit in all my tins.  All drinks are double strained through a tea strainer.

I just find julep strainers to be a pain.  Especially if you're cracking your cubes, little pieces of ice always get around the sides of the strainer.

Other than tradition and they look kind of cool, someone give me a good reason to use one.

I usually make stirred drinks in my pint glasses. I nearly always use the julep strainer for them. It fits the glass properly. I suppose I could use a hawthorn, but I like the way it sits in there tilted perfectly. I never use it for straining a tin as it falls too far down.

If anything, I have more problems with my hawthorn not straining out the little shards of ice - maybe I shouldn't expect it to. I've started pouring with the hawthorn through a small mesh strainer as well. Its kind of a pain though.

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