Double Straining a Cocktail: How,
when & why

WRITTEN BY SCOTT VAN DORT

Double straining is the cocktail technique that separates smooth, professional-quality drinks from cloudy, textured ones. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned home bartender, mastering this one skill instantly elevates your cocktails.

Single straining uses a basic strainer to catch big ice chunks or fruit bits. But if you’re tired of those tiny ice shards or bits of fruit pulp ruining your perfectly made drink, then double straining is really going to make a difference and up the quality of your cocktails.

What Is Double Straining?

Double straining keeps ice shards, citrus pulp, and muddled herbs out of the finished drink. Imagine taking a sip of a freshly shaken Margarita only to crunch on ice chips or find a mouthful of lime pulp — double straining prevents exactly that.

Double-straining (or fine-straining) is used to keep solid ingredients, such as ice or fruit pulp, out of the final drink. The technique involves pouring the drink through two strainers: a standard one and a fine-mesh strainer, ensuring a smooth final drink.

Double straining eliminates ice dilution and removes pulp, producing a cleaner flavor profile and smoother texture in every glass.

How to Double Strain Cocktails

Here’s how to shake and double strain your cocktails:

Shake It to make it: Shake your cocktail in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously to properly mix and chill the ingredients. A good guide is to shake your cocktail shaker for a slow count of ten seconds or until it’s ice cold.
Strain number one: Place your Hawthorne strainer over the top of your cocktail shaker. Pour the cocktail through the strainer into your glass, catching any large ice chunks and muddled ingredients.
The all-important second strain: Hold your fine mesh strainer over your cocktail glass. Pour the cocktail from the shaker through the mesh strainer. This final step will make sure your drink is free of any unwanted bits and pieces.
Serve and enjoy: Pour your perfectly strained cocktail into a chilled glass and get ready to impress your guests with outstanding bar-quality drinks.

When Should You Double Strain a Cocktail?

Firstly, you don’t need to double strain every drink. So then, what cocktails do you need to double strain? Some people say you should double strain any shaken cocktail made with ice but the basic rule is that you should double strain anytime you want to keep citrus pulp, muddled mint or tiny ice pieces out of your drink.

When Should You NOT Double Strain a Cocktail?

Stirred cocktails such as a classic Martini or Negroni shouldn’t be double strained. Stirring creates a smooth, velvety texture by incorporating minimal air. Double straining disrupts that result, removing the silky mouthfeel that defines stirred drinks. As a rule: shake and double strain drinks with citrus, fruit syrups, or muddled ingredients; stir and single strain spirit-only cocktails.

Ricardo ‘Rico’ Dynan – Bartender and Absolut Global Brand Ambassador – explains that when you shake drinks with citrus juice in a cocktail shaker, such as a Kamikaze or Cosmopolitan, “You create a very crisp, fresh and crunchy texture. Whereas if you stir a drink, you’re going to create a much smoother velvety texture.”

Double Straining Egg White Cocktails

Egg white cocktails such as a Whiskey Sour or Clover Club benefit from double straining. The fine mesh strainer transforms coarse, uneven foam into a smooth, uniform mousse-like layer that sits cleanly on top of the drink. The result is better presentation, more consistent texture, and a more refined mouthfeel.

Similarly, for any drinks that consist only of alcohol without any mixer or anything else, such as a classic Martini or Negroni, you might just want to stir the drink to get a velvety texture.

“But when it comes to drinks with fruit juices and syrups, shake the hell out of them,” advises Rico. “Smash them up. Get everything blended together and you’ll get a nice texture.” And for those cocktails, you’re going to want to double-strain.

3 Must-Have Bartending Tools for Double Straining

As you will have noticed, in order to double strain your cocktail, you’ll first need a few basic tools.

Cocktail Shaker
Whether you want to make a classic Margarita or an Espresso Martini, you’re going to need a good cocktail shaker. Put simply, it’s a home bartending essential. Watch Rico show how to use a cocktail shaker properly.
Hawthorne Strainer
This is the strainer with the coiled spring that sits perfectly over your shaker tin. It catches those larger ice chunks and muddled ingredients so they don’t end up in your drink.
Fine Mesh Strainer
This small, handheld strainer catches all the tiny bits that slip through the Hawthorne strainer, ensuring your cocktail is smooth, removes the ice chips to reduce dilution, and keeps the fruit pulp out of the glass.

Types of Cocktail Strainers

Now let’s look at the different types of strainers and how they’re used together to perfectly double strain a drink:

Hawthorne Strainer
Again, this strainer is the one with the coiled spring and fits perfectly over the top of your shaker. You can easily attach it and pour with one hand while keeping the strainer in place. It’s fantastic for catching large ice chunks and muddled fruit. Plus, you can adjust the spring to control the flow of the liquid.

Julep Strainer
This strainer looks like a large, perforated spoon. While it’s traditionally used for straining stirred cocktails like the classic Manhattan, it can also be used in place of a Hawthorne strainer if you prefer.

Fine Mesh Strainer
This small, handheld strainer comes in various sizes and looks and functions like a tea strainer. It catches all the fine particles that Hawthorne strainers or julep strainers miss. “This is when we make drinks that go into Martini glasses – a little bit more luxurious, defined with intense flavors,” explains Rico.

How to Strain a Drink Without a Strainer

No strainer? No problems! In the video above, Rico shows the different strainer types and what normal household equipment you can use if you don’t have a proper strainer or cocktail shaker.

Let’s say a few friends unexpectedly drop by and you want to mix some drinks but don’t have any bartending tools, not even a cocktail shaker. As Rico shows, you can freestyle by using a container with a lid to shake your drink, for example a plastic container. You could then use a normal flour sieve or tea strainer to strain the mixture directly into your glasses.

In other words, there are normal everyday household objects you probably have around the house that you can use to make a cocktail. No, it’s not going to be as effective as a cocktail shaker with a Hawthorne strainer and fine mesh strainer, but hey, it’ll do the trick.

So, now that you know how to double strain a cocktail and the tools you’ll need, it’s time to get mixing!

Double Straining a Cocktail: How, when & why