High confidence
Julep strainer
A perforated, spoon-shaped strainer held inside the mouth of a mixing glass to hold back ice while a stirred drink is poured.
What it's for: Straining stirred drinks from a mixing glass.
What it changes in the drink
Nothing. A stirred drink has no ice shards, only whole cubes, so any strainer that holds back cubes gives the same drink. The julep strainer is simply steadier and quicker in the wide mouth of a mixing glass.
Do you need one? Specialist
Useful if you stir often in a mixing glass; a Hawthorne does the same job.
- Good substitute
- A Hawthorne strainer held over the mixing glass.
- Poor substitute: your fingers across the rim
- The drink runs down your hand and, at the end, the ice follows it.
Using it
- Place it bowl-down inside the mouth of the mixing glass, resting on the ice.
- Hold it in place with your index finger and pour from the glass's lip.
Common mistakes
- Using it on a shaken drink. Its large holes let shards through, and it does not fit a tin well.
Cleaning and care
Plain steel; rinse and dry.
Technique: Stirring
What to look for
Match the bowl to the mouth of your mixing glass: too small and it tips into the glass, too large and it will not sit inside.