I’m a liquor snob, beer advocate, and developing wine enthusiast at 25 years of age. I’ve been tending bar for 5-6 years and have been reading and exploring the trade for just as long. I think cracking is a flair move in that it involves risk. Althouth it’s never happened to me, I am still concerned that during a crack pour, between gravity and the holding angle and
condensation, the shaker could drop… on a martini glass, shot glass, etc. (Let me know if I’m alone on this) If you work at a flair bar or nightclub or your owner/mgr for whatever reason doesn’t care about breakage, then crack away. But if you work at an establishment where clientele expect professionalism, then strain. Broken glass on a bar top is not attractive. And ice just gets in the way of consuming your libation.

A good question to ask yourself when it comes to stylistic flourishes is, “Would I be doing this if I were working the service-bar?” In tight spaces, where no one of consequence is watching, it’s ALL about the drink. If the answer ends up being “No”, then chances are because it sacrifices speed, precision, or quality in the work. If the answer is “Yes”, then it’s your thing, do what you want to do.

Any bartender, with time, learns how to crack the glass without letting ice chips fall. But any bartender, with organization, should be fast and efficient with their tools. Making a case for one or the other is apples and oranges in the end. Personally, I strain - Hawthorne for tin, julep for glass.

On the matter of using the “reverse-the-glass” technique - I think it’s lame. Aside from the cleanliness questions posed above, also because of how proud bartenders who do it feel after they notice you watching. If you’re going to incorporate something into your style, flair or not, do it with dignity.

Hawthorne all the way!

Strainers, along with bar spoons, and peelers are lost in our bars frequently.

That was until I installed a kitchen knife magnet to the underside of the bar top over each ice well.

We keep, a pairing knife, peeler, two strainers, and a bar spoon on the magnet. We never lose these items anymore, and they are even more conveniently located than if they were set on a spill mat.

Speaking about using the outside of the glass to strain from a Boston shaker. Yeah, we know the glass was clean, until the bartender touched it.

I have recently changed my mind. I opened a high end sports bar. A truly high end sports bar, our top entree is a dry aged CAB tenderloin and we offer fair all the way down to CAB hamburgers and pizza. Before we opened for the first day I thought every bartender should use a strainer every time. We opened our doors at 4pm and had sold 3,500.00 in drinks by 8pm with two bartenders. I have to be honest. At that point I probably could not even tell you what a strainer was. This experience and many nights since have changed my outlook on this matter.

But like many have said before, you can crack but don’t crack sloppy. Also if I am not too busy at that moment, I say no to crack and keep true to my heritage.

Use a hawthorne strainer with a boston shaker, use a julep strainer with a stirred drink in a mixing glass. Every bar I have consultated/managed this is mandatory as it shows professionalism.

The crack method shows a lack of class, resulting in ice shards and/or shrubbery if herbs are used, floating in the drink. As far as speed, i don’t believe the crack method is faster if you are a prepared bartender. Ive seen so many crack bartenders teeter todder the shaker back and forth until they get out every last drop.

As far as nightclub bartenders that sell 5K a night, do whatever you want, cause seconds really do count! Customers should realize the enviroment they are in before getting snobby, hence I drink beer or highballs in nightclubs.

I have since of course purchased a hawthorne strainer, and honestly I don’t like it as much, it simply lets too much ice through. Maybe I should just swap to Julep strainers which seem to let even less ice through.

And as number 28 said, get off your high horses people. Yes straining looks more elegant than cracking, but if you know what you are doing it does not at all reflect the quality of the drink. As I just said, my cracked drinks have less ice (ie no ice) than my strained drinks…

Also note that I can make my strainer not have ice in it, but the only way is to pour it ssllooowwwllly which defeats the arguement (at least from personal experience) of it being faster than cracking.

Someone please explain how the strainer is any cleaner than the glass that’s just been through the washer. It’s not. Get off your high horses.

I used to work at a speed bar where I spent my whole shift 3 to 4 deep with customers who could care less about drink quality or ice chips in their drinks (just about getting drunk). In that situation, my strainer always seems to disappear at some point and I end up cracking and straining. This is not a “flair” move, it’s a speed and necessity move.

I would never expect to see this at a bar where they cared about drink quality.

Seriously, my right arm is now bigger than my left.

I look like a crab.

“It’s about the drink, stupid.”

Cheers!