How To Expertly Shake Carbonated Cocktails Without Creating An Explosion

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Shaking a cocktail is oftentimes vital to getting the ideal taste for your favorite drinks, but it's not always seen as a possibility if you're using a carbonated beverage. While some of these cocktails can be stirred rather than shaken to avoid any explosive outcomes, sometimes your ingredients need a good shake to really come together as well as possible. In this case, you can bypass any difficulties by waiting to add your carbonated drink until after you've already shaken your other ingredients.

This simple yet effective strategy was relayed to us by Vlad Novikov, who acts as the Head of Bars at Ned's Club in Washington, D.C. Speaking exclusively to The Takeout, he explains that, outside of a few key circumstances, you should never even attempt to shake a carbonated mixer when making a cocktail. "All of your ingredients besides the carbonated ones should be shaken together," Novikov reveals. He does, however, also note that specialized devices and shakers — such as the Perlini Cocktail Carbonating System — that feature a CO2 charger can allow you to get the benefits of shaking a cocktail with carbonated liquid in it without suffering the consequences. "These can be really fun if you want to get better carbonation on drinks like Mojitos or French 75s," Novikov suggests, "or try a carbonated version of a cocktail whose ingredients are all not carbonated."

Now, the reason why it's so important to not add a carbonated liquid to a shaker for cocktails like the increasingly popular spritz cocktail is because of how it can negatively impact the fizziness of the drink itself. Because carbonated beverages are more prone to going flat after they're shaken, the mistake can completely destroy the texture of your cocktail. With this in mind, there are a handful of ways to maintain that fizziness and carbonation from start to finish, according to Vlad Novikov. "Use chilled glassware, it will preserve the carbonation better," Novikov suggests to us exclusively. However, he has an arguably even more pivotal suggestion: "Strain the drink from the shaker, and top with the carbonated ingredient before adding in ice. This will allow the ingredients to naturally mix."

This method is often forgotten by novice drink-makers, many of whom will instead use the ice within the shaker for the drink itself. However, straining (or even double-straining) your cocktails can go a long way to ensure that both the cocktail maintains a stronger flavor and that your carbonated liquid can mesh better with the other ingredients in your drink. "Sometimes if you add the ice in before the carbonated ingredient, it just layers on top and doesn't mix," Novikov warns, "so you end up needing to stir or mix lightly to incorporate it."