Hawthorne, julep and fine mesh strainers, compared

The criteria, before the strainers

Strainers are judged on what they can physically hold back and on how they sit against the vessel. Nothing else about them matters much, which is why the expensive ones are only marginally better than the cheap ones and why the wrong type is a much bigger error than the wrong brand.

• What it can hold back

  A spring blocks ice. A perforated bowl blocks ice. Only a mesh blocks pulp, herb fragments and shards. Match this to what they actually drink before anything else.

• How it seats on the vessel

  A Hawthorne sits on a tin. A julep sits inside a mixing glass. A strainer used on the wrong vessel rocks, and a rocking strainer is a spilled drink.

• A lip or a finger stop

  Both are small features that do real work: a raised lip forces liquid through the coil rather than around it, and a finger stop keeps the strainer from rotating mid-pour.

• Whether they already own one

  A cobbler shaker has a strainer in the lid. Buying a Hawthorne for a cobbler owner solves a problem they do not have.

The three types, and what each one is for

The names are unhelpful, so here is what each one physically is:

• Hawthorne — a flat disc with a coiled spring around the edge. Sits on top of a shaking tin. The spring is the filter; the disc holds it in place.
• Julep — a perforated bowl on a handle. Sits inside a mixing glass, bowl-side down, and you hold it against the ice while you pour past it.
• Fine mesh — a conical wire mesh with a handle. Held in the other hand, underneath, so the drink passes through it on the way to the glass. It is never used alone.

Read the last column and the shopping decision makes itself. If they own tins and drink daiquiris, they need a Hawthorne and a mesh. If they own a mixing glass and drink Manhattans, they need a julep and nothing else. Very few people need all three, and nobody needs two Hawthornes.

Why the spring is the only specification that matters

On a Hawthorne, the disc is structural and the coil is the actual filter. Liquid passes between the turns of the spring; ice does not. It follows that coil tightness decides performance and almost nothing else does.

This is also the specification that is almost never published, which is why a strainer that came free in a multi-piece kit frequently performs worse than one bought on its own for a few dollars. A loose coil passes shards, and shards in a served drink is the most visible failure a home bar produces.

The two other features worth paying for are both tiny. A raised lip, which the OXO has, forces the pour through the spring instead of escaping round the side of the disc. A finger stop, which the Barfly julep strainer has, stops the bowl rotating out of position while you tip the glass. Neither is glamorous and both are the difference between a tool that works and one that is annoying.

Double straining, and why bars do it

Watch a good bartender pour a shaken drink and there are two strainers involved: the Hawthorne on the tin, and a mesh cone held underneath in the other hand. The drink passes through both.

The reason is that a spring cannot catch small things. Shaking a drink with citrus produces pulp; shaking with mint produces fragments; shaking hard produces ice shards regardless of how tight the coil is. All three pass a Hawthorne and none pass a mesh. That is the entire technique, and the tool costs less than a bottle of tonic.

It is also the reason a fine mesh strainer is useless to a stirred-drinks drinker. Nothing in a Manhattan needs catching, so the second strainer catches nothing and adds a second wet object to wash. Which shaker they own tells you most of what you need to know about which of these they need.

Which one to buy

For a shaker owner with no strainer, the Koriko Hawthorne is the answer and the OXO is the cheaper answer that gives up very little. Buy the OXO if it is a first strainer and the Koriko if they already know they care.

For anyone who already strains competently, the fine mesh cone is the highest-value gift on this page by a wide margin — it costs almost nothing and it is the single visible difference between a homemade daiquiri and a bar one.

The julep strainer is the specialist. Buy it with a mixing glass, or for someone who already owns one — never on its own for a household that only shakes. And if you are not sure what they own at all, what actually comes in a bartender kit is the page that answers it.