The big idea
Dry-shake egg white or aquafaba without ice to build foam, then wet-shake to chill — skip either step and you get warm or thin-capped foam.
Keep these
Shake protein without ice first until the tin sounds creamy, not sloshy.
Always follow with a wet shake on ice.
Fine-strain into a chilled glass so chips don’t deflate the cap.
Skip the dry shake when there’s no protein to foam.
The rule
Dry-shake when the recipe includes egg white, aquafaba, or another foaming protein. A dry shake builds foam before dilution; a wet shake alone can work but often yields a thinner cap.
Citrus-only sours (a Daiquiri, a Tommy’s Margarita) do not need this move. Save it for drinks that should wear a foam cap.
Shake without ice
Seal and shake hard 10–15 seconds until the mix sounds creamy.
Open · add ice
Pack the tin full — sparse ice warms the drink.
Shake again · strain
Wet-shake until painfully cold, then fine-strain into a chilled glass.
Combine ingredients with no ice. Seal and shake hard for 10–15 seconds — you want a muffled, creamy sound, not ice rattle.
Open, pack with ice, and wet-shake until the tin is painfully cold. Fine-strain into a chilled coupe or Nick & Nora. Let the foam settle a few seconds before garnishing.
Some bartenders reverse the order — wet shake first, strain out ice, then dry shake — for a tighter foam cap. Both work.
In the glass
Open a recipe, focus on this move once, then make it again next week.
Whiskey
Dry-shake until you hear a creamy rattle, then wet-shake until the tin hurts. The foam should sit in a tight cap, not a soapy scum.
Gin
Raspberry plus egg wants a hard dry shake. If the drink looks pink and thin, you rushed the foam stage.
Pisco
The foam should hold a few drops of bitters on top. If they sink, the dry shake was too short.