How to Palm Spin a Martini Shaker

By eHow Careers & Work Editor

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Once there was a lonely bartender who had no customers. One day he started fiddling around with his bottles and shakers, juggling them and twirling them about. Suddenly, he had many customers. Palm spinning a martini shaker is one of the most basic skills in flair bartending. Follow these directions to be like that popular bartender.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

Boston shaker
Pint glass

Step1

Using a Boston shaker and glass, fill the glass three-quarters full of ice and add a couple ounces of liquid. Doing so will give you the counter weight you will need to spin your shaker.

Step2

Close up your shaker by placing the glass inside of the metal shaker and giving it a couple of good solid taps with the palm of your hand. You don’t want liquid to seep out.

Step3

Give the shaker a couple of practice shakes to ensure that your shaker is closed and will not fall apart when you attempt the palm spin.

Step4

Hold the shaker with the flatter side towards your palm approximately in the middle. Make sure that your palm is facing upwards.

Step5

Press under with your thumb and towards your wrist with the last three fingers of your hand, which will cause the shaker to begin its spin.

Step6

Flatten your hand and allow the shaker to spin in your palm. When the shaker slows, usually after one to one and a half revolutions, catch it.

Tips & Warnings

Because you are using glass, ice and water, practice this maneuver in a place where glass will not break and where it doesn’t matter if the area gets wet.
Do not overfill your shaker until you are more confident. The more liquid you have in the shaker, the more dynamic weight you have to spin.
Shakers can pop apart at the most inconvenient of times. Make sure your shaker is secure.
Do not tap your shaker too hard to seal it; glass has a tendency to break when you hit it too hard.