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Some types of cocktails shakers include a strainer integrated into their lids, but frankly I try to avoid these. While they do the job, I feel that it takes longer to pour out the drinks, and you end up spending time twirling the shaker around for a while to get out all of the drink.

There are two basic types of cocktail strainers, the Hawthorn Strainer and the Julep Strainer.

Hawthorn Strainer:
This is by far the most common type of cocktail strainer, it has a very unique look to it, with the wire "spring" that encircles the rim. The rolled spring around the edge of the strainer does a fine job of keeping the ice in the shaker but still allowing some of the fruit pulp, and even some small shards of ice into the glass.

Traditionally you will find Hawthorn Strainers with either two or four prongs which stabilize it on the top of the shaker, but you can also find them without any prongs, just an extra wide spring that will do the job.

Julep Strainer:
This strainer can be very hard to find, but it adds a nice touch of class to the process of mixing drinks, as well as having a very specific use behind the bar. It is essentially a single piece of metal, with a round, slightly concave (or is it convex?) surface that is studded with holes much like a simple colander.

Both of these styles of strainers have a specific purpose. When you are using Boston Shaker style of Cocktail Shaker, you will find that the Hawthorn Strainer fits very well in the metal half of the shaker, but it is usually a tight fit on the glass part. The Julep strainer on the other hand is too small for the metal part of the shaker, but fits nicely inside the glass part.

Unlike the Hawthorn Strainer, the Julep Strainer doesn't fit across the top of the container, but instead fits gently within the glass at an angle, it takes a little bit of practice, but works quite well.

A cocktail strainer is a metal bar accessory used to remove ice from a mixed drink after it has been shaken or stirred and while it is being poured into the glass it will be served in. Strainers are used to cover the mouth of the glass a drink was stirred in or part of the cocktail shaker that it was shaken in. They have holes or slits small enough that only liquid can be poured out.

There are two main types of strainers. The Hawthorn strainer is flat and circular with a handle and several flat stabilizing prongs coming out of the rim. It has a metal spring around its rim that will roll inward slightly to fit inside a glass. The circular rim of the strainer need not be touching the rim of the glass, as the spring inside will filter out the ice.

The Julep strainer is concave and circular with a handle, and will fit tightly into a mixing glass when on an angle. The concave part of the strainer is perforated with several dozen small holes.