酒保必備 誰發明了雞尾酒搖壺

In 1848, George Foster, a reporter for The New York Tribune who spent his nights searching for good stories in the city’s seedier quarters, marveled at the way a bartender made a drink: “With his shirt sleeves rolled up, and his face in a fiery glow [he] seems to be pulling long ribbons of julep out of a tin cup.”

1848年，《紐約論壇報》(The New York Tribune)的記者喬治·福斯特(George Foster)晚上在紐約髒亂的角落尋找好故事，一個酒保調製酒水的方式讓他感到驚訝：“他把襯衣袖子捲起來，一臉興奮，從一個錫質杯子中倒出冰鎮薄荷酒，彷彿拉出長長絲帶一樣。”

This is perhaps the first known description of a cocktail shaker. At the time, drinks were either stirred with long-handled spoons or tossed back and forth between two glass tumblers, which made for excellent showmanship but not great mixing (not to mention the mess). Eventually, says David Wondrich, a cocktail historian whose books include “Imbibe!” and “Punch,” someone “came up with the bright idea of sticking a tin cup on top of a glass and shaking with ice, which forms a seal. By the 1850s, they were making custom shakers entirely out of metal — sterling, alloy, brass and silver-plated.” The Parisian shaker, which was popular in Europe, was an elegant, urn-shaped variation. It comprised two pieces without a strainer and came onto the bar scene roughly 20 years later. “The Europeans had seen what we were doing,” Wondrich says, “and they thought it was dead cool. Everyone went crazy for American drinks, and they started importing the gear.”

這可能是對雞尾酒搖壺的最早描述。當時，酒水要麼用長柄勺攪拌，要麼用兩個大玻璃杯來回倒，後者適合進行精彩的表演，但混合得並不好（更別提有時會弄得一團糟）。雞尾酒史學家大衛·旺德里奇(David Wondrich)曾出版《飲酒！》(Imbibe!)和《潘趣酒》(Punch)等書。他說，最後有人“想出了一個聰明的主意，在玻璃杯口附一個錫杯，加冰搖晃，形成一個密封罐。到19世紀50年代，他們完全用金屬製作定製搖壺，比如純銀、合金、黃銅和鍍銀。”當時歐洲盛行的巴黎搖壺呈優雅的甕狀。它由兩部分組成，沒有過濾器，大約在19世紀70年代出現在酒吧裏。“歐洲人見到我們的做法，”旺德里奇說，“他們覺得它酷斃了。當時所有人都爲美國酒水着迷，開始進口這種工具。”

Throughout the 1870s, inventors sought to improve on the basic design. One featured a plunger system for mixing six tumblers at once; another had air vents. But none of these took. Then in 1884, Edward Hauck of Brooklyn patented the three-part metal shaker with a built-in strainer and a little top — a configuration that has remained essentially unchanged to this day. It came to be known as the cobbler shaker (the sherry cobbler, made of sherry, sugar, ice and orange or lemon, was among the most popular cocktails of the era). When stainless steel was invented in the early 20th century, it quickly became the shaker material of choice, an honor it continues to enjoy.

19世紀70年代，發明家們一直努力在此基礎設計上進行改進。其中一款有個活塞系統，一次能混合六杯；還有一款有透氣孔。但它們都沒有流行開來。1884年，布魯克林的愛德華·豪克(Edward Hauck)爲三件套金屬搖壺申請了專利，它有個內置過濾器，還有個小蓋子——直到現在總體上都是採用這種構造。它被稱爲寇伯樂搖壺（雪利寇伯樂[sherry cobbler]是用雪利酒、糖、冰、橙汁或檸檬汁做成的，是那個時代最流行的雞尾酒之一）。20世紀初不鏽鋼出現後，很快成爲製作搖壺的材料，直到現在也是首選材料。

Although shakers remain a crucial part of the bartender’s kit, they can be overused. Martinis should be stirred — James Bond notwithstanding — as should old-fashioneds and manhattans. When it comes to newer-fangled additions to the cocktail list, it’s hard for even an expert to categorize. “People are shaking up all kinds of crazy stuff these days,” Wondrich says. “Sometimes I’ve watched, scratching my head, and hoped for a beer.”

雖然搖壺仍是酒保用具的重要組成部分，但它們可能被濫用了。馬提尼酒應該攪拌——詹姆斯·邦德(James Bond)除外——那些老式雞尾酒和曼哈頓雞尾酒也應該攪拌。但是新加入雞尾酒單的一些飲品連專家都不知道該怎麼歸類。“如今人們搖晃各種瘋狂的玩意，”旺德里奇說，“有時我看得一頭霧水，心想還不如來杯啤酒呢。”