DIY Cocktail Shaker & Tips for Making Drinks without Bar Tools

You don’t need fancy ingredients or equipment to make a great drink, so here’s how to make a DIY cocktail shaker ^* and make drinks without tools, using whatever you have on hand!

Making drinks without bar tools

Have you ever tried to make a cocktail at an Airbnb (or anywhere) with just the basics?Same here.

Whether you’re traveling, staying somewhere with limited tools or just don’t have a full bar setup at home, it’s totally possible to get creative with what you have. You don’t need a fancy shaker or a drawer full of gadgets to make a great drink.

It’s something I think about in the kitchen, too. For example, Chris and I recently made tortillas with bacon fat because we were craving a taco night. I don’t have a tortilla press, so I just used a regular old rolling pin. I could have used some heavy books (wrapped in plastic wrap) to press them. Sometimes you’ve just gotta improvise!

The same goes for cocktails. You can make drinks with just a few ingredients and you don’t even need a cocktail shaker ^*! Here are some simple kitchen swaps for common cocktail tools and ingredients:

DIY cocktail shaker substitute

No cocktail shaker? No problem. All you really need is a vessel with enough volume for your cocktail and a lid with a good seal.

You can use a mason jar, a French press ^* (just use the stopper thingy) or any clean, leftover carton or jug you have on hand. Think an orange juice container or milk carton, or even a wine bottle with a stopper or screw-on lid. Reduce, reuse, recycle, and shake, shake, shake!

Though you don’t really need a strainer, you can use a coffee filter, cheesecloth or just use the lid of your vessel to hold back ice and fruit you might not want in your drink.

Jigger substitute

A jigger ^* certainly is handy for measuring out liquid ingredients because of its two-sided cup shape, but you certainly don’t need one.

Instead, you can use your regular old measuring cups and spoons. If you have a liquid measuring cup, that’s even better.

Here are some quick cocktail measurement conversions:

• ½ fluid ounces = 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
• 1 fluid ounce = 2 tablespoons = 6 teaspoons = ⅛ cup
• 2 fluid ounces = 4 tablespoons = 12 teaspoons = ¼ cup

Ice tray substitute

Don’t have one of those fancy ice sphere molds but fancy an old-fashioned? Don’t fret. Your muffin tin comes to the rescue.

Fill it with hot water from the tap, and pop it in the freezer for a few hours. Voilà! A dozen large ice cubes that will get you that slow dilution you love in a big ice cube.

If crushed ice is what you need, try running it through the blender or put it in a ziploc back between two towels for protection, and smash it with a meat mallet or even a spoon.

Though ice is an important element of cocktail mixing because of its size and surface area for melting and dilution, don’t let not having special molds slow you down. Whatever ice your freezer makes — be it automatic or trays you have to refill — will work just as beautifully for now.

Muddler substitute

If you are in the mood for a whiskey smash, a mint julep or a bramble, you will need something called a muddler ^* to smash your fruit.

But again, you don’t need one. Try using the end of a wooden spoon, or heck, even smash them with a spoon or fork. No rules here.

Liquor substitutions for cocktails

The obvious choice is going for another bottle, any brand, of whatever spirit you’re out of. Out of your favorite spirit entirely? Swap it out with something similar in color. You might even come up with something you love even more.

Light-colored spirts can often be interchanged with other light-colored spirits. Try a mojito with tequila instead of rum, or make a Moscow mule with gin instead of vodka.

You can do the same with dark-colored spirits. Try an old-fashioned with spiced rum, or make a julep with brandy. 

Whatever route you go, use your nose, mouth and intuition. Take a sniff and ask yourself, “Do these things go together?” I also recommend you do a taste test using small amounts of ingredients so you don’t waste them.

You can also make your own spirits. Check out these recipes for homemade coffee liqueur, Irish cream and honey whiskey.

Cocktail ingredient substitutions

If you’re out of an ingredient, go for something in the same family.

Take citrus for example — don’t feel weird about interchanging lemon with lime, or even grapefruit or orange. Other fruits like berries can also provide a sweet-tartness, so don’t hesitate to be creative here. 

Feel free to change up herbs (basil or rosemary instead of mint) or spices (cardamom instead of cinnamon) for totally new flavor profiles. Follow your nose! 

Check out this guide to growing a cocktail herb garden for more ideas.

Sweetener substitutions

This is one of my favorite ways to change up a cocktail. Out of sugar for simple syrup? Use maple syrup, agave nectar ^* or honey (but you may need to heat and water down the honey so it will dissolve easier).

Depending on the drink, you could try using the chocolate or caramel syrups that you usually reserve for ice cream! You can also use fresh or frozen fruit, or even jam to sweeten your drink. 

However, I don’t recommend using sweeteners like Splenda or Equal. They may react with your ingredients and alter the taste. A taste test might help you decide! You could try this stevia simple syrup if you want a lighter version.

You can also have fun with things like making your own sugar cubes. You don’t need a lot of sugar to make these, but they pack a sweet punch when muddled in cocktails.

Cocktail mixer substitutions

If your drink calls for club soda, you can add your fizz with sparkling water (even one with added flavor, if it fits your cocktail idea), kombucha or even a sweet soda like Sprite or ginger ale.

And popping open a bottle of champagne certainly won’t bring down your fizz game! Again, just try to pick something in the same family as what you’re out of. 

If your drink calls for cola or root beer, you may be able to switch them out with diet versions if you have them on hand. But again, I recommend a taste test first!

Bitters substitute

Typically, you can substitute bitters for other bitters. So if you’re out of orange bitters ^* but have Angostura? That is totally fine. You can also use non-alcoholic bitters ^* if you don’t want any alcohol at all in your drink.

Or feel free to just skip it. Bitters help to flavor a cocktail, but they aren’t always necessary.

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I hope this helps you hack your cocktail recipes. The most important part is having fun! (Responsibly, of course.) And don’t overthink it! You’ve got this.

But if you’re having trouble hacking a cocktail with what you have, don’t hesitate to contact me or say hi in my Facebook group. I’d be happy to help!

And let me know if you come up with any fun recipes or cocktail hacks to share — leave them in the comments.