What Is a Dry Shake?
A dry shake is a cocktail technique where ingredients, especially egg white or aquafaba, are shaken vigorously in a cocktail shaker without ice, to whip the egg white into a stable foam before the drink is chilled.
More detail
Shaking with ice at the same time as the egg white dilutes and chills the mixture before the egg white has a chance to whip up properly, so the foam never fully forms. A dry shake solves this by whipping the egg white first, undiluted, then a second wet shake with ice follows to chill and dilute the drink to a proper strength once the foam is already built.
Where it's used
Standard for egg-white cocktails like an amaretto sour or whiskey sour, and their vegan aquafaba-based versions, anywhere a recipe wants a stable, silky foam on top of the drink.
Substitutes
There's no real substitute if a recipe specifically calls for it, the technique is what builds an egg-white or aquafaba foam before the drink is chilled and diluted with ice.
FAQ
Can I skip the dry shake and just shake with ice?
You can, but the drink usually comes out thinner and less foamy, the ice dilutes and chills the mixture before the egg white gets fully whipped, so the foam that does form tends to be thin and short-lived.
How long should a dry shake take?
About 15-20 seconds of vigorous shaking, longer than a normal wet shake, since building real foam from raw egg white or aquafaba takes more agitation than just chilling a drink does.
