The Best Hawthorne Strainers

With closely spaced, moderately tense coils, this strainer filtered out all but the fewest, tiniest bits of lime pulp, mint, and ice. Long wings allowed it to sit securely on the small and large halves of the shaker, and a tab on the head made it easy to grip while pouring.

This strainer was nearly identical to our winner, with relatively long wings that ensured a good fit on both shaker halves and very closely spaced coils that strained well. The main difference: Its coils were a little stiffer, so it was a tiny bit harder to press the strainer against the shaker and adjust the opening through which the drink exited.

This strainer did an excellent job of filtering out ice, lime, and mint, thanks to a spring with relatively tightly wound coils. If anything, the spring’s tension was a little too tight and required a tiny bit more effort to squeeze down on it for straining. The strainer fit well on different shakers, with long prongs that helped keep it in place. We also appreciated its finger tab, which helped us control the shaker and allowed us to strain drinks more finely.

With virtually no handle at all, this strainer was especially compact and easy to maneuver; small, well-placed prongs helped it sit securely on shakers of different sizes. Testers loved the rubbery tab on its head, which helped them keep a good grip on the strainer even when it was wet. But because its coils were spaced somewhat farther apart than we’d prefer, it allowed more lime pulp, mint, and ice shards to filter through—though it still did a decent job overall.

Made by the same company as our top pick, this compact strainer was easy to grip and maneuver, with a very small handle that kept the whole unit balanced on top of the shaker. It fit nicely in different cocktail shakers, and long prongs helped hold it in place; a small tab provided a natural rest for our fingers when straining. This model did a decent job of filtering out ice and debris, though because the spring was a little looser and the coils farther apart, it let through a bit more than higher-ranked models.

This inexpensive strainer did a fair job of straining lime pulp, mint, and shards of ice, though because its coils weren’t as narrowly spaced as our winner’s, it wasn’t quite as effective. The coils themselves were a little loose, making the strainer bouncy and harder to control during use. Worse, its top prongs were too short to reach the edges of our larger shaker tin, so it occasionally fell into the shaker while pouring.

With a spring that was significantly larger than its head, this strainer had to be wedged into the shaker, an unusual maneuver that took a little longer to perform and initially gave some testers pause. Once in, however, it won those testers over because it fit so tightly into both halves of the shaker that it couldn’t possibly fall out during use. Its coils had good tension and were spaced fairly closely, making for a fine strain. And a small tab on the head helped us get a good grip on it.

With well-placed prongs, this pretty strainer technically fit into shakers of different sizes. Unfortunately, it was hard to keep it there, as its long, heavy handle upset the balance of the strainer, tipping it backwards if we weren’t holding it in place; worse, there wasn’t even a finger tab to help us maintain our grip on the strainer. As a result, we had to fight to keep the whole shebang pressed against the shaker. Thanks to coils that were fairly far apart, this model was the worst at straining, allowing small masses of lime pulp, mint shreds, and ice shards to pour into our drinks.