Head to head
Hawthorne vs julep strainer
One sits on a tin and holds back pulp. The other sits inside a mixing glass and does not. They are not alternatives - they are two jobs.
By Michael W. · Published September 2026
The short answer
Buy a Hawthorne first. Its dense spring holds back the ice shards and citrus pulp that a shaken drink produces, and it will serve on a mixing glass at a pinch. Add a julep second if you stir - it seats inside the glass and the pour is controlled by wrist angle, which is far more comfortable than balancing a Hawthorne on a rim. Owning only a julep does not work: the holes are far too large for anything shaken.
We earn a commission if you buy through the links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It never changes which product we pick. How we are funded.
Quick picks
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cocktail Kingdom Koriko Hawthorne Strainer Buy this first | Shaken drinks | |
| 2 |  Cocktail Kingdom Julep Strainer Buy this second, if you stir | Stirred drinks | |
| 3 |  Cocktail Kingdom Yarai Mixing Glass 500ml What a julep strainer is for | The default mixing glass |
Scroll the table sideways on a narrow screen. Prices are set by the retailer and change, so every price link opens the current listing rather than quoting a number here.
The distinction
Two tools, two jobs, not two options
A Hawthorne is a flat plate with a coiled spring around its edge and a tab you push with your thumb. It sits on the rim of a shaking tin, the spring fills the gap between plate and tin wall, and the gate moves to open or close that gap. It is built for shaken drinks, where the liquid arrives carrying ice shards and citrus solids.
A julep is a perforated bowl on a handle. It sits inside a mixing glass, cupped against the ice, and you pour with the handle trapped under your thumb. There is no spring and the holes are large. It is built for stirred drinks, where there is nothing in the liquid but liquid.
That is why they are not substitutes. A julep on a shaken drink lets everything through. A Hawthorne on a mixing glass works, but it balances awkwardly on the rim because it was shaped for a tin.
Head to head
Side by side
| Hawthorne | Julep | |
|---|---|---|
| Sits | On the rim of a tin | Inside a mixing glass |
| Spring | Yes, dense, removable | None |
| Perforation | Fine, via the spring | Large holes |
| Pour control | Thumb on the gate | Wrist angle |
| Holds back pulp | Yes | No |
| Use for | Shaken drinks | Stirred drinks |
| Cleaning | Remove the spring | Rinse the bowl |
| Buy order | First | Second |
Dimension one
The spring is the product
Everything that distinguishes a good Hawthorne from a bad one is the spring. A dense coil closes the gap between the plate and the tin wall to something small enough to stop pulp and shards. A loose coil leaves gaps, and everything you were trying to strain out arrives in the glass.
This is the specification that cheap kits compromise on, because a strainer looks identical at a glance whether or not the spring is tight. If you have ever wondered why a home-made daiquiri has a gritty texture and a bar's does not, the strainer is usually where to look before the technique.
A removable spring also matters. Citrus pulp lodges in the coil and a spring you cannot take out is a spring that never gets properly clean.
Dimension two
Why a julep is more comfortable on a mixing glass
A Hawthorne on a mixing glass sits on the rim, so your thumb has to hold it down while your fingers hold the glass and your wrist controls the angle. It works, and after a few drinks you notice you are gripping harder than the job needs.
A julep sits inside. The bowl cups against the ice, the handle comes back over the rim, and your thumb sits on the handle. The glass and strainer become one object and you pour by tilting. It is simply more comfortable, and it is also faster.
Fit varies with glass diameter, so check the bowl against your mixing glass before buying. Most juleps are sized for a standard 500ml glass and fit a larger one loosely.
A third option
Where fine mesh comes in
Neither of these produces a genuinely silky shaken drink on its own. For that you double strain: hold a small fine-mesh strainer under the pour while the Hawthorne does the primary work. Everything the spring missed - the last of the pulp, the ice fines - stays behind.
It costs very little, adds five seconds, and it is the single biggest texture difference between a home shaken sour and a bar's. It is also the technique most home bars have never tried, which makes it unusually high-value advice.
Double straining is not for stirred drinks. There is nothing to catch, and the extra step chills nothing. How to stir a cocktail covers that side.
The picks in full
Every pick, and who each one is for
01 · Buy this first
Cocktail Kingdom Koriko Hawthorne Strainer
Cocktail Kingdom · Mid tier
A tight spring and a body that actually sits down in the tin, which is the whole job of a Hawthorne.
The dense removable spring is the whole product - it is what stops shaken citrus pulp and ice shards reaching the glass. The gate gives genuine control: open it up for a shaken drink, close it down for a stirred one, and the spring comes out for cleaning, which cheap strainers do not allow.
The specs that decide it
- Type:
- Hawthorne
- Spring:
- dense coil, removable
- Fit:
- seats in both 18 oz and 28 oz tins
- Material:
- stainless steel
Who it is for
- The spring is dense enough to hold back shaken citrus pulp without a second strainer
- Gate control is precise, so you can open it up for a shaken drink and close it for a stirred one
- Spring comes out for cleaning, which cheap strainers do not allow
Where it gives ground
- Still not a substitute for a fine mesh when you want a genuinely silky texture
- The gate tab is small if you have large hands
Skip this one if you only stir. A julep strainer is the better and cheaper tool for a mixing glass.
02 · Buy this second, if you stir
Cocktail Kingdom Julep Strainer
Cocktail Kingdom · Entry tier
The right strainer for a mixing glass, and the one most home bars skip and then wonder why stirring feels awkward.
A perforated bowl that seats inside a mixing glass at an angle, so the pour is controlled by your wrist rather than by a thumb on a gate. Nothing to clean but a bowl, costs very little, and lasts indefinitely. Useless for anything shaken.
The specs that decide it
- Type:
- julep
- Fit:
- seats inside a mixing glass at an angle
- Perforation:
- large holes - no spring
- Material:
- stainless steel
Who it is for
- Sits inside the glass instead of on the rim, so the pour is controlled by wrist angle
- Nothing to clean but a bowl - no spring to trap citrus
- Costs very little and lasts indefinitely
Where it gives ground
- Useless for shaken citrus drinks - the holes are far too large
- Fit varies with glass diameter, so check it against your mixing glass
Skip this one if you shake nine drinks out of ten. Buy a Hawthorne first and come back to this.
03 · What a julep strainer is for
Cocktail Kingdom Yarai Mixing Glass 500ml
Cocktail Kingdom · Mid tier
The industry workhorse: heavy, cut, and sized for one or two drinks without a wall of leftover dilution.
A julep only makes sense if you own a mixing glass. If you are buying the strainer because you want to start stirring properly, this heavy cut glass is the other half of that purchase.
The specs that decide it
- Capacity:
- 500 ml (about 17 oz)
- Capacity in drinks:
- 1 to 2
- Pattern:
- Yarai cut
- Base:
- heavy, weighted
Who it is for
- Mass is the point - a heavy glass does not travel across the counter while you stir
- The cut gives grip that a smooth beaker does not
- Spout pours clean, which sounds trivial until you use one that does not
Where it gives ground
- Glass, on a counter, near ice - it is a breakable in a wet environment
- 500 ml gets tight with two drinks and a full ice charge
Skip this one if you regularly build three or four stirred drinks at once. Step up to the 675 ml seamless.
Honest limits
What we could not verify
We have not compared spring densities across strainers by measurement, so judgments about which hold back pulp rest on construction and on what owners consistently report. Fit between a given julep and a given mixing glass varies by model and we have not tested combinations.
We do not run a test lab and we have not personally used every product here. Where a judgment rests on published specifications or on what owners report rather than on our own hands, we say so. Read the full method.
Questions
Related questions
- Do I need both a Hawthorne and a julep strainer?
- Only if you stir. A Hawthorne covers shaken drinks and works on a mixing glass at a pinch. A julep is a comfort and speed upgrade for stirring and is useless for anything shaken.
- Which strainer do I buy first?
- The Hawthorne. Most people shake more than they stir, and the dense spring is what stops pulp and ice shards reaching the glass.
- What is double straining?
- Holding a fine-mesh strainer under the pour while the Hawthorne does the primary straining. It catches the last of the pulp and ice fines, and it is the biggest single texture difference between a home shaken drink and a bar's.
- Can you use a julep strainer on a shaker?
- You can, and everything you wanted strained out will go through. The holes are far too large for shaken citrus.
Sources
Read next
Related reading
- Shakers and strainers
Weighted tins, cobblers and strainers, ranked on the thing that actually matters: whether the seal behaves.
- Best cocktail shakers
Tins against cobblers on seal, capacity and chilling - and which one suits who is actually shaking.
- How to shake a cocktail
Sealing, the shake itself, when to stop, and breaking the seal in one motion - plus dry shake and whip.
- How to stir a cocktail
The finger grip that turns the spoon into a bearing, how long to stir, and why silence is the goal.
- Best mixing glasses
Capacity, mass, seam and spout compared - and why a pint glass is worse at every part of the job.