Mad Genius Brings Swanky Victorian Cocktail Shaker Back to Life
Photo credit: Jason Crawley
No, the photo above does not depict some sort of medieval torture device. It’s the fancifully named Crawley’s Imperial Shaker Machine. Australia-based English entrepreneur Jason Crawley relied upon a 200-year-old drawing in order to make the Victorian-era cocktail gadget a reality. It made its debut on February 9 at drinks festival, Top Shelf in Melbourne, Australia.
And it’s a doozy of a contraption—a six-foot tower of cast iron, solid brass fittings, and silver-plated copper tumblers. Crawley told us via email that it took him five years to complete the prototype.
"These machines were developed and used at the height of the cocktail boom at the turn of the 19th century," he wrote. "Most stayed in London, but a few made it out to New York City and California."
Photo courtesy of Jason Crawley
They were intended to be conversation pieces at high-end bars, but according to Crawley they actually deliver one heck of a good cocktail. “It just shakes the hell of out anything you put into [it],” he wrote.
That’s good news for lovers of the Ramos gin fizz. Some gin fizz recipes require vigorously shaking the drink’s ingredients for a full ten minutes, which sounds like a recipe for one seriously sore arm. We’d gladly outsource that task to a machine.
"I love all the bits you cannot see or appreciate the complexity of," Crawley told us. "Self-lubricating bearings, self-centering brass cup locators and such." Most of all, however, Crawley is tickled by the crowned pineapple logo, which he said stands for "affluence and hospitality.”
Photo credit: Jason Crawley
If you’re interested in wrangling one of these luxurious gizmos for yourself, you can buy one from Crawley directly for a mere $14,900.
If not, at least you’ll be able to view one soon at the Museum of the American Cocktail in New Orleans; Crawley intends to donate one of his machines. Unfortunately, you’re unlikely to be allowed to whip up a Ramos gin fizz on the spot.
