Monkey Shoulder reinvents historical shaker

William Grant & Sons-owned blended Scotch whisky brand Monkey Shoulder has recreated the 1930s Konga Shaker as a limited edition piece to be used in select bars across the UK.

The Konga Shaker mixes cocktails through a turning, rather than shaking, motion

The Konga Shaker, which has fallen out of favour among bartenders due to the rise of mainstream cocktail shakers, features rotating handles that allow cocktails to made using a rolling rather than shaking motion.

Working from an original design, Monkey Shoulder’s version of the Konga Shaker retains a stainless steel cylinder and red plastic handles, with the modern addition of a sieve.

The Konga Shaker is larger than a typical cocktail shaker and allows bartenders to create between three and four cocktails at one time.

“Whilst William Grant & Sons has been making whisky for generations, Monkey Shoulder aims to take away some of the preconceptions about whisky, making it accessible and enjoyable to all,” said Dean Callan, global brand ambassador for Monkey Shoulder.

“Cocktail bars should always be fun, but even they are starting to take themselves a little seriously these days. The Konga Shaker is set to change that. It represents all that’s good about cocktail making – theatre, sociability and great tasting drinks – so it made perfect sense for us to bring it back.

“We created multiple prototypes to perfect the final product and can’t wait to see them back behind the bar once more.”

Just 250 Konga Shakers have been created and will be distributed to bars across the country, along with bespoke cocktail recipes. The product follows the launch of Monkey Shoulder’s iSpoon in 2014 – an extendable bar spoon.