Into the sparkling stainless steel cylinder go the ingredients to my elixir. Juices, spirits, bitters, syrups, & liquors are all viable option, each diverting the path towards a different finished outcome with every ounce I pour into the potion brewing below. The fiery sting of alcohol ignites my nostrils as I topple in the base spirit, finishing off my pre-shake list of ingredients. I top the unmixed shaker off with ice pilfered from my freezer before caping it & violently shaking its contents to & fro. The tumbler grows colder & colder in my hands with each pass the drink makes in its vessel; the ice within being reduced to chips, the mixture no longer a series of separate items, now a combined refreshment to be enjoyed. I strain my libation out from its metal origin into a new, crystaline home, adding the simplest of garnishes before settling into the couch with my eloquently constructed nightcap.