Cinco de Mayo is coming up soon and a few days ago we were discussing how we make margaritas. Everyone had a slightly different recipe and everyone made them using different \u201ctechniques.\u201d Well, this conversation eventually led to to how other drinks are made and to martinis and the \u201cshaken or stirred\u201d controversy \u2014 or at least difference of opinions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So \u2014 James Bond is noted for lots of things, among them a famous phrase that goes something like, \u201cA vodka martini, shaken, not stirred.\u201d You\u2019d think a world famous superhero like James Bond would know the proper way to make a martini\u2026. but from what I\u2019ve learned over the years, he apparently doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Should a martini be shaken or stirred? Just about every bartender I\u2019ve talked to and every \u201cbar book\u201d I\u2019ve read are very clear on the subject \u2014 there\u2019s no gray area. If the cocktail contains only alcohol-based ingredients (spirits, vermouths, liqueurs) it should be stirred; if it contains any non-alcoholic ingredients (citrus juice, fresh fruit, eggs, cream or herbs) it should be shaken. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most bartenders agree that there is a right way and a wrong way to mix the ingredients in various cocktails. As to why certain drinks should be stirred and not shaken is an area that will probably never be agreed upon.
Stirring a drink, like a martini, produces a silky mouth-feel with precise dilution and perfect clarity. Shaking adds texture and aeration, changes the mouth-feel and binds ingredients that would readily separate with simple stirring. Naturally, this is just one school of thought.
And if you\u2019re making a drink like a daiquiri \u2014 that should be shaken \u2014 stirring is as outrageous as shaking a martini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But back to James Bond\u2026 he always demanded from the bartender: vodka, straight up, very cold, and \u2014always, always \u2014shaken, not stirred. So if you\u2019re a James Bond fan, I\u2019m sorry to tell you that even though he might know a lot about wearing tuxedos, using ingenious gadgets, and getting female foreign agents to bend to his will, when it comes to the martini, he\u2019s a bit of a rube. All traditionalists will tell you that a martini is made with gin and is always stirred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hate it when I have to disappoint a lot of people, but sometimes we just have to face the facts\u2026. contrary to what James Bond often famously declared, a martini should never ever be shaken, and it should contain gin \u2014 not vodka.
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cinco de Mayo is coming up soon and a few days ago we were discussing how we make margaritas. Everyone had a slightly different recipe and everyone made them using different \u201ctechniques.\u201d Well, this conversation eventually led to to how … Continue reading