Well...How do you like your martinis? Shaken or stirred?
-Robert
-Robert
Shaken or Stirred?
- Thread starter BladeRunner001
- Start date
Shaken. It chills the drink faster, and I like the bruising. I also like the bubbles.
Gin. Up. Not too dry. And, preferably, on the house. If someone's buying me drinks, I don't care how much they bruise the gin. Or is it the vermouth that we're worried about?
Stirred, sometimes shaken can also break up the ice and water down the drink.
Extra dry (no vermouth). So no shaking or stirring.
Olive or twist, depending on mood and weather.
Olive or twist, depending on mood and weather.
Sweet Manhattan Shaken until ice cold and frosty. I have bartended for over 7 years and still laugh out loud when I hear people say "bruising"... it comes from the idea that certain essences of any given liquor can be agitated or injured by over shaking a drink. BRUISING actually happens as soon as ice hits it... shaken or stirred, either way. It is the drop in temperature that causes it to happen, and most importantly, it does very little to taste even to the most distinguishing (beyond any of our) pallets. The only flavor difference usually is that in a shaken up-drink you will find more ice chips than in a stirred, it is the same booze, however, either way.
A lot of hoity toity types come into my bar and feed me the bruising line... usually because they are trying to be know it all's.... who know nothing at all
Last edited:
As I recall; even James Bond preferred it shaken.
I saw somewhere that 007 liked his shaken because it diluted the alcohol more with melted ice than if you stir the martini. I have not idea if this holds water, no pun intended, but maybe some science person could shed some light on this. As for me I like my martini made with gin and vermouth in a 3 to 1 ratio. I don't think I would know a brused gin if I tasted one. I generally ask for it to be stired with olives on the side. If I get one shaken I drink it and don't usually raise any issue. Once it sits for awhile the cloudiness goes away and it's clear and as good as it gets.
007 also preferred Vodka Martinis
Which is an aberration of nature IMHO
Which is an aberration of nature IMHO
Sean Connery, an aberration? Blasphemy!
I drank a bit of martinis, I only saw a difference when using bombay sapphire. When there was anything else in it it didnt matter at all.
My understanding is that clear drinks are meant to be stirred. Shaking causes the martini to cloud up and kills the presentation.
James Bond's only a fiction, after all, which anyone who's ever tried a "Vesper" well knows.
James Bond's only a fiction, after all, which anyone who's ever tried a "Vesper" well knows.
I prefer the crisp bite of a shaken Martini (any clouding goes away prior to serving).
And a Martini is made with gin! How our culture screwed up a cocktail that has two freakin' ingredients is beyond me.
If you prefer vodka, or chocolate, or apple liqueur, fine. Just please call it something else. It's not a Martini. It's a cocktail--- give it a name.
Hell, in the good old days, they even changed the name of the Martini when a cocktail onion was substituted as the garnish (a Gibson).
And a Martini is made with gin! How our culture screwed up a cocktail that has two freakin' ingredients is beyond me.
If you prefer vodka, or chocolate, or apple liqueur, fine. Just please call it something else. It's not a Martini. It's a cocktail--- give it a name.
Hell, in the good old days, they even changed the name of the Martini when a cocktail onion was substituted as the garnish (a Gibson).
- Thread starter
- #15
Well...interesting results. I appreciate all your inputs. I, personally like mine shaken, but there are those Martinis I can't (and do not like shaken)...for example, the "Chocolate" Martini...I have seen very few bartenders be able to make this right, but the ones that do...my hats off to you
There seems to be a scientific reasoning (which I didn't know) behind the "shaken not stirred" controversy. Here it is (out of Wikipedia...I didn't make it up):
Scientists, specifically biochemists, and martini connoisseurs have investigated the difference between a martini shaken and a martini stirred. According to a study at the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario in Canada to determine if the preparation of a martini has an influence on their antioxidant capacity, the shaken gin martinis were able to break down hydrogen peroxide and leave only 0.072% of the peroxide behind, versus the stirred gin martini which left behind 0.157% of the peroxide (see reference below). The study was done at the time because moderate consumption of alcohol appears to reduce the risk of cataracts, cardiovascular disease, and stroke, none of which afflict James Bond.
Some connoisseurs believe that shaking gin is a "faux pas", supposedly because the shaking "bruises" the gin (a term referring to a slight bitter taste that can allegedly occur when gin is shaken). In Fleming's Casino Royale novel, it is stated that Bond "watched as the deep glass became frosted with the pale golden drink, slightly aerated by the bruising of the shaker," suggesting that Bond was requesting it shaken because of the vodka it contained. Prior to the 1960s, vodka was, for the most part, refined from potatoes (usually cheaper brands). This element made the vodka oily. To disperse the oil, Bond ordered his martinis shaken; thus, in the same scene where he orders the martini, he tells the barman about how vodka made from grain rather than potatoes makes his drink even better. Other reasons for shaking tend to include making the drink colder or as Bond called it, ice-cold.
So, it seems like shaking the Martini is more beneficial for you, but if you prefer stirred, by all means let your taste buds guide you...after all, if you don't like it, what's a little antioxidant going to do
. As the saying goes: De gustibus non est disputandum.
Here's the your health
Reference article:
1. Hirst, M.; Trevithick, J. R. (18 December 1999). "Shaken, not stirred: bio-analytical study of the antioxidant activities of martinis". British Medical Journal 319 (7225): 1600–1602.
Cheers,
-Robert
There seems to be a scientific reasoning (which I didn't know) behind the "shaken not stirred" controversy. Here it is (out of Wikipedia...I didn't make it up):
Scientists, specifically biochemists, and martini connoisseurs have investigated the difference between a martini shaken and a martini stirred. According to a study at the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario in Canada to determine if the preparation of a martini has an influence on their antioxidant capacity, the shaken gin martinis were able to break down hydrogen peroxide and leave only 0.072% of the peroxide behind, versus the stirred gin martini which left behind 0.157% of the peroxide (see reference below). The study was done at the time because moderate consumption of alcohol appears to reduce the risk of cataracts, cardiovascular disease, and stroke, none of which afflict James Bond.
Some connoisseurs believe that shaking gin is a "faux pas", supposedly because the shaking "bruises" the gin (a term referring to a slight bitter taste that can allegedly occur when gin is shaken). In Fleming's Casino Royale novel, it is stated that Bond "watched as the deep glass became frosted with the pale golden drink, slightly aerated by the bruising of the shaker," suggesting that Bond was requesting it shaken because of the vodka it contained. Prior to the 1960s, vodka was, for the most part, refined from potatoes (usually cheaper brands). This element made the vodka oily. To disperse the oil, Bond ordered his martinis shaken; thus, in the same scene where he orders the martini, he tells the barman about how vodka made from grain rather than potatoes makes his drink even better. Other reasons for shaking tend to include making the drink colder or as Bond called it, ice-cold.
So, it seems like shaking the Martini is more beneficial for you, but if you prefer stirred, by all means let your taste buds guide you...after all, if you don't like it, what's a little antioxidant going to do
. As the saying goes: De gustibus non est disputandum.Here's the your health
Reference article:
1. Hirst, M.; Trevithick, J. R. (18 December 1999). "Shaken, not stirred: bio-analytical study of the antioxidant activities of martinis". British Medical Journal 319 (7225): 1600–1602.
Cheers,
-Robert
Last edited:
shaken, I too like a cold drink.
To add to the above post shaken chills a drink much faster and colder than stirring. When using gin in martinis shaking a drink, which results in a 32 degree temp, can make some of the more subtle flavors of the gin not be as noticeable. Therefore, I prefer mine stirred.
I hate to say it, but I've never had a Martini.
Wow. Get out and have one. But also heed the old adage--one isn't enough and two is too many.
Similar threads
