Martini – why shaken not stirred, Mr. Bond?

Article by 007 Travelers

James Bond has made it popular to drink a martini shaken but not stirred. Why so? And what’s the difference between a shaken and a stirred martini?

Bond (Sean Connery) orders martini shaken, not stirred in first Bond movie on the big screen: “Dr. No” (1962)

and has done this ever since, except in “You Only Live Twice” (1967), when Bond’s allie Dikko Henderson (Charles Gray) offers him a drink stirred, not shaken and Bond (Sean Connery) surprisingly answers “Perfect.”

In Bond literature he orders martini in first 007 novel “Casino Royale” (1953) by Ian Fleming:

“A dry martini,” he said. “One. In a deep champagne goblet.”
“Oui, monsieur.”
“Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?”
“Certainly monsieur.” The barman seemed pleased with the idea.
“Gosh, that’s certainly a drink,” said Leiter.

In the world of books Anthony Horowitz gave us an answer in 2018 novel “Forever and a Day” how Bond learned to order a shaken martini.

“A dry martini then.” She nodded and Bond turned to the barman. “I’d like two martinis, he said. “Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. It needs to be served ice cold with a slice of lemon peel. All right?
“Of course, monsieur.” The barman smiled and nodded.
“Wait a minute.” Sixtine had stopped him before he’d turned away. “I’d like mine shaken, not stirred,” she said.
As he hurried away, Bond turned to her quizzically. “Does it really make a difference?”, he asked.
“Oh, yes.” She was quite serious. “My late husband used to say that if you shake a cocktail, you bruise the alcohol. Also, you melt more of the ice. Stirred not shaken was one of his mantras. He was very specific about things like that.” She drew out a cigarette and allowed Bond to light it. “Ever since he died, I’ve made it a point of principle to do everything the opposite of what he told me.” She glanced at the cigarette in her hand. “He didn’t like me smoking, either.”

—

“I don’t find you at all boring,” Bond said. “On the contrary, I was simply thinking that the story wouldn’t be of any interest to you. But if you want to hear it, let me order a couple of more cocktails… shaken, not stirred. It may take a while.”

What do experts day then?

Shaking rather than stirring a Martini has two principal effects. One: the rapid movement of ice in shaker melts more of the ice than gentle stirring, thereby diluting the drink. Two: the drink is likely to be cloudy rather than clear. For Martini drinkers, both effects are undesirable.

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