Ever since Sean Connery strolled onto the screen as James Bond in 1964’s Goldfinger and asked for his martini “Shaken, not stirred,” people have been debating the right way to make a vodka martini. It’s a subject that inspires bartenders to roll their eyes and plenty of drinkers to worry about whether they are ordering their martini correctly.
The truth is that most experts would strongly agree that a martini should be stirred, not shaken. Shaking a martini will give you a watery, cloudy, and frankly rather sad drink, while stirring it should result in a crystal clear, elegantly proportioned drink. But other cocktail recipes will specify that they should be shaken, not stirred — especially if they contain fruit juice. That’s because you need to pick the right method for the cocktail you’re making. Shaken vs. stirred depends on what you’re trying to mix.
Is it better to shake or stir?
There’s no easy answer to this question. There are cocktails where shaking is more appropriate and drinks where mixing is the better technique. Below, we’re going to take a look at when you should use each technique.
When to shake
In addition to the alcoholic elements, any cocktail that also uses dairy products, eggs, or fresh juice should be shaken. Shaking adds air bubbles to the drink, which adds a bit of creamy froth. It is also a better way to combine fresh fruit juices with other ingredients. Finally, can you imagine attempting to stir cream into a drink or an egg white? Good luck with that.
When to stir
While shaking is the best option for more complex, ingredient-filled cocktails, stirring is the better choice for simple cocktails. Stir your drink when it is much heavier in the booze department. When a drink is mostly (or all) alcohol, you wouldn’t want to shake it. Stirring with ice will keep the drink clear, limit the dilution, and help chill it. Shaking it will make it cloudy and watery.
When both are wrong
It might seem like you should choose one or the other when it comes to cocktailing. But when it comes to certain highball drinks, the better option is to simply build it. If you’re making a whiskey highball, you’ll want to add the whiskey and then top it with soda water. The same goes for sparkling wine-based
Why do bartenders shake or stir drinks?
You might be wondering why bartenders bother to shake or stir drinks at all. If it’s just to make the
To see why this is, try taking the ingredients of your favorite cocktail and mixing them together without ice or water. The result will almost certainly taste harsh and unbalanced, with far too much boozy heft. You need at least a little bit of water in there to help the flavors mix together properly and to give you a better drinking experience.
The key is the amount of water to add. Shaking tends to add more dilution than stirring, and the exact amount of dilution depends on lots of factors including the size, shape, and amount of ice you’re using as well as how long you stir or shake for. But cocktails will typically have around 20% to 30% of their total volume made up of water.
Why does James Bond have his martinis shaken, not stirred?
While the first-time audiences heard 007 ordering a drink “shaken” was in Goldfinger, the first reference was in Ian Fleming’s 1956 James Bond novel Diamonds Are Forever. There’s not a lot of information as to why James Bond preferred his martinis shaken vs. stirred. Many believe that it just sounds cooler than “stirred, not shaken.”
However, it’s not like Fleming was clueless when it came to the world of martinis. He was the creator of Bond’s originally preferred martini variation in the books, known as the Vesper martini. This delicious take on the classic uses both vodka and gin for the best of both worlds, offering the thick and creamy mouthfeel of chilled vodka as well as the deep flavors of gin. It also incorporates Lillet in place of dry vermouth, making it more bitter and herbal and less fruity. It’s a great drink, and it’s traditionally shaken — just as Bond orders it.
In the case of the Vesper martini, it arguably makes a little more sense to shake than to stir, as due to the generous pour of Lillet, the drink is going to be somewhat cloudy anyway. The crystal clear ,artini is only achievable through stirring when a small amount of vermouth is used. And some bartenders argue that vodka benefits more than gin from shaking, as its texture changes when it gets very cold.
Most would still say that even a Vesper martini would be better stirred than shaken, but there’s more justification for Bond’s preferences if he’s drinking a Vesper than a classic gin martini.
What is the difference between shaken and stirred?
As we mentioned earlier, there are major differences between shaking and stirring. But, if you take a moment to think about it, the differences are quite obvious. Shaking a drink involves adding all the ingredients to a shaker with or without ice before straining it into your glass. Stirring, on the other hand, involves adding all of your ingredients to an ice-filled glass. You simply stir gently to combine everything. The finished product is much different.
Can you taste the difference between shaken and stirred martini?
Shaking a martini will add bubbles and cloudiness to your drink. While you won’t be able to taste the hazy appearance, you might notice the added air in the drink. You’ll also notice that the drink tastes much more watery than most drinkers would prefer. If you enjoy the flavor of gin (or vodka) and vermouth, you won’t want to shake your martini.
Why is an Old Fashioned stirred and not shaken?
Since the classic Old Fashioned is made with whiskey, sugar, water, and bitters, it should never be prepared in a shaker. This is because, even though it contains a handful of non-alcoholic ingredients, it’s primarily whiskey. Stirring combines all the ingredients without diluting the flavors by adding air or watering it down.
Bottom line
There’s a time and place for both stirring and mixing your cocktails. The key is understanding when each technique is correct based on the included ingredients and not listening to a fictional secret agent who doesn’t know anything about the art of bartending.
