Stirred, not Shaken

This line from any James Bond movie seems to be a part of the franchise and has sustained over the last six decades. In fact, it's safe to say it's a part of Mr. Bond's identity.

Therefore when I was recently gifted a bottle of vermouth, I wanted to experiment making martinis and I went down my own rabbit hole of why Bond liked his martini shaken and not stirred.

There is an encyclopedia worth of material in the metaverse about the different types of martinis that exist. In itself, the glass in which it is served is rather fascinating. It first came on display in 1925 at an exhibition in Paris about industrial and modern goods. Combined with the prohibition period and people drinking under cover, if there was a police raid, one could quickly throw the contents of the glass.

Flipside of the glass having fallen out of favor though include the precarious nature of the shape itself. The V shape is definitely a challenge to wash, rinse and serve from a tray.

None of these challenges exist at home and over the years, it has found a permanent place in my home bar. My first experiment with it was in the late 1990's in Manhattan, where thanks to the show, Sex and the City, it seemed everyone everywhere was only drinking a cosmo from a martini glass!

Fast forward to 25 years, I experimented with the vermouth, gin and a lemon peel to make my first real martini. That's when I realized that my guests preferred their martinis stirred, over lots of nice. I shared the same opinion. So we liked our martinis stirred and not shaken.

After all, what is the point in drinking a Martini that’s not exactly how you like it?