James Bond got it wrong, I'll take mine stirred.
by Louie DuMonde
I’ve always taken my gin martini shaken for no other reason than that’s the way it’s been served to me. In fact the aggressive one or two arm dance of the martini shaker evokes a Pavlovian reaction in me. The only choices I thought I had when ordering were; the type of gin, the level of dryness (I like to leave that to the bartender) and olives versus fruit (I like a twist).
Recently I had to catch a flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas for a quick two hour drinks meeting with my publisher. All things being normal, in that my stomach wasn’t empty and I didn’t drink any faster than I normally do, I was feeling really groovy after finishing the first drink. By the conclusion of our meeting and the second martini, I was tossed.
I went up to the bartender and in my best attempt to not slur, I garbled “What the hell do you do to your martinis to make them so … you know … (slight swagger) fabulous?”
“We stir them. Shaking them dilutes the gin.” Came the response.
“Oh my.” I put my hand to my mouth like an interior decorator who just saw a room painted with avocado green walls. “I guess James Bond got it wrong eh?”
“Perhaps sir.”
Since then I’ve heard arguments for and against shaking versus stirring. To settle the matter definitively I engaged master barman and writer Jeff Burkhart. He made two flawless martinis, one stirred, one shaken. The stirred one revealed all the subtle flavors of the gin. The shaken one was a crisper experience that masked the subtle flavors making the prominent ones more prominent.
It was the kick of the stirred one that got my attention. The effects of the alcohol were sneaking up on me like a summer afternoon rain storm in the tropics. I decided I preferred the taste of the stirred martini. But in social situations requiring me to maintain my best behavior, a slowly sipped shaken martini is the answer. I believe that’s what James Bond thinks as well. A shaken gin or vodka martini will certainly leave you in better shape to save the world.
But how does that explain the Vesper?
mkmtEAT | Comment (0)Leave a Reply