Guest Author - Melinda Thompson

The traditional martini is served stirred. However, ever since James Bond started ordering his martini’s shaken and not stirred, we started to hear about experts and bar enthusiasts having the shaken, not stirred debate. Does it really make a difference whether the martini is shaken and not stirred? Does it really affect the taste of the martini? These questions will always be answered differently depending on who is answering and their personal preference.

I have to disagree with Mr. Bond on his martini preference. A martini or any clear cocktail is properly prepared by stirring not shaken. However, I understand that personal preference should always come first when ordering or serving a cocktail.

Here are a few reasons why I prefer my martini stirred, not shaken.

Presentation
Martini’s should be clear and calm resting in the martini glass. The martini should have no bubbles and should be crisp, clear and should be almost transparent in color. Shaking the martini, may cause the drink to become cloudy and even possibly have bubbles. Presentation does matter; we wouldn’t serve a martini in a coffee cup or place a strawberry in the glass, would we?

Dilution
Shaking and stirring both will cause ice to melt in your drink. However, shaking will add more water to the drink then stirring. If I’m going to spend $5.00 on a martini, I don’t want it diluted.

Bruising the Gin
Some bar enthusiasts believe that shaking a martini will bruise the gin and cause the drink to have a slight bitter taste. They actually believe that any cocktail with gin that is shaken may have a bitter taste.

My personal preference is ordering or serving a martini stirred not shaken. I feel there is a small taste difference between the two and I prefer the stirred version. I also understand that personal preference should always be taken into consideration when ordering a martini or any cocktail. Cocktails should look nice but most importantly they should taste fantastic!

Here is my preference for the perfect stirred classic martini:

Ingredients:

• 2.5 ounces of gin
• ½ ounce dry white vermouth
• Pimento-stuffed green olive

Preparation for stirred martini:

1. Pour the ingredients over ice in a mixing glass.
2. Stir gently with bar spoon 10 times around the glass.
3. Strain into a well chilled cocktail martini glass.
4. Garnish with a pimento-stuffed green olive.