What’s the difference between shaken or stirred in a martini?

James Bond changed the way the world looked at the martini, but can you tell the difference between shaken or stirred? Source: Supplied

IT’S been dubbed the Great James Bond debate.

When Sean Connery introduced Ian Fleming’s famous line, “shaken, not stirred” to the big screen in 1962’s Dr. No, no one could have predicted the magnitude in which this simple one-liner would catch on.
But to this day, the phrase haunts bartenders and mixologists across the globe. The reality is, as they’ll tell you, Bond’s doing it all wrong.
“You think it should be shaken because Bond orders it that way but actually, bartenders have a real issue with shaking things,” Claire Warner Smith, Belvedere Vodka’s Head of Spirit Creation and Mixology, told news.com.au.
“Most martinis are stirred, you can have it shaken of course, but if you ask any bartender worth their salt, they’ll tell you should stir a martini.
“Because Bond made that method so famous there’s a lot of cynicism around that type of drink. The research we did, we actually found both methods are equally valid, they just deliver very different results.”
Tradition dictates that cocktails with ingredients like juices, dairy or egg whites should be shaken, but the evolution of the martini, along with Bond’s intervention — including using vodka instead of its intended liquor, gin — has forced mixologists to rethink the way they serve the classic martini.
But what is the difference between shaken or stirred? Does a seemingly small change really impact the cocktail’s composition?

Shaken or stirred? You decide. Source: Supplied

“The research we did, we actually found both methods are equally valid, they just deliver very different results,” said Ms Warner-Smith, who found there are many variations to the classic martini.
“It’s texture. If you shake the martini you get it very, very, cold, very, very quickly.”
Warner Smith explained that by maximising the contact between the liquid and the ice, you maximise the surface area of the cocktail because “it’s moving around so violently”.
Shaking the martini aerates the drink, leaving you with “a super cold drink that feels effervescent almost”, said Ms Warner-Smith.
“When you drink it, it feels like a much lighter style of drink, it’s very refreshing.
But by stirring the drink, as conventional wisdom prescribes, you’re leaving the texture of the spirit undisturbed.
“All you’re really doing is adding dilution and chilling. What you get is a drink that’s not as cold as a shaken drink, but still cold enough. The texture is silky and velvety and maybe feels a little heavier.
“They're both equally good, but it depends on what you feel like”.
Bottoms up.
The next instalment of James Bond, Spectre, featuring the Belvedere Vodka Martini, will be released in Australian cinemas on November 6.