You know the classic James Bond line “Martini, shaken, not stirred” is there an actual difference in the taste of the drink from shaking it vs stirring it?
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I don’t have any actual study however, I was taught that shaking causes the crushed ice to chip away, watering down the drink ever so slightly. As opposed to stirring is less watered because the ice doesn’t get chipped. 🤷
Looking forward to see if I’m on the right track.
Shaking cools and mixes the drink faster, but also chips the ice and creates bubbles, which changes the texture and makes it cloudier.
Stirring takes longer, but is also gentler and results in a clearer result.
A bartender once told me that in the case of a martini, there’s basically no difference, but shaking is more work. So it’s just Bond being a dick to the bartender.
When you mix drinks it does not always work to just mix it together as the different liquids have different densities. So you need to stir them together to get an even mix. But for some drinks this is not enough and you need to shake it to get it properly mixed. For example things like syrup and milk does not mix easily with alcohol. Typically a vodka martini would not be shaken and even stirring is not needed. The tonic mixes well with alcohol on its own. However a slight stir after adding the ice can help cool down the drink to the right serving temperature.
The James Bond drink therefore does not make sense. And Ian Flemming even say so himself and just chose the drink because it sounded cool. Shaking the drink before adding the ice does not help mix it any more then it already is mixed. And shaking it after adding the ice will just crush the ice making it into a vodka martini slush. This makes the drink colder due to the increased surface area of the ice and also makes the ice melt faster and water down the drink.
Stirring simply chills a cocktail and shaking changes the texture of a drink by aerating the drink. Both dilute the drinks but stirring dilutes less. Stirring is usually reserved for spirit only drinks (old fashioned, Manhattan)
While there might be some difference in drinks the James Bond Quote is supposed to be a metaphor for his personality, he may get shaken by action, but it does not stir his emotions up, meaning that he stays professional in a difficult situation.
Both chill and dilute the drink, but SHAKING dilutes the drink more.
Shaking also usually changes the texture, and, depending on the ingredients, can make a drink FROTHY, which can be very desirable.
It depends, but mostly only for specific ingredients and mixtures.
Some minor changes in how much ice will melt, and thus a shaken drink will be slightly more watered down. In a drink like a martini it would be very difficult for most people to tell the difference between shaken and stirred.
If the drink includes an egg white or some other protein based ingredient then a vigorous shaking will cause it to foam up nicely and impart a rich creamy texture to your drink. A stirred whiskey sour versus a properly shaken one will both look and taste very different.
Some thick syrups and fruit juices can be shaken to get a thin froth on the top of the glass which makes a small difference over all but can be very pleasant if you personally enjoy that little extra fluff as you sip a fresh drink.
Back in the 1950s (ish), there was a belief that stirring alcoholic beverages ‘bruised’ the liquor, and adversely affected the taste, so ‘connoisseurs’ would request their libations be shaken.
This belief, however, has since been proven wrong about the bruising of the liquor.
Here is a paper on the topic
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC28303/
Moderate consumption of alcoholic drinks seems to reduce the risks of developing cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cataracts, perhaps through antioxidant actions of their alcohol, flavonoid, or polyphenol contents. “Shaken, not stirred” routinely identifies the way the famous secret agent James Bond requires his martinis.
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