The phrase "shaken, not stirred" is a catch-phrase that has become as indelibly associated with Ian Fleming's master spy, James Bond, as his preference for martinis. For many, Bond's edict is the final word in proper martini etiquette. (Although technically, if the drink is shaken, it's a Bradford, not a martini.)

A James Bond Cocktail History

That specific phrase first appears in the 1956 novel Diamonds Are Forever, although it's not used by Bond. Bond doesn't use the phrase himself until Dr. No (1958).

Sean Connery made the line famous to movie-goers as Bond's line in 1964's Goldfinger. (The classic Vesper cocktail scene in Casino Royale included instructions to shake the cocktail, but not the "shaken, not stirred" line.) Prior to that, it had been uttered by the villainous Dr. Julius No in 1962's Dr. No.

"Shaken, not stirred" became a permanent part of 007's vocabulary and mystique, appearing repeatedly in Bond movies over the years. The most notable exception was Daniel Craig in Casino Royale (2006). When his Bond was asked whether the cocktail should be shaken or stirred, Craig's reply is, "Do I look like I give a damn?"

The Case for Shaking a Martini

Bond never chose to explain his preference for shaken martinis, but there are several possibilities. One is that shaking tends to make the cocktail colder, or as Bond called it, ice cold. The process allows the drink to make more and longer contact with the ice, making the end result much colder.

Another theory revolves around the vodka. When the Bond series began in the 1950s, most of the available vodka was distilled from potatoes. Potato vodka is oily, and shaking a martini disperses the oil. (Vermouth is oily, as well.) This theory also explains why Bond specified that grain vodka was preferable to potato vodka.

Even science has weighed in with reasons to shake. The Department of Biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario in Canada studied the influence of a martini's preparation on its anti-oxident capacity. Shaken gin martinis broke down hydrogen peroxide better, leaving only 0.072% of the peroxide behind. Stirred martinis left 0.157%.

The Case for Stirring a Martini

Some connoisseurs, however, are horrified at the notion of shaking a martini. Shaking is believed to "bruise" the gin, causing it to taste slightly bitter. Shaken martinis also have a cloudier appearance, caused by small ice fragments created when the cocktail is shaken.