Shaken & Stirred: When These Cocktail Mixing Techniques Work Best
Shaken or stirred? James Bond's iconic preference for martini mixing techniques may have had an outsized influence on our thoughts about cocktails (and really, who can blame us?). But whether a drink calls for shaking or stirring actually has a pretty solid rationale to it. And it's nowhere near as complicated as bringing down Spectra.
Here's what you need to know.
The Purpose Of Shaking & Stirring
Shaking and stirring both serve very different needs when mixing a cocktail. They also pertain to specific ingredient categories.
Drinks that comprise spirits alone, are stirred. Drinks that make use of other ingredients as well — but not fruits and herbs that call for muddling, or any carbonated liquid — are shaken.
Shaking is for drinks that require chilling, and some addition of volume and texture. It's a vigorous technique. Stirring, on the other hand, is for drinks that you typically want to keep air out of. It is accomplished gently.
Shake It Right
When you advance enough in your cocktail-making skills, you can delve into practices like wet and dry shaking, and also the foaming of egg whites. But if you're a beginner, you can start by figuring out what type of shaker you want to use.
You could opt for the so-called "Boston shaker", which just comprises two tins and requires a separate strainer when it comes to pouring your drink into a serving glass. Or you could choose the three-piece shaker that comes with its own strainer.
You start by filling your shaker to the halfway point with ice and pouring or adding the other ingredients over it. Then, you close the shaker firmly — firmly! — raise it over your shoulder pointed away from any others in the room with you, and then put all your heart and soul into the shaking of it, et voila! Your drink is ready to be poured.
Stirring It Softly
In the realm of cocktails, stirring has a nuanced, almost meditative, quality. There's none of this slapdash swirling of liquids. Instead, you take a mixing glass and fill it with ice and the spirits, then use a bar spoon to gently — gently! — blend the spirits.
The ideal stirring technique involves rotating the bar spoon around the inner circumference of your glass in a smooth motion, 15-20 times, as per pro mixologists.
Once you understand the purpose and principles of both shaking and stirring it'll be easy enough to tell which method would serve which drink best. And if another Bond aficionado comes up to you at your next gathering and insists on telling you that cocktails must be had shaken and not stirred, you can set them right with this 007.
