"Shaken, not stirred" is a catchphrase of Ian Fleming's fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond and describes his preference for the preparation of his martini cocktails.
The phrase first appears in the novel Diamonds Are Forever (1956), though Bond himself does not actually say it until Dr. No (1958), where his exact words are "shaken and not stirred." In the film adaptations of Fleming's novels, the phrase is first uttered by the villain, Dr. Julius No, when he offers the drink in Dr. No (1962), and it is not uttered by Bond himself (played by Sean Connery) until Goldfinger (1964). It is used in numerous Bond films thereafter with the notable exceptions of You Only Live Twice (1967), in which the drink is wrongly offered as "stirred, not shaken," to Bond's response "that's right," and Casino Royale (2006) in which Bond, after losing millions of dollars in a game of poker, is asked if he wants his martini shaken or stirred and snaps, "Do I look like I give a damn?"
Variations in the Bond novels and films
Novels
The earliest form of the "shaken, not stirred" motif appears in the first Bond novel, Casino Royale (1953). After meeting his CIA contact Felix Leiter for the first time, Bond orders a drink from a barman while at the casino.
'A dry martini,' he said. 'One. In a deep champagne goblet.'
'Oui, monsieur.'
'Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?'
'Certainly monsieur.' The barman seemed pleased with the idea.
'Gosh, that's certainly a drink,' said Leiter.
Bond laughed. 'When I'm ... er ... concentrating,' he explained, 'I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold, and very well made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I think of a good name.'
The drink will later be referred to as a "Vesper", after the original Bond girl, Vesper Lynd. A Vesper differs from Bond's usual cocktail of choice, the martini, in that it uses both gin and vodka, Kina Lillet instead of vermouth, and lemon peel instead of an olive. In the same scene Bond gives more details about the Vesper, telling the same barman that vodka made from grain instead of potatoes makes the drink even better. Kina Lillet is no longer available, but can be approximated by using the sweeter Lillet Blanc along with a dash of Angostura Bitters. Another Kina (or quinine) apertif which has the bite and approximate flavour is Cocchi Americano. Russian and Polish vodkas were also always preferred by Bond if they were in stock. Although there is a lot of discussion on the Vesper, it is only ordered once throughout Fleming's novels and by later books Bond is ordering regular vodka martinis, though he also drinks regular gin martinis. In total, Bond orders 19 vodka martinis and 16 gin martinis throughout Fleming's novels and short stories.
Film
The American Film Institute honoured Goldfinger and the phrase on 21 July 2005 by ranking it #90 on a list of best movie quotes in the past 100 years of film.
Sean Connery
The shaken Martini is mentioned twice in the first Bond film Dr. No (1962). When Bond has presumably ordered a drink from room service to his hotel room, it is mixed by a waiter, who says "one medium dry vodka martini mixed like you said, sir, but not stirred." (A slice of lime was in the bottom of the glass.) Later, Dr. No presents Bond with a drink â€" "A medium dry martini, lemon peel. Shaken, not stirred."
Bond did not vocally order one himself until Goldfinger (1964). In the 1967 film You Only Live Twice, Bond's contact Henderson prepares a martini for Bond and says, "That's, um, stirred not shaken. That was right, wasn't it?" To which Bond replies politely, "Perfect."
George Lazenby
In George Lazenby's only film as Bond, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Bond never actually orders himself a drink, but when he meets Marc-Ange Draco for the first time, Draco tells his assistant, Olympe, to get a dry martini for Bond. Draco then adds, "Shaken, not stirred."
Roger Moore
Roger Moore's Bond never actually ordered one himself, but has one ordered for him several times, nonetheless. In the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me, Anya Amasova orders him one. In Moonraker, his drink is prepared by Manuela. In Octopussy, the title character (Maud Adams) herself greets Bond by mixing his drink.
Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton's Bond ordered his trademark Martini in each of his films. In The Living Daylights he and Kara arrive in Austria where he orders a martini "Shaken, not stirred" shortly after entering their hotel. For his second film, Licence to Kill he doesn't directly order it. Instead, he tells Pam Bouvier what drink he'd like as he plays Blackjack, only to end up disappearing shortly after, leaving Bouvier to down the entire martini in one long gulp.
Pierce Brosnan
In GoldenEye, Bond orders the drink in a casino while talking with Xenia Onatopp, and later, Zukovsky refers to Bond as a "charming, sophisticated secret agent. Shaken, but not stirred." In Tomorrow Never Dies, Paris Carver orders the drink for Bond after the two meet again after years apart. While Paris' choice of drink had changed, Bond's had not. In The World Is Not Enough, Bond orders the drink in Zukovsky's casino. In Die Another Day, Bond is coming back on a rather turbulent British Airways flight. The air hostess (played by Roger Moore's daughter Deborah) serves him his martini, to which Bond replies, "Luckily I asked for it shaken.". Later in the film, when Bond travels to Gustav Graves' ice palace in Iceland, he orders another martini, sarcastically telling the bartender "Plenty of ice, if you can spare it."
Daniel Craig
The Vesper was reused in the 2006 film version of Casino Royale, while Bond is playing poker to defeat Le Chiffre. Daniel Craig's Bond ordered the drink, providing great detail about how it should be prepared. The other poker players order the Vesper as well, with Felix Leiter telling the bartender to "Keep the fruit" with his. Later, after Bond loses money to Le Chiffre, he orders another martini, but when the barman asks whether he would like it shaken or stirred, Bond snaps, "Do I look like I give a damn?"
In Quantum of Solace, the bartender on an airplane gives the precise recipe for the Vesper from Fleming's novel Casino Royale, which was a minor anachronism since Kina Lillet was reformulated (removing the Kina) in 1986, 22 years before the film's production. Bond is purported to have drunk six of them.
In Skyfall, when talking to Bond girl Sévérine at a casino bar, the bartender is seen shaking Bond's martini before pouring it, to which Bond comments "perfect".
In Spectre, Bond orders his signature drink in a mountaintop resort, only to be told to his disdain that he is at a health clinic and that the bar does not serve alcohol. Q instead orders Bond an unpleasant-looking green-coloured 'prolytic digestive enzyme shake', and a disgusted Bond asks the barman "Do me a favor, will you? Throw that down the toilet. Cut out the middleman."
Purpose of shaking
Scientists, specifically biochemists, and martini connoisseurs have investigated the difference between a martini shaken and a martini stirred. The Department of Biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario in Canada conducted a study to determine if the preparation of a martini has an influence on their antioxidant capacity; the study found that the shaken gin martinis were able to break down hydrogen peroxide and leave only 0.072% of the peroxide behind, versus the stirred gin martini, which left behind 0.157% of the peroxide. Thus a shaken martini has more antioxidants than a stirred one. The study was done at the time because moderate consumption of alcohol appears to reduce the risk of cataracts, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.
Andrew Lycett, an Ian Fleming biographer, believed that Fleming liked his martinis shaken, not stirred, because Fleming thought that stirring a drink diminished its flavour. Lycett also noted that Fleming preferred gin and vermouth for his martini. It has also been said that Fleming was a fan of martinis shaken by Hans Schröder, a German bartender.
Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) prescribes shaking for all its martini recipes. However, many bartenders insist that any cocktail that involves nothing but transparent ingredientsâ€"such as martinis, manhattans, and negronisâ€"must be stirred in order to maintain clarity and texture. Shaking a drink is quite violent and necessarily introduces air bubbles into the mix. This results in a cloudy appearance and a somewhat different texture on the tongue when compared with a stirred drink. However, when any of the ingredients are opaque (such as citrus juices, dairy, or eggs), aesthetically pleasing clarity and texture are not as much of an issue. Furthermore, studies have shown that, while techniques and type of ice used to play a role in the final effect of chilling and diluting a drink, both shaking and stirring can result in chilling the drink with equal effectiveness; stirring takes longer. However, shaking is much faster, and bartenders do not stir long enough to reach the matching temperature and dilution. In essence, then, James Bond doesn't seem to care that his martini will be ugly upon presentation, or he might prefer the "shaken" version for its texture, or for its lower alcohol by volume.
Some connoisseurs believe that shaking gin is a faux pas, supposedly because the shaking "bruises" the gin (a term referring to a slight bitter taste that can allegedly occur when gin is shaken). In Fleming's novel Casino Royale, it is stated that Bond "watched as the deep glass became frosted with the pale golden drink, slightly aerated by the bruising of the shaker," suggesting that Bond was requesting it shaken because of the vodka it contained. Prior to the 1960s, vodka was, for the most part, refined from potatoes (usually cheaper brands). This element made the vodka oily. To disperse the oil, Bond ordered his martinis shaken; thus, in the same scene where he orders the martini, he tells the barman about how vodka made from grain rather than potatoes makes his drink even better. Shaking is also said to dissolve the vermouth better, making it less oily tasting.
While properly called a Bradford, a shaken martini also appears cloudier than when stirred. This is caused by the small fragments of ice present in a shaken martini. This also brings into question the movie versions, which are never cloudy.
In "Stirred," an episode of The West Wing, President Josiah Bartlet disagrees with Bond in a conversation with his aide Charlie Young:
- Bartlet: Can I tell you what's messed up about James Bond?
- Young: Nothing.
- Bartlet: Shaken, not stirred, will get you cold water with a dash of gin and dry vermouth. The reason you stir it with a special spoon is so not to chip the ice. James is ordering a weak martini and being snooty about it.
Other 007 drinking habits
Spirits
Bond's drinking habits mirror those of his creator, Ian Fleming. Fleming, as well as Bond throughout the novels, had a preference for bourbon whiskey. Fleming himself actually had a fondness for gin, drinking as much as a bottle a day; however, he was converted to bourbon at the behest of his doctor who informed him of his failing health.
Otherwise, in the films James Bond normally has a fondness for vodka that is accompanied by product placement for a brand. For instance, Smirnoff was clearly shown in 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies, in which Bond sits drinking a bottle while in his hotel room in Hamburg. Other brands featured in the films have included Absolut Vodka, Stolichnaya and Finlandia. In the film GoldenEye, Bond suggests cognac when offered a drink by M, who gives him bourbon instead, as it is her preference. The whiskey poured is in fact Jack Daniel's, which markets itself as a Tennessee Whiskey, which is legally a sub-category of bourbon â€" often distinguished from bourbon itself.
In Goldfinger, Bond drinks a mint julep at Auric Goldfinger's Kentucky stud farm, and in Thunderball, Largo gives Bond a Rum Collins. Bond is also seen in Quantum of Solace drinking bottled beer when meeting with Felix Leiter in a Bolivian bar. In Die Another Day, Bond drinks a mojito. In Casino Royale, Bond orders Mount Gay Rum with soda. In that film, he also invents the famous "Vesper" cocktailâ€"a variation on a martiniâ€"originally included in the novel but not seen in the films until the reboot. In Skyfall, the villain Raoul Silva says he believes 50 year old Macallan single malt whisky to be one of Bond's favorites.
Also in Goldfinger during a briefing on the villain, their host offers a refill with, "Have a little more of this rather disappointing brandy."
M replies, "Why, what is the matter with it?"
Bond replies importantly, "I'd say it was a 30 year old Fins [as in Fins Bois] and indifferently blended, with an overdose of Bon bois."
In the novel Moonraker, it is noted in the card club Blades, Bond adds a single pinch of black pepper to his glass of fine Wolfschmidt vodka, much to M's consternation, to which Bond says he got into the habit in joints that served villainous home brew. It sinks all the poisons to the bottom, and Bond got to like the taste. However, he does admit that he should not have insulted the Club Wolfschmidt.
Wines
In several of the Bond films, he is known to prefer Bollinger and Dom Pérignon champagne. Never primarily a red wine drinker, Bond tended to favour Château Mouton Rothschild; a 1947 vintage in Goldfinger, and half a bottle On Her Majesty's Secret Service, a 1934 ordered by M in Moonraker, and a '55 in Diamonds are Foreverâ€"where Bond unveiled the assassin Wint posing as a waiter because the latter didn't know that Mouton-Rothschild is a claret. In the Jeffery Deaver novel Carte Blanche, Bond expresses a knowledge and appreciation of South African wine.
In the film of Diamonds Are Forever, Bond savors a glass of sherry and fools M into thinking Bond has made a mistake when he pronounces a year of make ("'51"). When Bond is informed that sherry has no vintage, he replies (to a non-plussed M) that he was discerning the vintage of the wine on which the sherry is based â€" 1851.
Others
In You Only Live Twice, Bond opts for sake over his usual martini, indicating that he especially likes it when it's served at the correct temperature of 98.4 degrees Fahrenheit (37° Celsius, normal body temperature). Tiger, his host, is impressed and tells Bond he is exceptionally culturedâ€"for a European.
Aside from alcoholic beverages, Bond is a coffee drinker and eschews tea with a passion, believing it to have been a factor in the fall of the British Empire and referring to it as "a cup of mud" (in Fleming's Goldfinger). In the novel Live and Let Die, he expresses his fondness for Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee â€" while in the film adaptation he is shown operating a La Pavoni Europiccola lever coffee machine in the kitchen of his flat. In the Fleming novel of From Russia With Love he is shown to own a Chemex Coffeemaker and prefers his coffee brewed that way, while in the film version he orders coffee "very black" for breakfast from his hotel's room service; in Kerim Bey's office he asks for his coffee "medium sweet" when offered. He also accepts a cup, refusing cream or sugar, from Franz Sanchez in Licence to Kill â€" whereas in Moonraker he refuses a cup of tea offered by Hugo Drax. In The Living Daylights, Bond tastes a cup of café coffee he is served in the Prater Amusement Park, Vienna, making a face when it is not up to his standards.
See also
- Outline of James Bond
- Drinking culture
References
External links
- "Shaken and Stirred, James Bond Loves His Booze" at Time.com.