Shaken not stirred - The Vesper Martini

Shaken not stirred, one of the most recognised and memorable lines in the history of film, the term is used all around the world and is recognizable in western popular culture
Shaken not Stirred is a catch phrase of Ian Flemming's fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond, and his preference for how he wished his martini prepared. The phrase first appears in the novel Diamonds are Forever (1956), though Bond does not actually say the line until Dr No (1958) but says it "shaken and not stirred" instead of "shaken, not stirred."

Bond first ordered a drink to be shaken in Fleming's novel Casino Royale (1953) when he requested a drink of his own invention which would later be referred to as a ' Vesper ', named after the Bond Girl, Vesper Lynd. After just meeting his CIA contact Felix Leiter for the first time, Bond orders the 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.'

 Why shaken and not stirred - There have actually been scientific studies to determined the difference to a martini shaken and a martini stirred. According to a study at the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario in Canada to determine if the preparation of a martini has an influence on their antioxidant capacity, 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. The study was done at the time because moderate consumption of alcohol appears to reduce the risk of cataracts, cardiovascular diseases, and stroke, none of which afflict James Bond.


So just to re-cap here are the ingredients for the Vesper Martini. 75ml Gordon's gin, 25ml vodka (Russian, as this is Bond's preference) 15ml Kina Lillet vermouth and garnished with a lemon peel. The drink can be shaken or stirred, if shaken, shake til ice cold and double strain into your martini glass, if stirred, use a bar spoon and stir 24 times clockwise and then 24 times anti-clockwise and also double strain into your martini glass. 

Kina Lillet vermouth

Vesper Martini with a lemon twist

James Bond with his weapon of choice