SHAKEN OR STIRRED

Excuse me sir. Do you want your martini shaken or stirred?

Do I look like I give a damn?

The debate of SHAKEN OR STIRRED comes into play especially in the martini. Some recipes advocate for shaking and some stirring and you ask , “What’s the big deal?”

As far as bartending (read mixology) goes, there is a difference in both.

SHAKEN

This is the general rule of Thumb.

Shake cocktails that include

• Cream liqueurs
• Simple syrup ( sugar and water in the ratio 1:1)
• Sour mix
• Eggs
• Dairy Products
• Fruit Juices
• Any thick or flavorful mixes

Imagine having a drink with eggnog (yuck) and you just mix it and you will taste the eggs in different parts of your concoction. Disturbing and overly gross huh?

Shaking is good because it is thorough and it gives your drink an effervescent look that clears. After shaking, one should strain the mixture to remove the solid and semi solid elements in the drink.

The drinks that advocate for shaking are;

•  Mai Tai
• Cosmopolitan
• Chocolate martini etc.
  
  
  

STIRRED

Stir the cocktails that use distilled spirits and light mixers in the recipes. Stirring is very delicate and it seeks to mix the drinks. Gin drinks are not shaken because shaking bruises the drink. (Yes you can bruise a drink).

 Stiring is done with a bar-spoon  a sip-stick or a straw.

The cocktails that advocate for stirring are the  Manhattan

• Martini
• Negroni
• Imperial cocktails