From the Trenches      12/03/2008  

James Bond and The Enduring Martini Controversy

Alone of our From the Trenches correspondent, “Rick Blaine,” one of the city’s most experienced and opinionated bartenders, writes anonymously, the better to tell the full and ugly truth about the ordeals faced by bartenders and bar owners.

At the opening of the latest James Bond film Quantum of Solace, I found myself thinking about how Ian Fleming’s character has influenced the cocktail. Bond first appeared in Fleming’s 1953 novel Casino Royale, the source for the smash 2006 rebooting of the franchise.  In the book and in the ‘06 film, Bond orders this drink that he names the “Vesper” after his latest female conquest:

“A dry martini,” [Bond] 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 Felix 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 can think of a good name.”

In 1962 when the first Bond adventure Dr. No starring Sean Connery hit the screens, the martini was changed forever. 007 orders a vodka (Smirnoff) martini shaken, not stirred and nothing was the same. The James Bond movies became a worldwide phenomenon, making it the greatest franchise in movie history, spawning over 25 movies. This created two great martini controversies: the vodka martini versus the traditional gin martini and the shaken versus stirred martini.

The vodka martini was basically unheard of until Connery orders it in Dr. No and today it has essentially became the choice liquor for martinis. There are now thousands of recipes for martinis using the many flavored vodkas and other liquors and juices. When I’m bartending, people order martinis and people just assume that it’s vodka. I always ask them if they want a gin or vodka martini and 90 percent of the time the customer orders a vodka martini.  In recent years, gin has tried to make a comeback in the marketplace with some very nice gins like Plymouth and Hendricks to go along with the stalwarts Tanqueray, Bombay and Beefeater’s. It has been noted that Ian Fleming preferred gin to vodka.

As a bartender, it’s much easier to shake martinis and it looks cool with the shiny silver cocktail shakers and the way it pours into the streamlined glass. People remember Tom Cruise in the movie Cocktail and the fancy way that he shook cocktails. Another reason for shaking is that it makes the drink colder and makes its coldness last longer than if stirred. Again, today’s bargoers assume that shaken is the normal way that martinis are made. The British Medical Journal has written, “shaken martinis may enhance the antioxidant effects of alcohol, making them healthier than the stirred variety…”

Purists still believe that shaking martinis is a faux pas because it “bruises” the gin or vodka; that is, it tastes slightly bitter. They also feel that it waters down the booze with the ice merging with the liquor too much. The West Wing’s President Bartlett prefers his martinis definitely to be stirred:

President Jed Bartlet: Can I tell you what’s messed up about James Bond?
Charlie Young: Nothing.
President Jed 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.

These debates will rage on but perhaps in the 2006 Casino Royale, Bond played for the first time by Daniel Craig may have settled this enduring argument when the bartender asks him whether he’d like his martini shaken or stirred. An exhausted Bond tersely answers,  “Do I look like I give a damn?”

–Rick Blaine

Comments

One Response to “James Bond and The Enduring Martini Controversy”

  1. hb herr on December 4th, 2008 4:16 pm

    You forgot to mention that its a fantastic movie - catch my review on REDISLIFE.COM - http://www.redislife.com/red_is_life/2008/11/boffo-bond.html - Enjoy - HBH

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