If James Bond asked a bartender for a vodka martini, "shaken not stirred" and the bartender, out of sight of Bond, stirred it instead of shaking it, what would happen? Would James Bond take one sip and angrily tell the bartender, "I said, shaken, not stirred!" Or would he be unable to tell the difference?
If you think James Bond could tell the difference, what quality do you think he had that allowed him to discern whether a drink has been shaken or stirred?
If you think James Bond could not tell the difference then why do you suppose he ordered it that way?
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2 comments:
Hee hee hee.... I like these sorts of things. An excellent question which will no doubt arrest the attention of some of the best minds of our generation.
I think that perhaps for some, the martini enters into a sort of para-normal spiritual level, which may explain Bond's non-discernable preference. (not to mention that being overly specific and picky has always unfortunately been regarded as some sort of sign of taste or class.)
When it comes to the martini, many people have strange customs. A close personal friend liked his vodka martinis dry. How dry? He'd instruct the bartender to lean down and whisper the word "vermouth" over the glass.
In the most recent Bond film, "Casino Royale" (it's actually based on the first Ian Fleming book and so it depicts Bond's early career), Bond answers a bartender's question of "would you like that shaken or stirred?" with "do I look like I give a damn?" So apparently like the martini itself, the discernment of shaken vs. stirred is an acquired taste.
Or it may just be what Esquire magazine calls "swirling the snifter." In the magazine's watch for new words and expressions, swirling the snifter means doing something that you think makes you look suave but in fact is meaningless. Like swirling a snifter of brandy -- which does nothing to enhance the flavor of the brandy.
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