Why Bond takes his martinis shaken, not stirred

Virgin Radio

29 Sep 2021, 13:08

The latest Bond film, No Time To Die, hits theatres this Thursday September 30th. This will be the fifth and final film starring Daniel Craig as the dashing superspy.

No matter who dons the suit, we have always seen a few similarities between the various iterations of 007. Always charmingly British, always well dressed, and always a fan of martinis.

Bond famously prefers his martinis “shaken not stirred”. The catchphrase appears in nearly all of the Bond films over the last half century, but where and why did it originate? Any bartender worth their salt knows martinis are best served gently stirred to avoid chipping the ice and maintain the drink’s clarity and smoothness. So why would a sophisticated man like Bond go against this well accepted truth? There are a few theories.

The first and most obvious theory is that it was simply a preference of Bond author Ian Fleming. The phrase first originated in the 1956 novel Diamonds are Forever, and is repeated often throughout the books and films. Andrew Lycett, an accomplished biographer of Ian Fleming, believes that Fleming preferred his martinis shaken as he felt stirring diminished the taste.

A whackier explanation is offered by the British Medical Journal following a study into the agent’s drinking habits. They propose that he prefers his martinis shaken because he is such an alcoholic that he has an alcohol induced tremor preventing him from stirring his drinks. 

While this obviously seems unlikely considering his skills with a pistol, the math adds up. In a study of Fleming’s novels, they found Bond drank on average three times the recommended maximum amount of alcohol for a grown man. On just one day in From Russia With Love, Bond drank the alcoholic equivalent of 25 pints of lager!

The BMJ goes on to say that Bond likely would have been dead or seriously ill after consuming this level of alcohol frequently. They said he would be at risk of serious diseases such as hypertension, depression, stroke, and sexual dysfunction, “which would considerably affect his womanising” as the study put it.

Ian Fleming himself, a lifelong heavy smoker and drinker, died of heart disease at age 56, so maybe it’s not so far-fetched to expect the same for his fictional hero. It’s worth noting that Bond’s drinking habits in the films are a bit toned down from the novels, too. Whether you prefer your martinis the traditional way or shaken like Bond, enjoy them in moderation!