Why shake or stir vodka martinis at all? Both methods mean there is far more collision between liquid and ice, which makes the martini very dilute. I just hold the cocktail shaker gently and loosely spin it in a circular motion to swirl drink and ice together. Assuming there is a flaw in my method, what is it?
• When you mix ice and alcoholic liquor you want the coldest drink in the shortest time with the least dilution. Professionals start with all the elements pre-chilled: liquor and mixer, cocktail shaker and glass, and with the ice already chipped. The ice, liquor and mixer are added to the cocktail shaker and shaken or stirred vigorously for 15 seconds, decanted through a sieve into the cold glass and given to the customer. Some leave the ice in the drink, which keeps it cool longer, but dilutes the drink as it melts. Choice rules here.
Shaking with chipped ice brings the mix to the coldest point in the fastest time via fully turbulent mixing. It provides a large contact area between the ice and the fluid for fast heat transfer.
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Some people use a specialised freezer to make cubes of the alcohol (bottled liquor freezes out water as slush at about -40 °C and reaches full solidification at about -114 °C). As a young student, I did this in the lab freezer – naughty boy that I was.
Bill Jackson, Toronto, Canada