Ian Fleming wanted to portray Bond as a guy who knew nothing about fancy stuff and this was done to illustrate that. First off he drinks wodka martini's which is a bit of a faux pas and second he thinks having a specific preference whether it should be stirred or not made him look like he knew what he was doing. The man was an orphan who grew up far away from anything elegant and most of all he wanted to fit into the Casino Royal lifestyle without knowing the first thing about it.
Lurker1347 96 points 20 days ago
Honytawk 31 points 20 days ago
Pretty sure that is how spies are trained though. They need to be able to blend in everywhere, and that includes esoteric knowledge with specific preferences in order to not fall out of line with the other pompous people.
amio 21 points 20 days ago
If you want to blend in, getting a standout unusual and kinda "wrong" drink order would be counterproductive. In an "eccentric" enough crowd it might just pass, but the wiser choice if you're a spy would've been... do more cocktail research, don't end up going to a foofy place and ask for ice cubes in your wine etc.
Wimopy 27 points 20 days ago
In all fairness it seems like it would work. Being a complete background character doesn't get you close to anyone, and might even be suspicious. Meanwhile a weird order is a conversation starter, and why would a spy be drawing attention to themselves like that?
Plus it does paint a sort of nouveau riche character, explaining how they might fit in a posh area while not being recognised: they're new and they just made it to those circles. They're someone who might not be committed to any specific factions or could potentially be more easily manipulated.
It's a good persona to approach and be approached while explaining away any oddities. Yeah, it's also a suspicious position, but that's where you trust your agency to have the background checks pass.
cobysev 24 points 20 days ago
Novel Bond is very different from Movie Bond.
Novel Bond is described by the author, Ian Fleming, as an "extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened; I wanted him to be a blunt instrument." He picked the name "James Bond" from the author of the book, "Birds of the West Indies," which he thought was a very boring, average name.
This Bond is a loveless, depressed alcoholic who only lives for the next mission. He doesn't really have a personal life and throws himself completely into his work as a distraction from his terrible life. He knows spies tend to live short lives, and he secretly hopes the job will be the end of him one day.
Movie Bond was spiced up to be a charming, handsome womanizer, who drinks and smokes socially (attractive traits at the time) and always has clever one-liners. This Bond is the hero who saves the day and gets the girl every time. He lives an extravagant lifestyle, funded by MI6, and loves his work. He's a sex icon for women and an ideal role model for men. At least, back in the '60s where he originated.
I will say that Daniel Craig's version of James Bond is the closest on-screen adaptation we've ever had to Novel Bond. I thoroughly enjoyed his run as the character, even if some of his movies weren't all that good.
But I highly recommend reading the original novels. They're very different from the films, even though some films borrowed novel titles occasionally. For instance, the Moonraker novel is about a nuke being aimed at London while James Bond tries to stop its launch; whereas the Moonraker film is about a guy planning to kill off everyone on the planet while creating his own human "ark" in space, to repopulate the planet with his own chosen specimens. Wildly different stakes.
leftascenter 21 points 20 days ago
Shaken allows to make a better mixed vodka martini with potato vodka (the one available when Flemming wrote Bond).
Stirred is better with grain vodka or gin.
leftascenter 8 points 20 days ago
Ni, but potato vodka is a bit oily.
OrganicMustard 11 points 20 days ago
But the total of alcohol in the drink is the same, isn't it? Just adding more water to it doesn't get you less drunk.
Wrufieotnak 10 points 20 days ago
It slows the absorption inside the stomach down a tiny amount. So you don't get drunk as fast. But that is not really important if we are talking about dilution via some additional ice cubes.
Onomatopoeia 2 points 20 days ago
Shaking makes it colder (in my experience) and done well can produce this nice, very fine, ice crystal/frosty layer on top.
I like a nice ice-cold gin martini - this works well with the juniper in gin.
Not to justify Bonds choice in any way - that's a different discussion.
crypt0cler1c 0 points 20 days ago
Yes it does... That's called Dilution.
binarytobis 1 point 20 days ago
One could argue that most people don’t eat the ice, so if it melted they might have another sip or two before ordering another. Could possibly make the difference of a drink or two over the night.
crypt0cler1c 0 points 19 days ago
This is like calories in, calories out and in the real world context matters.
Earthwormjim91 1 point 19 days ago
No, that’s not how it works.
If you have 1.5oz of vodka mixed with 3oz of water 94 6oz of water, it makes no difference. You’re still drinking 1.5oz of vodka.
Alcoholicorn 67 points 20 days ago
Shaken has little bits of ice and is slightly aerated.
Do you expect Bond to test how effectively his martini breaks down hydrogen peroxide?
binarytobis 2 points 20 days ago
path: 0 25050263 25050713 25058185, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0
Actionschnils 29 points 20 days ago
I once heard the "shaken, not stirred" line is from the books. So in the books, he is more Bad Ass than gentleman and doesnt give a fuck about society rules. To drink a Martini Shaken was so obviously wrong, the reader knew once more knew, this guys plays by his own rules and standards. I didnt read the books and have no fucking clue about upper class Drinks or behavior, so I cant confirm this :|
glitchdx 14 points 20 days ago
Most mixed drinks are shaken, I've never been a martini guy but I'd expect a martini to be shaken.
My understanding is that the phrase is code to identify/activate assets to aid Bond, but at some point along the way the writers forgot that and it turned into Bond being a karen.
Earthwormjim91 12 points 19 days ago
I wouldn’t say most cocktails are shaken.
Most spirit heavy cocktails are stirred.
Anything in the Negroni family will be stirred. Anything in the old fashioned family, martini family, etc. Basically any cocktail that is predominantly just spirits.
You shake when you have mixers like citrus, egg, or dairy.
leftascenter 8 points 20 days ago
Martinis are normally stirred.
Except... Vodka martini made with potato vodka which is more oily and was the one widely available when Flemming wrote Bond. So you need to shake it for the mix to work properly.
PuddleOfKittens 4 points 20 days ago
Martinis are like the Red Stapler.
BazaarMonk 0 points 19 days ago
Hi, I hope all is well. I've sent you some messages, but am unsure if you're receiving them. Are you still interested in working together on band artwork?
Grass 1 point 19 days ago
I mean yeah but I was expecting it to be the only one. I've also only actually seen it being used as a disinfectant in rare no rinse food contact surface sanitizing situations. Mostly I just see peroxyacetic acid.
What next, glycol in my ice cream? That belongs in my tank chiller...
blimthepixie 8 points 20 days ago
In contrast, make a margarita or espresso martini by stirring the ingredients.
Then try the same drinks made in a shaker
SaharaMaleikuhm 7 points 20 days ago
Takes one to know one
TubularTittyFrog 3 points 20 days ago
I'm more of a manhattan guy.
me likes the rye.
now is time u die
slurp slurp pew pew
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Shaken let's more ice melt, waters it down more, making it less alcoholic. He wasn't trying to get trashed. He had people to kill.
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