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Martini Mavens Go Totally Stir-crazy

The 'shaken or stirred' debate takes an unexpected turn, as new coolness captivates cocktail cognoscenti.

Why we call it Stir...

The making of a martini raises so many alluring questions: Does shaking spoil the taste of the martini? Does stirring get the drink cold enough? Should the bartender put on an exciting show, or should he mix with masterly nonchalance? (There's a delicious word for that quality: sprezzatura.)

The sprezzatura ideal of carelss grace arose in Renaissance Italy, and the aim of making hard things look easy has never wholly lost its appeal since. It tends to run in cycles -- "hot" jazz with wild solos alternating with "cool" jazz making complex music subtly. Among bartenders of a hundred years ago, this cult of understated grace was a reaction against the garish theatrics of the previous generation's bartenders.

At the Grill on the Alley in Beverly Hills, director of beverage, Arthur Meola says, "Our house practice is to stir vigorously. We use the bar spoon appropriately, so that it gets a vertical as well as a circular motion."

If you want the maximum of sprezzatura, the traditional bar spoon, with its twisted handle, is the ultimate tool. You can just roll the handle between your thumb and forefinger, so that the bowl of the spoon not only turns in the glass, but rises and sinks.

Back in the '80's, there was a revival of flashly mixing techniques, but nearly 20 years have passed since the Tom Cruise movie, "Cocktail," and elegance seems to have made a comeback.

"Shaking is faster and easier," says Sang Yoon, "but it dilutes the drink and makes it cloudier, and frankly I don't like the sound. I think sitrring is much more elegant."

So maybe it's time to chill. The times, they apparently are a-stirring!