From BLARB (blog of the LA Review of Books):
When I was a bartender in the 1970s back at the Adam’s Apple bar in New York City, the martini was the easiest drink on the list.
This was long before the flush of noxious slop like appletinis, chocotinis, and avocadotinis. All you had to do was pour some vodka and a bit of dry vermouth in a glass, along with a lemon peel (the Mad Men era — with its olives — was long past). During rushed moments, you just shoved it at the customer, who stirred it with a swizzle stick and went back to listening to the Bee Gees. Done.
A more laudable martini innovation than flavored vodka was the shaker cup. We all know who wrote this revolution: the first martini quaffed by James Bond is in Ian Fleming’s Diamonds Are Forever (1956), but the suave British spy does not state his preferred method till Dr. No (1958), the sixth novel in the series (his actual line was “shaken and not stirred”).
Movie depictions of Bond made this tic an integral part of his personality. In the film Dr. No (1962), a room service waiter presents the hero with “one medium dry vodka martini mixed like you said, sir, but not stirred.” The titular villain offers his guest “a medium dry martini; lemon peel; shaken, not stirred,” just before the torture scene commences. The first time Bond himself states his preference out loud on the screen is in Goldfinger (1964), and by that time, it practically feels like a canticle.
When I started drinking martinis, I used the old bartender’s quick-and-easy with olives. As a loyal Bond fan, I later decided to try it Fleming’s way, embarrassed by indulging in a fanboy imitation. But it was wonderful, a far better drink than the fast version. The two ingredients are thoroughly blended together, creating a smoother, unique drink all its own, rather than a beverage where the elements enjoy a passing acquaintance in the glass.....MORE
But where did this inspired concept come from? Is it merely another example of Fleming’s personal and very British taste in beverages and food, along with style in clothes, cars, guns, even precious metals? Or does it have another origin?....
