Audio By Carbonatix
Laura Shunk issued a plea yesterday to local bartenders: Stop shaking your martinis and Manhattans. You don’t shake babies, and you don’t shake drinks. “There’s a geeky, technical reason for stirring these drinks: Booze combined with booze blends without force (unlike citrus and booze, which needs a good hard shake to mix right),” Shunk wrote. “But not only is vigorous shaking not necessary, it’s actually ruining the drink.”
And she’s tasted a lot of bad drinks while testing contenders for the upcoming Best of Denver issue.
Some readers thought she was being too picky. Wrote Elwood:
White people – Sucking the fun out of pretty much everything since the beginning of time.
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But Monopod came to her rescue:
Gotta defend Laura on this one. If I’m paying $10 or $12 for a drink with high-quality ingredients, I definitely want it prepared right. And she’s absolutely right that you can tell the difference. I’ve had many a Manhattan that tasted watered down when I got it; given that there’s nothing but booze (and a cherry) in there, the only way that happens is if it’s shaken. More bartenders should realize this.
Should they? Read more about the topic here. We guarantee the discussion will leave you stirred — if not shaken.
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