Sir Sean Connery RIP

[Ninehostages]

The friction caused by shaking a martini instead of stirring it "bruises" the ice and "heats" it ever so slightly, causing the ice to melt a bit, which waters the mixture down a bit, making it less potent. Bond orders his martinis this way because it helps him keep his "edge".

The irony of course is that Connery himself didn't like martinis, and was mostly a beer drinker--Scotch Ale, for example...

... and of course ... only sissies make martinis using vodka.

[DyerStraits]

... and of course ... only sissies make martinis using vodka.

I personally like martinis with either gin or vodka. Gin, like Aquavit, is simply vodka flavoured with specific botanicals. The sissies are the ones who make and consume all sorts of goofy concoctions called a "martini"--or some other name ending with "ini"--that contain anything other than gin or vodka and dry vermouth.