No Time To Die is the 25th James Bond movie in the franchise, and will be the fifth and final film starring Daniel Craig.
Although the actors playing 007 have changed throughout the years – one thing has stayed the same. And that is the secret agent’s signature drink.
Regardless of the actor wearing the suit, James Bond has always shown a fondness for martinis.
His iconic words when he orders the drink is that it should be “shaken, not stirred” – but do you know why?
Bond’s famous quote is from the original Ian Fleming books, which were first released in the 1950s.
At the time it was considered an unconventional choice for a gentleman to have a shaken martini.
Shaking a martini distributes the ice more evenly, making the drink colder – but also watering it down. So why did the spy favour a seemingly weaker-tasting drink?
There are several theories as to why Bond likes his martinis “shaken, not stirred”.
Firstly, it’s worth noting that Bond drank a lot. According to the Medical Journal of Australia, Bond has sipped about 109 drinks in the first 24 movies.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
One is that he was consciously trying to lower the potency of his beverage. After all, as a spy he needs to keep his wits sharp – and this way he makes his enemies think he is drinking more than he actually is.
According to British medical researchers, Bond’s alcohol habits translated to 92 units every week.
That would mean he drank four times more alcohol than the recommended amount.
(Image: Getty Images)
The researchers concluded that since Bond drank so much, he ought to be dead from multiple alcohol-related diseases.
They also noted that his heavy drinking might have been caused by job stress and pressure.
They concluded that he might have suffered alcohol-induced tremors that warranted him to shake his martinis.
The research paper noted: “James Bond was unlikely to be able to stir his drinks, even if he would have wanted to, because of likely alcohol induced tremor.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Shaking his drinks would have helped hide this fact from his enemies, and hide that he was a high functioning alcoholic, according to the research.
Another theory is that Bond simply likes his drinks colder, and that shaking martinis is a way of diluting poorer quality vodkas that aren’t up to his standards.
In Casino Royale, he explains the complexity of what he orders: “I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold, and very well made.
“I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink’s my own invention.”
Lastly, another theory is that it was the preference of Fleming himself. It is believed that the author once tried a martini that was served that way and found it quite enjoyable.
When Fleming created Bond he sourced a lot of inspiration from himself – including his own drinking habits.
It has been reported that the Bond creator switched to vodka martinis while writing the novels.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
