The one about being stirred not shaken

James Bond is a heathen.

He may have a license to kill, he may even give me a run for my money when he strolls out of the sea looking all buff and dreamy, and he may be the king one liners.

But he makes a truly dreadful martini.

Shaken not stirred is it? James, my friend, go back to the drawing board. Only heathens and wannabe secret service agents shake their martinis.

Many moons ago, in the hay days of my misspent youth, I used to make cocktails. My friend Chris (who now runs the amazing Neighbourhood Coffee) taught me how to make a proper martini. 

A martini is a drink that’s meant to bring out the very best of the spirit. If you shake the gin and the vermouth, you’re going to over dilute them, ‘break’ the spirit, and fill the drink with tiny air bubbles (this is why shaken martinis look cloudier than their stirred counterparts). 

It’s a cheap imitation of the real deal.

Stirring the drink takes more time but - as anyone in the know will tell you - it tastes so much better. Clean, crisp, potent. Everything a martini should be. Sorry, James.

Taking time to do something, giving it care, attention and love creates a better end product. Let that sink in a minute - because it’s not just true of drinks.

We’ve become so used to having everything on demand that we expect instant gratification or immediate results with everything we do.

People say things like:

“I’ve been eating clean for a week but I can’t see any impact.”

“I launched this new product a month ago but sales have been slow.”

“I’ve been freelance for 6 months but I’m not making a six figure salary yet.”

Patience - and the appreciation of letting time work its magic - are swiftly abandoned. We’re drawn into thinking a quick shake is all it takes (your mind went there, not mine.) 

Despite what swindlers, influencers, business coaches, and ten-a-penny life gurus will tell you - there is no secret formula. The magic bullet doesn’t exist. There are no shortcuts that are worth taking.

A great example (and the inspiration behind this martini story) is Monterey Gin. My good friend, Simon Finemore, decided with two friends he was going to make his own gin.

He distills it in his copper still called Shirley. He tried countless different botanicals to get the gin to just where he wanted it. He tried, tried again, and kept trying. He learnt so much along the journey of perfecting the gin and then upscaling to make it in larger volumes. And then he finally got to a place where he could bring it to market - which he did about a year ago.

The gin’s exceptional. But there weren’t hordes of starry-eyed gin drinkers paddling up the Helford River (where the distillery / Simon’s garden shed is) for a sip of this nectar. And every bearded hipster and his dog makes their own gin now so why would this be special?

Simon kept chipping away, he kept doing things for the right reasons, he kept believing in his product. It’s a belief that’s now paid off. Monty (as the gin is affectionately known) has just been awarded 98/100 (the previous highest score for a gin was 96) and named one of the top 8 gins in the world in the International Wines & Spirits Competition.

There was no fancy marketing, no gimmicks, no shortcuts. Instead, there was hard work, an uncompromising approach to creating a brilliant product, and a trust and belief in the process.

Like the stirred martini, the application of patience creates a far superior end product. It might take a little longer to get there, but the end result is more than worth it.

And if that’s not worth some Sunday afternoon contemplation I don’t know what is.

Enjoy your week, brilliant people.