Yeah, pretty much everyone has pointed me towards the electric martini shaker.
Part of the beauty of making cocktails is the ritual and all its attendant accoutrements. Over time, you’ll find you don’t just have a booze of choice, but a favorite cocktail shaker (”It works better, I swear!”) or maybe even a jigger you just can’t live without. You’ll decide which works best for your martini: counting the number of shakes, or timing the duration of shaking. The process becomes — almost — an end in itself. I believe this is the same reason heroin remains so popular.
And so I look at this power martini thing with blended feelings of disdain and wonder. The disdain is obvious. The wonder is: What’s next, some kind electric screwdriver?
(Yes, I really did write all that just to do a bad electric screwdriver pun.)
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9 Comments
1. jaymaster:Was that a salted rim?
Yes, there is definitely something to be said about the ritual. A few months ago, I was diagnosed with an ailment called Barrett’s Esophagus. I can still drink alcohol in moderation, but my doctor recommends I stick to beverages with less than 20% concentration. Needless to say, that wreaked havoc on my typical Friday night martini session.
But one night on a whim, I tried a watered down version. I basically cut my 90 proof gin with water at 50/50, which took me to 22.5%. I figured the melted ice would drop me down a bit more. And then I went through the whole routine. Shake, pour, drop in olive, twist lemon on top.
It’s not quite the same. In fact, it often takes me back to martinis I’ve consumed in many a cheap bar…. But it “works”, and I’m happily back into my Friday night routine.
Oct 30, 2009 - 8:24 am 2. Blaine:Salted rim on a martini?
Oct 30, 2009 - 9:06 am 3. Apostic:“Make haste a little more slowly” In the rush to convience we need to remember what the object of the exercise is. I agree with the sentiment for the coniseur but for us neophytes having a perfect martini is beyound our mortal grasp. To put it another way, one man’s martini shaker is another man’s electric screwdriver.
I can’t see the point of such a gadget, either, aside from the conversation value.* One could say the same thing about a card shuffler; nice, but unless the user has some phyiscal handicap it’s kind pointless because it misses part of the fun.
Besides, when I’ve got a good party going, I’ve got about three shakers out there: a stainless steel one strictly for gin/vodka martinis and two plastic others for whatever foofooinis the less experienced drinkers think they want. Like I’m gonna invest in three of those electric counterspace wasters?
*And let’s be honest: If you’re relying on something like this for conversation, it’s time to get new blood.
Oct 30, 2009 - 9:27 am 4. Evil Red Scandi:Meh. It lacks the most crucial feature of the cocktail maker in our house – a really nice pair of tits.
Oct 30, 2009 - 9:42 am 5. Mr. Lion:As with driving a Ferrari, some things were meant to be done manually. The day I drink an electric martini is the day after they call back with the liver test results, because then it won’t matter anymore.
Oct 30, 2009 - 12:13 pm 6. Brad:LOL Red. Excellent.
It reminds me of being at Lowes’ or Home Depot’s paint counter. I wonder how those paint mixers would be at martinis….
Only plus I can think of about this machine is it can be an extra hand at parties adn help out.
Oct 30, 2009 - 2:11 pm 7. The Walrus:Praise the ritual. My shaker is a sterling silver castoff from my mother in law, the number of shakes is 20. The journey is the reward. Go and do likewise.
Oct 30, 2009 - 6:15 pm 8. jimmy:I would hope that Stephen would keep his martini making more natural than automatic to keep it “Green”…Man that is a reach!
Oct 30, 2009 - 8:06 pm 9. Jim Ryan:Great post.
Have to agree. Do I really want complete automation? I’d rather live my life. Who wants an electric $%&#$@!, for instance? I’d rather meet and court a real girl, the whole nine yards. I don’t want to just stand there and have a $159 robot %&#@ me any more than I want to stand there while a machine shakes my martini. Let’s get real.
Oct 31, 2009 - 10:52 pmSorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.