Customer Reviews

Shaken Not Stirred: A Celebration of the Martini

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...shake your 'tini?

I was pleased to receive this book recently as a gift and couldn't wait to peel back the front cover and begin seeing what it had in stock for me. The book was a perfect companion as I'd just gotten a set of 4 martini glasses and a shaker/strainer and was eager to put them to good use. But since my nose was too buried in this concise little text, I didn't have any need for the hardware yet. Since "Shaken Not Stirred" also offered conventional and more modern drink recipies - in an effective layout - I was perfectly willing to go back to it to look up a couple of drink recipes once I'd read up on my background info on the drink. I feel like I am now a true martini aficianado and much better informed!

The book was put together by the authors of a website by the same name, who launched their site on Halloween of '95. Soon, they had gotten many suggestions to put the book together - and it turned out to be an unqualified hit. There are many reasons to like this book, it's easy to read and the words flow, plus its something I'd want to read more than once. But perhaps my favorite part about this original idea for a book (it purports to be the first bar book expressly dedicated to the martini, and backs it up by research done by the publisher) is that it's not just a recipe book or just a list of bars. In other words, all you probably ever need to know in a tight little package. It was also neat finding out I'd already visited some of their best "martini lounges" in my city within the pages, but was eager to try the places I hadn't heard of. I'd recommend this volume to anyone interested in mixing their own drinks, or even wanting to learn a little bit more behind the whole martini or "Swingers" culture.

Now then, care for a cocktail? ;)

I work at a private country club. We hosted a Martini party for our members and used this book as a reference. It was perfect! It made valuable suggestions right down to the music we should play.

This is an excellent book about Martinis: mixology, preparation, history, style, and their unique place in literature. The guides to preparing each martini and its variations are well written, understandable, and insightful. If you're a James Bond or vodka martini fan, you'll find the information in this book to be top notch. This book also does the best job I've seen of putting the martini into context with other cocktails, and explaining important "dos and don'ts." The history of each martini and its creator makes you feel like you know them personally. You won't feel shy about asking for something unusual, and passing on your favorites to a bartender (without a hint of snootiness). The book's listing of state-by-state martini hotspots is less than complete, it could use a brief description of some rare or unfamiliar ingredients and their sources, and the index could be polished and expanded. Hopefully, these minor detractions will be corrected in th! ! e next printing, but in the mean time, this is a fantastic book for the novice or aficionado.

All I can say of this book is that it's become the bible at my summer house on Fire Island. I never knew the art and joy of martini drinking, and SHAKEN NOT STIRRED has provided me with an easy and fun introduction. I recommend to both martini and non-martini drinkers alike

This is a great little book. It has great martini recipes as well as martini-stories from the authors and others... martini lore, history. Totally fun if your into the martini thing.

The recipes were fun and interesting..some a bit too esoteric for me...but I liked reading them anyway. And like that they are interspersed with the text instead of in a separate recipe section. There are some fun martini quotes too..

The only drawback, I think, and its minor..is that I just hate the feel of the paper. The cover is fine but the pages feel cheap and grainy to me. Harsh, even... It may be a pleasure to read but it isnt really one to hold. Seems to me a smoother paper would be better, altho probably alot more expensive.

That said...its a fun fun book. Easy to read, in a fiction way, as opposed to a non-fiction way. It has flow sometimes lacking in non-fiction.

I don't consider myself to be a big drinker, but the Martini is so cool and this book represents it in every aspect. It's just a really cool book to leave around the apartment so people can spy it when they drop by. I'm going to find one of those Martini lounges!

This book not only has some great recipes for varied martinis in it (I think I hear my gin calling me now!) but it gives great history and background to the drink and the ingredients and the characters and places that have made the martini an example of elegance and simplicity in potables!

Get it, find a recipe, make one up, then sit down and sip and read more.

Finally, an ultimate book about the ultimate cocktail! A new twist on a classic subject. It was thoroughly researched, unendingly funny, and spilling over with fabulous drink recipes. I've never seen so much packed into a $10 book. Couldn't figure out why I kept seeing it mentioned in magazines, then a friend gave me a copy. I was truly shaken and stirred. I'd rate it at least four vermouth-marinaded olives

This is the ultimate book if you want to understand the style and substance of martinis and its culture. I promise you, if you love cocktails and martinis in particular, this will be the best $10 you have ever spent!!!!!

Where can you find more cheer than www.martinis/key/? Shaken Not Stirred: just published by Harper. For less than $10 this book stands out as one of the most fun, concise and complete guides on the subjects of James Bond and the strange but endlessly amusing cult of Martini Worship. Afficionados will also cheer to see the expertly indexed little book virtually grow with information and recipes. Of course you're going to visit the web site. You might even buy the book