Why Your Lychee Martini Is Best Served Stirred, Not Shaken

Making a great cocktail is as much about technique as it is about the recipe. After all, there's a reason mixology has the word "mix" in the name. Yet whether you mix your ingredients by shaking or stirring depends on the cocktail in question. If you're a fan of martinis — particularly, lychee martinis — you may want to leave your shaker on the shelf.

Case in point: Tasting Table's recipe for a classic lychee martini suggests stirring, rather than shaking the contents to maintain the strength of the spirits' flavors. A lychee martini consists of vodka and dry vermouth — a combination that makes for a spirit-forward cocktail. So, if you were to shake your martini, you'd risk diluting the spirits, masking the taste with water. Although some people may prefer their lychee martini slightly watered down, be sure to stir it to capitalize on the taste of the ingredients.

Our recipe incorporates lychee juice, lychees, and lime juice, while other martinis call for additional flavors you may not want masked by melting ice. For example, Hawaiian hotel Mauna Lani — host of Labor Day's Culinary Classic festival dedicated to local flavors like lychee — serves a lychee martini with sweet, almond orgeat syrup. Luckily, stirring your next lychee martini requires little time or effort on your part. In fact, you don't even need a fancy silver spoon.

In less than a minute you can have a lychee martini that's ready to drink — and you don't even have to wash your shaker. Before you start stirring your martini, just make sure you've included lime juice or some form of citrus in your lychee concoction. Although stirring cocktails with citrus isn't necessarily traditional, it guarantees your drink will pack a punch. Some sources suggest shaking citrus or other ingredient-heavy lychee martinis, and while you can certainly do so, just be aware that it will dilute your drink.

A long silver cocktail spoon is ideal to prepare your stirred lychee martini, but if you don't have one, try using chopsticks instead. They're long enough to mix even the tallest of drinks. As for timing, aim to stir your martini between 30 and 45 seconds. This duration ensures you have a well-balanced drink that's not too diluted, but with all the components thoroughly mixed together and chilled. You can always start with 30 seconds and work your way up, if need be. By then, you'll be more than ready to take a sip.