bruising is one of the zombie ideas of mixing drinks, namely, that shaking a Martini might “bruise” the gin. The term, first documented in a 1931 novel, recalls another popular idea, that it is undesirable to muddle or “bruise” the mint when constructing a Mint Julep. One school of Julep purists believed that mint should appear only on top of the drink as a nosegay, allowing the essential oils to seep into the cup only though its stems. To them, the act of crushing (muddling) the mint was almost blasphemous, and (as in Tom Bullock’s 1917 bartender’s guide) it was referred to as “bruising the mint.” However the term found itself extended to gin and the Martini, it has caused many a bartender and cocktail aficionado to scratch their heads and wonder exactly how gin can get bruised. See julep, muddler, and shake.
Ironically, whether the command “and don’t bruise the gin” was meant as a joke or not, it might have some validity to it. There are two schools of thought as to how. One holds that the term describes over-dilution. When fine ice shards are transferred from the shaker into a cocktail glass after shaking, they melt into the drink, leaving behind excess water in its wake. See dilution. The other focuses on the aeration in a shaken drink, whereby the combination of oxygen and carbon dioxide create air pockets in suspension. When a cocktail is instead stirred, it provides a smooth, silky texture. Shaking negates this pleasurable silkiness, offering bubbles instead.
Perhaps the best explanation is that the combination of over-dilution and aeration delivers a blow to any aromatic drink. But one person’s poison is another person’s pleasure, and in today’s bars, there are fans of each.
Arnold, Dave. Liquid Intelligence. New York: Norton, 2014.
Wilson, Harry Leon. Two Black Sheep. New York: Cosmopolitan, 1931.
By: Audrey Saunders