Aleksi Kallio > wrote:
>> i understand there is *some* dilution from stirring or shaking, but
>> certainly it can't be enough to fill the glass, can it?
>
>It can, but it shouldn't. There should be very little water in Martini.

I don't think it's possible to make a martini that doesn't
get a significant amount of water in it. Alcohol melts
ice, and shaking ice in alcohol melts a lot of ice.

You can stir them instead of shaking them, but if you don't
strain out the ice it just sits there, making water.

Luckily, you want to dilute any 80-proof or stronger
alcohol so you can taste it.

--Blair
"Unless you're just trying to get drunk."