Perfect vodka martini should be stirred with a wooden spoon, claim scientists Cocktail afficionados maintain that vodka is a far inferior substitute for the classic martini spirit - gin. The most widely accepted method is to rinse a chilled glass with vermouth before filling it with ice-cold gin, which has been gently stirred. According to New Scientist, a stirrer with a bigger mass will have a bigger potential effect on the temperature of the drink than a smaller one. One contributor from Aberystwyth, Wales, said this may be why bar spoons are long and thin and that using a tablespoon to stir a vodka martini would definitely increase its temperature. He said: "Q's recommendation, were he to bother with such trivia, would be to use a wooden spoon, ideally one of the long thin paddles sometimes provided with takeaway hot drinks." However, another reader said: "If you don't have a bar spoon handy when making a martini, try stirring with a pencil, which has less surface area, less mass, a lower specific heat and will therefore conduct less heat from the hand." One reader quipped: "I would definitely advise against employing a gold finger."