Design firm CALLUM has created the Martini Mixer, an aviation-inspired, precision-engineered cocktail mixer in partnership with British Airways.

The design and engineering business, which specialises in bespoke and limited-edition products, has created a modern martini mixer that is designed and engineered to stir – not shake – the cocktail at the perfect speed. The mixer’s precise motorised stirring motion balances the ultimate combination of aeration, dilution and cooling to create a smoother cocktail blend, resulting in the ultimate martini.

The Martini Mixer has been produced in collaboration with British Airways, luxury British watchmaker Bremont and award-winning mixologist Mr Lyan (Ryan Chetiyawardana, creator of London’s White Lyan cocktail bar). The home-grown British brands have all contributed their expertise to create this exclusive and stunning specialist mixer that has been engineered and crafted with exacting precision to make the ultimate martini, every time

The CALLUM design team took inspiration from aviation and British Airways’ aircraft for the Martini Mixer’s design and its elegant cylindrical form. The Martini Mixer’s main body – or ‘combustion chamber’ – has been machined from food-grade stainless steel 316 billet, which encases a borosilicate glass vessel, resistant to thermal shock for the ultimate iced cocktail.

Fixing atop the combustion chamber is the ‘turbine’, which is the mixer’s control unit. Inside, a motor and rechargeable lithium-ion battery powers a hollow stainless steel mixing paddle. CALLUM’s engineers executed Mr Lyan’s precise instructions to ensure the specially-designed mixing paddle rotates at the optimum revolutions per minute (rpm) – between 120-160 rpm – to deliver a perfectly blended and cooled martini in under 15 seconds

“Aviation is at the heart of this fun yet engineering-inspired design,” says Ian Callum, design director at CALLUM. “At CALLUM, we aim to create products that ‘stir the imagination’ – we’ve taken it more literally this time, and hope that all who taste a cocktail from the Martini Mixer enjoy it as much as we’ve enjoyed making it.”

“We took cues from British Airways’ aircraft in both its form and materials. A sleek, almost aerodynamic design, it has no external switches to disrupt its lines. Within the mixer’s control head unit, and encased in glass, is a decorative turbo fan machined from aluminium and inspired by turbofan engines on British Airways aircraft. It is finished in the brand’s signature ‘Gold’, echoing the décor in the exclusive Concorde Room. In the centre of the turbine is a replicated fan nose cone, hand-painted with a white swirl design as per the aircraft.”

“CALLUM takes a precise and engineering-led approach with all our products,” says Adam Donfrancesco, engineering director at CALLUM. “The motor inside the mixer’s turbine drives a hollow paddle engineered to move freely through the liquid with minimal resistance. The shape and rotational speed was defined – after guidance from Mr Lyan – on the best way to mix a martini: you’re not trying to blend the liquids; you’re stirring the ice cubes through the liquid to cool the cocktail most efficiently. The paddle moves at 120-160 rpm, depending on the size of the ice cubes, so that in less than 15 seconds the ultimate martini is created. Once mixing is complete, simply untwist the turbine to stop the paddle spinning, pour and enjoy.”

The Martini Mixer’s perfected stirring action automatically activates when the turbine is tightened and locked into place atop the combustion chamber, thanks to a magnetic start/stop function. This also illuminates interior LEDs, allowing a glimpse of the mixing cocktail through a viewing window.

The sealed turbine houses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that has a generous run time of 120 minutes; the equivalent of around 500 martinis per charge. It can be recharged through a concealed USB-C port.

The Martini Mixer is accompanied by a machined stainless steel strainer that continues the turbine graphic, featuring multiple apertures for a smooth pour. All is beautifully presented in a bespoke case, including an instruction card on how to create the ultimate martini.

The Martini Mixer was first created for British Airways’ customers travelling through its exclusive Concorde Room at London Heathrow Terminal 5. Travellers will now be able to sip the perfect ‘Turbine Martini’ ahead of their flight, an exclusive recipe curated by the airline’s award-winning partner mixologist, Mr Lyan. The Turbine Martini takes on the elegance of an original martini with a modern twist, combining classic ingredients such as vermouth, custom bitters and a bespoke garnish, with British Airways’ newest gin partner, Aviation American Gin. When martini lovers are ready to enjoy the cocktail, the airline’s Concorde Room colleagues will mix and pour the Turbine Martini seat side.

“We are really excited to work with the very best experts in design, engineering, and mixology, to create a bespoke experience and offer customers what we believe to be the best martini in the world,” says Calum Laming, British Airways’ chief customer officer

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