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It is possible a shaken drink could be slightly weaker, but not by much. Martinis are shaken or stirred for two reasons: to mix the drink, and to cool the drink. Some argue that shaking a drink is better when you have two or more liquors being mixed, or the consistency of the liquids being mixed is different. Others argue that if you shake the drink you can bruise the liquor. (Don't ask me what that means. I haven't a clue.) It is possible that a shaken drink will get some ice chips mixed in with the drink that gets through the strainer, which will water it down ever so slightly. But really, this is a martini we are talking about, which is a pretty strong drink to begin with. But the real key to whether a shaken or stirred drink is strong is the bartender. If he/she mixes the drink with a "free pour" mentality, i.e., doesn't measure out the liquor in shots, then odds are you are going to have a strong drink regardless of it being shaken or stirred.
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Here is the recipe of the first martini James Bond ordered in Casino Royale. The Kina Lillet Bond speaks can be found today labeled as White or Blanc Lillet. It's a brand of dry vermouth made in France since the late 1800's that is often referred to as "the apèritif of Bordeaux". Bond's glassware of choice for the Vesper is a deep Champagne goblet.
Ingredients:
3 measures of Gordon's Gin
1 measure of vodka
1/2 measure Kina Lillet
lemon peel for garnish
Preparation:
The Vesper according to Ian Fleming and James Bond:
"Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?"
-Casino Royale, Chapter 7
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Here's the thing.
The "weak because you shake it" thing only applies if you're using gin, because you would "bruise" the gin.
But as we should all know, James Bond drinks a vodka martini.
From The Straight Dope
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1859/why-did-james-bond-want-his-martinis-shaken-not-stirred
Excerpts:
"The reason the debonair Bond wants his martini shaken is that he is an iconoclast. He's not drinking a martini at all! He's drinking a vodka martini. There's a difference, as we shall see. Pay close attention--we will not use the terms interchangeably but it's easy to get confused..."
"A traditional martini (as opposed to a vodka martini) is made with gin, dry vermouth and either an olive or a lemon peel. Nothing else. (Well, they used to make them with extra-dry white wine rather than the dry-wine variant vermouth, but we shan't address that age-old argument here) And a proper martini is stirred, not shaken.
A vodka martini substitutes vodka for the gin (or adds it to the gin, as Bond does) and sometimes allows other ingredients. Why? Well, because martini purists such as your correspondent are snobs, whereas vodka martini drinkers are more open to experimentation and allow more variations to carry the name of their drink...."
"There are three main differences between a martini (or a vodka martini) which has been stirred and one which has been shaken. First, a shaken martini is usually colder than one stirred, since the ice has had a chance to swish around the drink more. Second, shaking a martini dissolves air into the mix; this is the "bruising" of the gin you may have heard seasoned martini drinkers complain about--it makes a martini taste too "sharp." Third, a shaken martini will more completely dissolve the vermouth, giving a less oily mouth feel to the drink.
In a vodka martini, cold is key: a vodka martini that is not ice-cold tastes like lighter fluid. So you shake them. The experience of a traditional martini is more dependent on it being smooth and on not ruining the delicate flavors of the gin. Ergo, one stirs it. Simple enough, no?"
The full article is well worth reading, in my humble opinion...
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