I have a compound that turns litmus red, and very slowly causes effervescence in bicarbonate, but only with vigorous mixing. I performed the ester test and it looked okay, but all I smell is a little of the alcohol I used.
Explain why the effervescence I saw required vigorous stirring to even react slowly, and why I couldn't smell the ester.

The effervescence I saw required vigorous stirring because when the acid reacts with bicarbonate such as sodium bicarbonate, carbondioxide gas is produced in the liquid which can be removed only by continuous stirring of the solution.

Explanation:

When the acid reacts with sodium bicarbonate, carbonic acid and salts are produced. the carbonic acid decomposes into carbondioxide gas and water. this carbondioxide gas takes more time in releasing from the solution which requires continuous stirring of the solution.