James Bond Style | Bond Girl Style | Shaken Not Stirred

The James Bond Martini

• 3 oz gin
• 1 oz vodka (Preferably Smirnoff Vodka)
• 1/2 oz Lillet Blanc wine

Directions:

1. Pour the gin, vodka and Lillet blanc into a cocktail shaker half-filled with cracked ice.
   
2. Shake well
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
   
4. Garnish with a twist of lemon
5. Serve!

James Bond called it the "Vesper," after the double agent he lusts after in Casino Royale. After Bond was poisoned in Casino Royale he always smells his drink you know this if you watched Dr. No because Sean Connery smells his Martini to see if its poisoned or not.

On his first trip to Jamaica to look for land, Ian Fleming went to a local club. There he was introduced to the “Vesper” cocktail. Fleming loved the name so much, he wrote the name on a napkin as to not forget it. This inspired him to name his Bond Girl in the novel Casino Royale, Vesper Lynd.

Word for word, the drink Bond orders in the Casino Royale book:
A dry martini, in a deep champagne goblet. Three measures of Gordons, one of Vodka, half measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice cold, then add a thin slice of lemon peel.

Very nice, 007!

"Liver not too good. It's definitely him, then." -- Bonds Doctor, Die Another Day

It should be noted, however, that although the current film James Bond drinks Bollinger (a marketing deal with the producers of the film series), Bond originally preferred Dom Perignon, produced by Moët et Chandon. But because it is a vintage champagne, it is only produced when the grapes are at their best. Currently, the vintage for Dom Perignon is 1999 (and it's no doubt the scarcity of the production that has encouraged the producers to switch). This exchange between Dr. No and Bond explains the agent's preferences, as he grabs a bottle to fend off Honey Ryder's abduction during dinner:

Dr. No: That's a Dom Perignon '55, it would be a pity to break it
James Bond: I prefer the '53 myself...

Beyond the Martini

James Bond's Champagne of Choice:

007's stunning alcoholic prowess often extendes far beyond the classic Vodka Martini and a bottle of Bollinger:

• Brandy - Goldfinger
• Mint Julep - Goldfinger
• Rum Collins - Thunderball
• Siamese Vodka - You Only Live Twice
• Sake - You Only Live Twice
• Sherry - Diamonds Are Forever
• Foo Yuk - The Man with the Golden Gun
• Gluhwein - For Your Eyes Only
• Mojito - Die Another Day

So why does 007 prefer his Martini Shaken, and not Stirred?

When a Martini is stirred with ice the drink ends up completely clear but Bond prefers the cloudy effect and the extra chill that is given when the mixture is shaken (The shaking breaks up the ice more).

For an in-depth analysis of why Bond orders it "shaken, not stirred," visit the Straight Dope.

Shaken, not Stirred Pictures and Clips

The Bond Drinks (From The Novels)

The Vesper
(from Casino Royale)

• Three measures of Gordon’s gin
• One measure of vodka (preferably a Russian grain vodka)
• Half a measure of Lillet Blanc Shake very well until ice-cold. Pour in a deep champagne goblet, and add a large thin slice of lemon-peel.

Americano
(from Casino Royale and “From a View to a Kill”; Bond’s first-ever drink)

• 1 oz. Campari
• 1 oz. Cinzano Rosso
• Perrier (because expensive soda water is the cheapest way to improve a poor drink) Put ice in an old-fashioned glass. Add the Campari and Cinzano, then pour in a splash of soda water. Add a large slice of lemon-peel.

Old Fashioned
(from Live and Let Die)

• 2 oz. bourbon
• 1 tsp sugar, or 1 sugar cube
• splash of water
• two dashes Angostura® bitters
• orange slice
• maraschino cherry Muddle the sugar, water, and bitters in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass. Add the orange and cherry. Fill the glass with ice, add the bourbon and stir.

Black Velvet
(from Diamonds Are Forever)

• 1 part Guinness Stout
• 1 part chilled champagne (preferably Taittinger) Add the Guinness to a pint glass, and pour the champagne on top.

Stinger
(from Diamonds Are Forever; the signature drink of Ian Fleming’s buddy Evelyn Waugh)

• 1½ oz. Brandy
• ½ oz. White Crème de Menthe Shake ingredients with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.

Negroni
(from “Risico”)

• 1 oz. gin (Bond asked for Gordon’s)
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1 oz. Campari
• orange slice Shake ingredients with ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add the orange slice.

Pink Gin
(from The Man with the Golden Gun; favorite of Ian Fleming)

• 2 oz. gin
• two to four dashes of Angostura® bitters Shake ingredients with ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Can also be served on the rocks.