“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?”
– James Bond, Casino Royale (1953)
Unfortunately you can’t make a proper Vesper Martini because they don’t make Kina Lillet anymore. You’d have to settle for the less bitter, Lillet Blanc which is Quinquina, an aromatised apéritif wine much like Vermouth.
The Vesper is named after Vesper Lynd, the first Bond girl and James’ one and only love. Aside from his alcohol which he drinks on average 6-7 times a day in the books, yes he loves that too.
With so much alcohol coursing through his veins it’s amazing he was able to level his Walther PPK, or Little James when with the various bond girls. This NPR Study goes into how he drank “harmful amounts of alcohol.” In Casino Royale for instance, dude slugged 20 drinks before going on a high-speed car chase, cracking his car in the process.
The author and former NID officer Ian Fleming drank like a fish himself. He was known to finish a book in a month, writing 2000 words a day to go along with the occasional bottle of gin a day.
He didn’t like his own creation either, writing to the Manchester Guardian in 1958
“I proceeded to invent a cocktail for Bond (which I sampled several months later and found unpalatable)”
But you can be the judge of that:
Ingredients
- 3 Parts Gordon’s Gin
- 1 Part Vodka
- ½ Part Lillet Blanc
- 2-3 Dashes Cinchona Infused Liquor (to taste)
Instructions
- Add gin, vodka, Lillet, and the cinchona infusion to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
- Shake well.
- Strain into martini glass. Garnish with lemon peel.
NOTES:
To be 100% up front and honest we didn’t use the cinchona infused liquor, partly because I didn’t want to do a science experiment just to get shitfaced like 007. Also, this stuff is rocket fuel, it doesn’t need cinchona bark, it’s 3 parts gin 1 part vodka! I can’t imagine James Bond could stand after 5 let alone 20 before going on a high speed chase in a Aston Martin DB5.
Another thing we used that James would not have is Tito’s Vodka because, well, that’s what we had on hand. For gin, I’m more of a Bombay or Beefeater guy but Gordon’s doesn’t exactly break the bank so I got that as well while I was on my special trip to get Lillet Blanc at BevMo.
All in all I’d rather just have a stirred dry gin martini or a dirty martini but then again I’m not a spy. Cheers.
