Got it?' His directions were crystal clear, and for his trouble, he got what would haven been an ill-proportioned drink, where the Lillet got drowned by gin, which in turn was not nearly drowned enough by the vodka. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large, thin slice of lemon peel. In Fleming's 1953 novel Casino Royale, Bond ordered the following yet-unnamed cocktail from a bartender: 'Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. As you and everyone else in the galaxy knows, Bond ordered martinis shaken, not stirred, but that's no way to get one bone-chillingly cold. Where we will go rogue is the Vesper's construction. The ratios of gin, vodka, and Lillet (a French aperitif used as a vermouth substitute) deserves to be questioned, but we won't tamper with Bond's recipe. The Vesper, adjacent to a proper martini but nowhere near as balanced, has potency going for it, sure. But had Bond (or rather, author Ian Fleming) not been its creator, it likely would not have stood a chance on its own. Driving gadget-laden Aston Martins! Sassing M! Wearing the hell out of a suit! But that prowess all but abandoned him where a Vesper crossed his path-the woman he loved, who betrayed him, and the drink he invented in her memory, which lives on to confuse us all.īond made the Vesper a cocktail known the world over that's the power of a strong personal brand. James Bond displayed prowess in many disciplines.
