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60 years of James Bond: the super spy’s favourite drinks
With today marking 60 years since 007’s first big screen outing in Dr. No, db looks at what Commander Bond drinks when he isn’t saving the world.
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With 25 films (excluding 1967’s comedy Casino Royale, featuring no fewer than seven Bonds, and 1983’s Never Say Never Again where Sean Connery reprises the role), Bond has been described as “Britain’s bulletproof cultural export“. Though actors may change and certain scenes that were acceptable in the 1960s are no longer so, he remains an icon with his Walther PPK in one hand and a glass of something in the other.
The classic Bond cocktail, the Vesper Martini, has become inextricably associated with the world’s best known intelligence agent (something of an oxymoron). Ian Fleming himself devised the cocktail in his first book, Casino Royale in 1953. Fittingly, for the no-nonsense super spy, the recipe gets to the point: “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?”
Bond decides to name the drink after his love interest, Vesper Lynd, prompting her to quip about it having a bitter aftertaste before he then retorts: “No, because once you’ve tasted it, that’s all you want to drink.” Double-oh-behave yourself, 007.
But, while Bond’s “shaken, not stirred” line is such an iconic quote that it is almost impossible to order a Martini without saying it, he has moved with the times to reflect modern consumer tastes, slightly. In 2012’s Skyfall, Daniel Craig’s Bond bucked tradition by sipping on an ice-cold bottle of Heineken while relaxing on a beach after faking his death. The Dutch brewer reportedly forked out US$45 million for the deal. It was probably worth it, given the subsequent sales boost.
However, though Craig’s Bond was capable of kicking back and relaxing, he was still a suave secret agent, and needed a drink to match. Though in last year’s No Time To Die he was still seen swigging a Heineken, he also poured himself a generous glass of Château Angélus when visiting Q’s house.
Having gotten to 60, not quite without a scratch, Bond deserves to pop open a bottle to celebrate, and Bollinger has provided the bubbles. To celebrate this anniversary, the Champagne producer has released a limited-edition cuvée in a bottle inspired by the technicolor opening credits of Dr. No. Though Bollinger has been 007’s preferred Champagne since Roger Moore quaffed it on screen in 1973’s Live and Let Die, he has been known to sip on Taittinger (such as in 1963’s From Russia with Love) and Dom Pérignon (in Dr. No, where he expresses a preference for the 1953 vintage over the 1955).
Alternatively, for when you’re after something of a higher calibre, The Macallan recently announced six limited-edition bottles of single malt whisky inspired by the spy. It could well be apt, given that it was a Scotsman who first took the role and transformed a literary success into one of the biggest film franchises in the world.
To read more Bond drinks facts, click here.