062 – Vesper

A Sydney Covid ‘lock-down’ exploration of the James Bond 007 ‘Vesper Martini’.

Lock-down started the journey, and now as things begin to return to normal, let’s explore this once fictional Ian Flemming cocktail from 1952, made famous by Agent 007.

Make your own ‘mix-at-home’ #Locktail the ‘Vesper’, but take care!

METHOD – Add 90ml London Dry Gin (originally Gordons), 30ml Vodka (grain-based, such as Grey Goose, Ketel One, or Australian Grainshaker), and 15ml Dolin Blanc (or Lillet Blanc) into a cocktail shaker. Alternatively for smaller versions (60ml, 20ml, 10ml) or (45ml, 15ml, 7.5ml). Shake very well until ice cold (depending on ice surface area 10 to 20 seconds) and strain into a chilled coupe, martini or cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon spiral, peel or zest.

HISTORICAL NOTES – The ‘Vesper’, or ‘Vesper Martini’ was invented by author Ian Flemming in the pages of his 1953 James Bond 007 novel ‘Casino Royale’ (which he wrote in 1952 at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica), and named for the fictional double-agent Vesper Lynd. James Bond provides the recipe in his instructions to the bartender, “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.”

Well Kina Lillet was available for 100-years, from 1887 to 1986, and contained the bitter ingredient quinine, commonly found in Tonic Water. The closest we have today is Lillet Blanc, without the quinine. Flemming (and the character Bond) had an interest in shaking cocktails that normally don’t get shaken, but when in Rome. Or more accurately, when making a ‘James Bond 007’ cocktail, why not keep the theater. Shaking, after all, may be bad for the ‘ice chips’ and the ‘bruising’ of some spirits, but it is good for the opening of flavour in Vermouth, so personal preference, and a bit of inhabiting the story should be encouraged.

For serious attempts at a replication, mixologists should aim for a London Dry Gin with around 47% ABV (94-proof), the original strength of Gordon’s Gin in the 1950’s, before its alcohol level was reduced in 1974. Similarly the Vodka of the day was usually around 50% ABV (100-proof), so some OP Vodka should be sought, and in James Bond’s own words, “get a vodka made with grain instead of potatoes, you will find it still better.” Finally, the Vermouth, Kina Lillet was thinner (less syrupy), drier (less sweet) and more bitter (quinine included) than today’s Lillet Blanc. So either use Lillet Blanc and go dryer and more bitter on the Gin, or add a very small amount of quinine-based bitters, so long as it isn’t flavour changing.

Later in Flemming’s ‘Diamonds Are Forever’, there is another ‘Vesper’ made with ‘Cresta Blanca’, a Vermouth made in Fresno, California at the time of writing. Bond comments on ‘Cresta Blanca’, that it is the “best Vermouth I ever tasted”. It may not have been a proper Vermouth, in the sense of containing Wormwood, which was banned in the USA between 1912 and 2007. It is also sadly no longer with us, disappearing in the 1950’s with very little known about it’s flavour or recipe, when the winery changed hands.

There is likely some historical connection to Ian Flemming’s favorite bar in London, Dukes Bar in St. James, London, where he may well have taken inspiration for the ‘Vesper’ from the Bartending Staff there in the 1940’s and early 1950’s, especially given the variations of Dry Martini’s that were being made there during the period.

THE OFFICIAL MIX – The ‘Vesper’ is included in the International Bartender Association’s (IBA) ‘Contemporary Classics’ list, here. The recipe calls for half of the volume of Ian Flemming’s original, 45ml Gin, 15ml Vodka, and 7.5ml Lillet Blanc. Shaken and strained into a chilled cocktail glass and garnished with lemon zest. There are a number of other published recipes, usually in the 6:2:1 ratio, for example 60ml Gin, 20ml Vodka, 10ml Vermouth. The Ian Flemming original circa 1953 is, as detailed above 90ml, 30ml, 15ml, which makes it a very potent cocktail.

TASTING NOTES – It is certainly a ‘Martini’, just a supercharged one. In the original quantity this almost clear cocktail packs a very big alcohol hit, especially if made with 94-proof Gin and 100-proof Vodka. Every ingredient contains alcohol, and the big-ticket-items of the drink, are fully-fledged over-proof spirits. Akin to drinking 135ml or about one-sixth of a bottle of OP Gin in the one cocktail. So play with the ‘International Man of Mystery’ with care, the ‘double-o’ is a license to kill. Sorry, kitsch I know, and Bond experts will point out that it is double-agent Vesper Lynd in fact, not James Bond that you’re messing with.

The flavour is very much your Gin of choice, ideally London Dry, with a bit of Vodka smoothness if using grain-based like Grey Goose, and some sweet wine (Vermouth) notes from the Lillet. When very cold, it is deceptively smooth, but clearly alcohol heavy, and you just know you really shouldn’t be drinking it, or at least not calling for a second. As James Bond says in ‘Casino Royale’, “I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold, and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink’s my own invention.”

LOCKTAIL CHANGES – Not many changes, just hoping to survive my encounter with the heavy-hitting Vesper. My subtle changes are Plymouth Gin rather than Gordons, going way back into British Naval and Colonial History, seems appropriate for Naval Commander James Bond, also somewhat of a colonialist. From the colonies, Australia, a new single-grain (wheat) vodka from Grainshaker in Victoria, to meet Mr. Bond’s requirement for a grain-based Vodka.

Finally Dolin Blanc Vermouth. Since there hasn’t been any Kina Lillet since 1986, I think the Dolin Blanc is thinner and dryer the Lillet Blanc, and although it doesn’t have the bitterness of the quinine, it does have the clear colour and other consistency to match the cocktail slightly better than the Lillet Blanc (but use Lillet Blanc of course, if that is what you have at hand).

YOUR LOCKTAIL EXPERIENCE – If you’d rather taste than read, I am progressively building an ingredient list and other sourcing information on this site. I will re-use ingredients where I can (good for my budget too), so that the cost goes down overtime if you are ‘playing at home’.

Let me know what you think.

Cocktails you’d like reinvented.

Recipes you’ve tried and your ‘score’.

This is second cocktail from the 1951-1960 bracket of ‘Locktail’ remixes. Full list in the index.