Ian Fleming Created a Cocktail For ‘James Bond’: Discover The 007 Agent’s Signature Drink

The ‘James Bond’ films are known for their recurring elements: a glamorous love interest, a nefarious villain, and Bond’s iconic martini—shaken, not stirred. But why this particular drink? The answer is rooted in Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel, ‘Casino Royale’. 

In this novel, Bond names his special cocktail “the Vesper” after his love interest, Vesper Lynd, whom he meets while they participate in a poker game in France. Bond describes the Vesper in the novel: “Three measures of Gordon’s gin, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet, shaken very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel.” 

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Fleming based this recipe on a concoction created by his friend Ivar Bryce and even inscribed a note in Bryce’s copy of ‘Casino Royale’ to commemorate the drink’s creation.

Despite Fleming’s admission that he didn’t find the Vesper particularly enjoyable, it became a lasting trademark of the Bond character. Vesper’s tragic fate—she is a double agent who dies to protect Bond—leaves a mark on him, leading him to never order the Vesper again. The drink’s significance is highlighted in ‘Casino Royale’ and later in ‘Quantum of Solace’, where Bond’s continued reference to the Vesper reflects his unresolved feelings.

While Bond’s vodka martini, popularized by Sean Connery in ‘Dr. No’, is now more widely known, the Vesper remains a symbol of Bond’s complex character and Fleming’s influence on cocktail culture. Notably, Kina Lillet, a key ingredient in the Vesper, is no longer available, making the drink a rare relic of Bond’s world.

–Farheen Ali