Bottled by Bond? Recipe for the Vesper cocktail

One of the most visually stunning blogs going is The Errant Aesthete, the essential blog of choice “for cocktail swilling savants.” Although it’s not, strictly speaking, a cocktail blog, there are many posts of interest to cocktail lovers. Browsing through the archives turned up a post with the irresistible title “The BOND Classic Martini” that explored James Bond’s relationship with perhaps the classic cocktail: the Martini. One of the Martinis lovingly described is the Vesper, named after Bond’s girl in Casino Royale, Vesper Lynd. The Vesper was designed for Ian Fleming back in the early fifties by Gilberto Preti in London. In the book, Bond orders his Martini “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.” Thus contributing to the great Martini Shaking vs. Stirring controversy without even uttering the phrase “shaken, not stirred”.

Shaking and stirring both have two functions: chilling the drink and contributing some water (in the form of melted ice) to it. (That’s why you shouldn’t use freezer vodka for cocktails, or at least not too much of it). The water subtly (that’s why you always want to use clean ice) “opens up” and changes the flavor of the liquor in whatever cocktail you’re making. The real difference between the two techniques is the cloudiness of the final product. A stirred Martini will be crystal clear, while a shaken one is cloudy when poured, but will gradually clear up (if it lasts that long). The cloudiness is caused by the tiny air bubbles introduced into the drink during shaking. Appearance is why today’s craft mixologists say you should stir clear cocktails (like Martinis) and shake the rest (those already cloudy from fruit juices, like the lime juice in Margaritas). The flavor change during shaking and stirring is a function of two things: how much the temperature of the drink is lowered and how much of the ice melts. These two are clearly closely related. You must stir longer to get the same effects that you can get from less time spent shaking, but you can still get the same end result (chilling & dilution) from stirring. The only end-product advantage in shaking is ice crystals, which definitely add to the impact of the drink. The end-product advantage in stirring is clarity; the cocktail will look better when it is served, immediately after pouring.

Bond’s (Preti’s) recipe is an interesting one when you consider “why is the vodka in there at all?” Vodka is not a particularly strong flavored liquor, and during the length of Bond’s literary adventures Martinis made with Vodka (yes, they’re not really Martinis) slightly outnumber Martinis made with Gin (yes, “made with Gin” is redundant). The Vodka can only be there to tone down the taste of the Gin to bring out the flavor of the Lillet. Kina Lillet, has a distinctive orange-based flavor that differs from the Vermouth used in a Martini, and changes the character of the drink a bit. You can still create a pretty good approximation of the original Vesper, even though Kina Lillet hasn’t been made for over 20 years. It turns out that Kina is another name for quinine. So adding two dashes of Angostura Bitters to the mix will move the flavor a little closer to what James Bond actually was drinking. If you don’t have any Lillet, and aren’t motivated to buy some, you could experiment with dry French Vermouth and orange bitters. If you do, write a comment on this post and let us know how it turned out. Using a half-ounce as a measure is recommended. Anything larger results in a pretty stiff drink that will have warmed up by the time you finish. Better to have a smaller cocktail, and then have another ice-cold one later if you want more. Two variations on the Vesper follow. I recommend trying both to see which you enjoy more.

(A close to) Original Vesper (after Gilberto Preti)

1 ½ oz Gordon’s® Gin

½ oz Teton Glacier ® Potato Vodka

¼ oz Lillet Blanc

2 dashes Angostura Bitters (to simulate the “Kina”)

Pour ingredients into a shaker half full of ice. Shake very well until ice cold. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass (Bond specified a “deep champagne goblet”). Twist a lemon twist over the glass to express the oils, rub it around the rim, and then drop it in or drape it gracefully over the edge of the glass. An olive is optional. Enjoy your slightly cloudy, but ice crystal imbued, cocktail.

Vesper Martini

1 ½ oz Bombay Sapphire Gin (or premium gin of choice)

½ oz Teton Glacier ® Potato Vodka

¼ oz Lillet Blanc

Pour ingredients into a mixing glass half full of ice. Stir very well until ice cold. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist a lemon twist over the glass to express the oils, rub it around the rim, and then drop it in or drape it gracefully over the edge of the glass. An olive is optional. Enjoy your crystal clear cocktail.