A look at what 007 drinks in Daniel Craig’s debut as James Bond.
In Bond movies, it’s not used by the secret agent until the 1964 classic Goldfinger. Fleming never told us the exact reason but perhaps we can infer one from the first time Bond orders his signature drink. In Casino Royale, Bond tells his CIA contact Felix Leiter that this potent cocktail is a favourite when he’s concentrating.
- In Casino Royale, he drinks a Vesper initially as a means to introduce some of his character to Felix Leiter: when the latter comments on the complexity of what he orders, Bond explains ' 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.
- But then, if we look at his most famous martini order, nor are his roots in gin. Indeed Bond’s first Martini included both - his Vesper in Ian Fleming’s first book, Casino Royale, was a mix of.
- In Casino Royale, James Bond orders his now famous cocktail of choice, explaining that the mixture of vodka, gin and Kina Lillet helps him concentrate. We can’t speak to the drink’s ability to help your game, but ordering one will make you look like a suave, worldly secret agent.
The first drink of the Daniel Craig era is served around half an hour into Casino Royale. After arriving at the One and Only Ocean Club (now known simply as The Ocean Club) Bond heads for the bar where Alex Dimitrios is playing poker. Bond orders a Mount Gay rum and soda at the bar before asking if he can join the game.
While Dimitrios faces Le Chiffre aboard his boat Bond uses his charms on Solange to try and found out what Dimitrios is up to. As they roll on the floor together you can see two flutes of champagne on the table behind them.
Casino Royale James Bond Drink Ordering
Soon after Bond calls room service. Requesting a bottle of Bollinger Grand Année and Beluga caviar the voice at the other end of the line asks if it is for two.
“No, for one”, he responds abruptly and promptly leaves Solange headed for Miami.
On the train to Montenegro Vesper joins Bond in the dining carriage. He has a whisky on the rocks in front of him as he peruses the menu. With their meal they have a bottle of Château Angélus 1982 Premier Grand Cru Classé Saint-Émilion. Barbara Broccoli is a friend of the co-owner of the winery, and approached him to provide the wine for this scene.
At a cafe where he and Vesper meet Mathis, Bond takes two glasses of champagne from a passing waitress before they even find a table. Mathis appears to have a glass of still water with a slice of lemon.
While playing poker Bond orders what he later names the Vesper – three measures of Gordon’s, two measures of vodka and half a measure of Kina Lillet shaken and served with a thin slice of lemon peel. Two other players ask for the same and Leiter, not yet introduced, tells the waiter to “bring me one as well, keep the fruit”.
Ian Fleming’s one and only mention of the Vesper can be found in the pages of Casino Royale. Bond orders it prior to facing Le Chiffre at the Baccarat tables of Royale-les-Eaux’s casino.
The recipe that appears in the films is exactly the same as the drink that James Bond orders in Ian Fleming’s book, although in the films it is served in a cocktail glass rather than a champagne goblet.
The problem with the recipe is that Kina Lillet is no longer available. The same company currently produces Lillet Blanc which lacks the quinine found in quinine and therefore lacks its bitterness.
Bond is standing with Vesper at the bar by the time his drink is brought to him. Sipping it he tells Vesper “you know, that’s not half bad. I’m going to have to think up a name for that.”
Back in their room after surviving a fight in the hotel stairwell Bond grabs a decanter of whisky and tumbler. In a very Flemingesque scene he finishes cleaning himself up, pours a large slug into the glass and knocks it back.
After being wiped out by Le Chiffre the tournament director calls for an hour break. During the break Bond fails to convince Vesper to give him more funds and so he heads for the bar and orders a vodka martini. “Shaken or stirred?” asks the bartender. “Do I look like I give a damn” is the reply.
Luckily Felix finally introduces himself soon after and offers to bankroll Bond for the remainder of the game. But soon after he sits back at the table Bond realises his martini has been poisoned. Staggering through the restaurant he grabs a tumbler and salt and heads for the toilet where he makes himself sick.
Bond then heads outside to his Aston Martin DBS. From there he contacts the MI6 medical boffins for advice on what to do. He follows their instructions only for the defibrillator to fail because of a loose wire. Vesper seems to be quite handy as an electrician though. When she finds Bond unconscious with his heart stopped she reconnects the wire and restarts his heart.
After finally beating Le Chiffre Bond dines with Vesper in the hotel restaurant. Sipping his cocktail he tells her “you know, I think I’ll call that a Vesper”.
“Because of the bitter aftertaste?” she replies.
The Americano holds the distinction of being the very first drink James Bond orders in the Ian Fleming series. In Casino Royale, while waiting for Mathis and Vesper, Bond enters the Hermitage bar, takes a seat by the windows, and orders an Americano.
Casino Royale James Bond Drink Order Form
This drink consists of Campari, Sweet Vermouth and soda water. The liquor is usually on a 1-1 portion, poured over ice, and then the soda is poured over the top.
The drink figures twice in the plot of From Russia With Love, both times while Bond is traveling.
Half an hour among the jabbering loudspeakers of Ciampino Airport, time to drink two excellent Americanos, and they were on their way again…
James Bond Drink Order Casino Royale Quotes
Then on the Orient Express:
In the restaurant car, Bond ordered Americanos and a bottle of Chianti Broglio. The wonderful European hors d’oeuvres came.
In the short story From a View to a Kill, Bond is again in France, and again orders an Americano. This time we’re given some more of Bond’s thinking on the drink:
“James Bond had his first drink of the evening at Fouquet’s. It was not a solid drink. One cannot drink seriously in French cafés. Out of doors on a pavement in the sun is no place for vodka or whisky or gin. A fine à I’eau is fairly serious, but it intoxicates without tasting very good. A quart de champagne or a champagne à I’orange is all right before luncheon, but in the evening one quart leads to another quart and a bottle of indifferent champagne is a bad foundation for the night. Pernod is possible, but it should be drunk in company, and anyway Bond had never liked the stuff because its liquorice taste reminded him of his childhood. No, in cafes you have to drink the least offensive of the musical comedy drinks that go with them, and Bond always had the same thing – an Americano – Bitter Campari, Cinzano, a large slice of lemon peel and soda. For the soda he always stipulated Perrier, for in his opinion expensive soda water was the cheapest way to improve a poor drink.”
Bond orders the drink, and while he ponders what to do with his evening, it arrives:
The waiter’s tray clattered down on the marble-topped table. With a slick one-handed jerk that Bond had never been able to copy, the waiter’s bottle-opener prised the cap off the Perrier. The man slipped the tab under the ice-bucket, said a mechanical “Voilà, M’sieur” and darted away. Bond put ice into his drink, filled it to the top with soda and took a long pull at it.
The Americano is said to have originated in Milan, and was given its name because of its popularity among Americans who were in Italy during prohibition. Traditionally, a slice of orange, or orange peel goes with the drink, but as we see, Bond prefers lemon. It’s another example of Bond knowing exactly what he wants in a drink.
In Risico, while in Venice to meet Lisl Baum the next day, Bond orders an Americano at Florian’s.