Vesper (cocktail)
Encyclopedia
The Vesper or Vesper Martini is a cocktail
that was originally made of gin
, vodka
, and Kina Lillet
.
in the 1953 novel Casino Royale
.
The novel goes on with Bond telling the barman, after taking a long sip, "Excellent ... but if you can get a vodka made with grain instead of potatoes, you will find it still better," and then adds in an aside, "Mais n'enculons pas des mouches" (But let's not bugger flies-a vulgar French expression meaning "let's not split hairs").
Bond eventually calls it the Vesper, named after the novel's lead female character, Vesper Lynd
. A Vesper differs from Bond's usual cocktail of choice, the martini
, in that it uses both gin and vodka, Kina Lillet instead of the usual dry vermouth, and a lemon peel instead of an olive
. Although there is a lot of discussion on the Vesper, it is only ordered once throughout Fleming's novels and by later books Bond is ordering regular vodka martinis, though he also drinks regular gin martinis.
In actuality the book version of the Vesper was created by Fleming's friend Ivar Bryce. In Bryce's copy of Casino Royale Fleming inscribed "For Ivar, who mixed the first Vesper and said the good word." In the book You Only Live Once, Bryce details that Fleming was first served a Vesper by the butler at the Duncans but this drink consisted of frozen rum with fruit and herbs.
Esquire printed the following update of the recipe in 2006:
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
that was originally made of gin
Gin
Gin is a spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries . Although several different styles of gin have existed since its origins, it is broadly differentiated into two basic legal categories...
, vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
, and Kina Lillet
Lillet
Lillet is a brand of French aperitif wine. It is a blend of 85% Bordeaux wines and 15% macerated liqueurs, mostly citrus liqueurs from the peels of sweet oranges from Spain and Morocco and the peels of bitter green oranges from Haiti...
.
Origin
The drink was invented and named by fictional secret agent James BondJames Bond (character)
Royal Navy Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the main protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games...
in the 1953 novel Casino Royale
Casino Royale (novel)
Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
.
- "A dry martini," [Bond] said. "One. In a deep champagne goblet."
- "Oui, monsieur."
- "Just a moment. 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?"
- "Certainly, monsieur." The barman seemed pleased with the idea.
- "Gosh, that's certainly a drink," said Leiter.
- Bond laughed. "When I'm...er...concentrating," he explained, "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. I'm going to patent it when I can think of a good name."
- —Ian FlemingIan FlemingIan Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
, Casino RoyaleCasino Royale (novel)Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
The novel goes on with Bond telling the barman, after taking a long sip, "Excellent ... but if you can get a vodka made with grain instead of potatoes, you will find it still better," and then adds in an aside, "Mais n'enculons pas des mouches" (But let's not bugger flies-a vulgar French expression meaning "let's not split hairs").
Bond eventually calls it the Vesper, named after the novel's lead female character, Vesper Lynd
Vesper Lynd
Vesper Lynd is a fictional character featured in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. The name is a pun on "West Berlin". It has been claimed that Fleming based Lynd on the real life Special Operations Executive agent Christine Granville. In the 1967 film of Casino Royale, she is played by...
. A Vesper differs from Bond's usual cocktail of choice, the martini
Martini (cocktail)
The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. Over the years, the martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic beverages. H. L. Mencken called the martini "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet" and E. B...
, in that it uses both gin and vodka, Kina Lillet instead of the usual dry vermouth, and a lemon peel instead of an olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
. Although there is a lot of discussion on the Vesper, it is only ordered once throughout Fleming's novels and by later books Bond is ordering regular vodka martinis, though he also drinks regular gin martinis.
In actuality the book version of the Vesper was created by Fleming's friend Ivar Bryce. In Bryce's copy of Casino Royale Fleming inscribed "For Ivar, who mixed the first Vesper and said the good word." In the book You Only Live Once, Bryce details that Fleming was first served a Vesper by the butler at the Duncans but this drink consisted of frozen rum with fruit and herbs.
Contemporary versions
Since both Kina Lillet and Gordon's have been reformulated since 1953, substitutes can be made that attempt to recapture the original flavour of the drink:- To recreate the original bitter flavour of Kina Lillet, add a dash or two of orange bittersOrange bittersOrange bitters is a cocktail flavoring made from the peels of Seville oranges, cardamon, caraway seed, coriander and burnt sugar in an alcohol base. Some cocktail recipes which traditionally contained orange bitters may now exclude that ingredient because it has not been available for some time...
, Angostura bittersAngostura bittersAngostura bitters, often simply referred to as angostura, is a concentrated bitters made of water, 44.7% alcohol, gentian root, and vegetable flavoring extracts by House of Angostura in Trinidad and Tobago. They are typically used for flavoring beverages, or food...
, add a pinch (1/16 of a teaspoon) of quinineQuinineQuinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...
powder or use a mix of Lillet and the bitter China Martini, which also turns the drink light golden, as described in the book. - Alternatively, it has been pointed out that Cocchi AmericanoCocchi AmericanoCocchi Americano is an aperitif wine from the Asti province of Italy. The wine was developed by Giulio Cocchi, and production began in 1891....
has a similar flavor profile to the classic Kina Lillet and is an acceptable substitute. - For a more traditional flavour, use 100-proof StolichnayaStolichnaya-Description:Fermentation of Stolichnaya starts with wheat and rye grains and artesial water from the Russian city of Samara and the Kaliningrad region. The fermentation takes about 60 hours. Once fermentation is complete the resulting liquid is distilled four times to a strength of 96.4% ABV....
vodka to bring the alcohol content of the vodka back to 1953 levels. - Likewise, TanquerayTanquerayTanqueray is a brand of British gin produced in Scotland by Diageo Plc and marketed world-wide.-History:Tanqueray Gin was initially distilled in 1830 by Charles Tanqueray in the Bloomsbury district of London. When Charles died in 1868, his son Charles Waugh Tanqueray inherited the distillery, which...
gin provides the traditional flavour of 94-proof gin; whereas Gordon's Gin was reformulated to less than 80-proof. - A modern cocktail glassCocktail glassA cocktail glass is a stemmed glass which has a cone-shaped bowl placed upon a stem above a flat base. It is mainly used to serve cocktails. Its form derives from the fact that all cocktails are traditionally served chilled and contain an aromatic element...
, which is larger today than was common in 1953, is often substituted for the deep Champagne goblet (see Champagne stemwareChampagne stemwareChampagne stemware refers to the flute and coupe glasses used in the enjoyment of champagne, other sparkling wines, and certain beers.-Champagne flute:The champagne flûte is a stem glass with a tall, narrow bowl...
for the original look of the drink)
Variations
- Some prefer to substitute Boodles British GinBoodles British GinBoodles British Gin is a brand of gin bottled and distributed in the United Kingdom by the company of James Burrough. It is a 45.2% alcohol product . It is imported to the United States from London, England and bottled for American consumption by Boodles British Gin Co. in Fort Smith,...
, as it is named for Boodle'sBoodle'sBoodle's is a London gentlemen's club, founded in 1762, at 49-51 Pall Mall, London by Lord Shelburne the future Marquess of Lansdowne and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the club came to be known after the name of its head waiter Edward Boodle....
gentlemen's club, of which Ian FlemingIan FlemingIan Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
was a member. - A "Green Vesper" substitutes absintheAbsintheAbsinthe is historically described as a distilled, highly alcoholic beverage. It is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium, commonly referred to as "grande wormwood", together with green anise and sweet fennel...
for the Kina Lillet. Lime peel may be substituted for lemon. - A "Matin" substitutes the Italian aperitif CampariCampariCampari is an alcoholic apéritif obtained from the infusion of herbs and fruit in alcohol and water. It is a bitters characterized by its dark red color....
for the Kina Lillet, and reverses the proportions of gin and vodka.
Esquire printed the following update of the recipe in 2006:
"Shake (if you must) with plenty of cracked ice. 3 oz Tanqueray gin, 1 oz 100-proof Stolichnaya vodka, 1/2 oz Lillet Blanc, 1/8 teaspoon (or less) quinine powder or, in desperation, 2 dashes of bitters. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and twist a large swatch of thin-cut lemon peel over the top.