Bonzer Exploring The Cocktails of James Bond 007

It’s hard to think of certain types of cocktail without fictional secret service agent James Bond being brought to mind. This is particularly the case with Martinis , or any cocktail which is ‘shaken and not stirred’. Throughout the many novels and film adaptations, the suave MI6 operative has enjoyed numerous classic cocktails, sometimes even with an original twist of his own creation. With the latest film in the series, No Time To Die being released in September 2021, we thought it would be the perfect time to run through some of the finest cocktails that Bond has enjoyed over the years, and often popularised in the process. So, let’s take a look at the favourite cocktails of James Bond 007, starting with the first book he appeared in Casino Royale in 1953, all the way through to 2015’s Spectre movie.

Casino Royale Americano and Vesper Martini
In this original entry of the James Bond series, he orders his first cocktail the Americano. An Americano is often enjoyed before a meal and has a long history dating back to the 1860s. It was originally called the Milano Torino due the origin of its primary ingredients, but was later renamed as it proved to be highly popular with American tourists during prohibition. The drink is also enjoyed in the subsequent books From Russia With Love and For Your Eyes Only . Later on in the story, Bond orders a Vesper Martini a drink of his own invention, but one which is still enjoyed today.

Americano ingredients and recipe:
● 1 ounce (30ml) of Campari
● 1 ounce (30ml) of sweet vermouth
● Club soda
● Lemon twist or a slice of orange
● Ice cubes
❖ Pour the Campari and sweet vermouth into an ice cube filled Old Fashioned glass
❖ Add the club soda to taste
❖ Garnish with the lemon twist or slice of orange

Vesper Martini ingredients and recipe:
● 3 measures (25ml x 3) of Gordon’s Gin
● 1 measure (25ml) of vodka
● ½ (12.5ml) a measure of Kina Lillet (now Lillet Blanc) or otherwise Cocchi Americano
● Lemon peel
❖ Pour the gin, vodka, and Lillet Blanc into a cocktail shaker and shake
❖ Pour the mixture into a champagne glass
❖ Garnish with the lemon peel

Diamonds Are Forever Old Fashioned, Black Velvet, and Stinger
In Diamonds Are Forever , bond makes his way through a fair share of cocktails. The Old Fashioned makes an appearance as it also does in Live and Let Die and Thunderball . So too do the lesser known Black Velvet and Stinger cocktails which we also take a look at how to create below.

Old Fashioned ingredients and recipe:
● 3 ounces (30ml x 3) of bourbon whiskey
● A couple of dashes of Angostura bitters
● 1 sugar cube
● 2 slices of orange
● 1 Maraschino cherry
● Ice cubes
❖ Place the sugar cube into an Old Fashioned glass and pour the bitters onto it
❖ Add one of the slices of orange
❖ Use a cocktail muddler to muddle these ingredients together
❖ Fill up the glass with ice cubes
❖ Add the bourbon whiskey
❖ Stir the ingredients together
❖ Garnish with the second slice of orange and the Maraschino cherry

Black Velvet ingredients and recipe:
● 4 ounces (30ml x 4) of Champagne (Bond is very partial to Bollinger , amongst others)
● 4 ounces (30ml x 4) of stout
❖ Pour in the Champagne
❖ Slowly pour the stout into the Champagne

Stinger ingredients and recipe:
● 1 ¾ ounces (52.5ml x 4) of Brandy
● ¾ (22.5ml) of an ounce of white crème de menthe
● Crushed ice
❖ Add the crushed ice into an Old Fashioned glass
❖ Pour the brandy and white crème de menthe in and stir together

Thunderball Rum Collins
The Rum Collins is a variation on the classic Tom Collins cocktail which dates back to 1876. It is the Caribbean version of the drink and is sometimes known as the Ron Collins, due to the word Ron meaning rum in Spanish. It’s the ideal drink for Bond to enjoy while in Palmyra, Bahamas home to his nemesis in the movie, Emilio Largo.

Rum Collins ingredients and recipe:
● 2 ounces (60m) of light rum
● The juice of 1 lime
● Club soda
● 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar
● A slice of lemon
● A Maraschino cherry
● Ice cubes
❖ Shake the rum, lime juice, and powdered sugar in a Boston shaker
❖ Pour the mixture into an ice cube filled Collins glass
❖ Add the club soda to taste and garnish with the lemon and Maraschino cherry

Dr. No Dry
Vodka Martini
The Dry Vodka Martini is surely James Bond’s most famous cocktail of choice and is the drink which brought the phrase ‘shaken and not stirred’ to public notoriety. In the movie, the phrase is spoken by the film’s namesake villain Dr. Julius No, and Bond (played by Sean Connery) doesn’t actually utter it himself until the Goldfinger film of 1964. Whatever its origins, it’s remained a classic cocktail to this day and is now as popular as the Gin Martini that it originally evolved from.

Dry Vodka Martini ingredients and recipe
● 1 ½ ounces (45ml) of premium vodka (do not use a cheap substitute in this cocktail)
● ¾ of an ounce (22.5ml) of dry vermouth (the less vermouth used, the drier the Martini will be)
● A lemon twist or 3 olives
● Ice cubes
❖ Pour the vodka and vermouth into a mixing tin filled with the ice cubes
❖ Shake the mixture don’t stir it!
❖ Strain off the liquid into a chilled Martini glass or else a cocktail glass
❖ Garnish with the lemon twist or olives

Goldfinger Mint Julep
The film and novel Goldfinger is named after its antagonist, Auric Goldfinger. He and Bond meet at his horse ranch in Kentucky, so aptly enjoy a cocktail that is still consumed to this day in very large numbers at the annual Kentucky Derby a mint julep.

Mint julep ingredients and recipe:
● A handful of mint leaves
● 2 sugar cubes
● 2 ½ ounces (75ml) of bourbon whiskey
● A sprig of mint
● Crushed ice
❖ Place the mint leaves and sugar cubes into a pewter julep cup, Collins, or double Old Fashioned glass
❖ Use a muddler to muddle the mixture until the sugar has broken down
❖ Add the bourbon whiskey
❖ Add the crushed ice and stir
❖ Garnish with the spring of mint

Risico may be an unfamiliar title to all but the most dedicated Bond fans. It is actually part of the short story collection For Your Eyes Only. In the book, the Negroni in question is enjoyed with a generous splash of Gordon’s Gin.

Negroni ingredients and recipe:
● 1 ½ ounces (45ml) of Campari
● 1 ½ ounces (45ml) of sweet vermouth
● 1 ½ ounces (45ml) of Gordon’s Gin
● An orange twist or slice of orange
● Ice cubes
❖ Add the ice cubes to an Old Fashioned glass
❖ Pour in the liquids
❖ Garnish with the orange twist or slice of orange

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Vodka Tonic with Angostura Bitters
If you’re busy fighting the world’s most devious criminals, you don’t always have too much time to create complicated cocktails, so most of James Bond’s drinks of choice are usually very quick to prepare. None more so than the Vodka Tonic he enjoys in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service , which is accentuated with a little Angostura bitters.

Vodka Tonic with Angostura bitters ingredients and recipe
● 2 ounces (60ml) of premium vodka (do not use a cheap substitute in this cocktail)
● Tonic water
● A couple of dashes of Angostura bitters
● A wedge of lime
● Ice cubes
❖ Pour the vodka into an ice cube filled highball glass
❖ Add tonic water to taste
❖ Add the Angostura bitters
❖ Garnish with the wedge of lime

Die Another Day Mojito Die Another Day is a film that is not based on an original novel by James Bond creator and author Ian Fleming , but the filmmakers made sure there are plenty of Bond trademarks in it, including a classic cocktail. As much of the film is set in Cuba, this time it’s appropriately enough a Mojito.

Mojito ingredients and recipe:
● 2 ounces (60ml) of light rum (do not use a cheap substitute in this cocktail)
● Club soda
● 2 teaspoons of sugar
● A handful of mint leaves
● 1 lime cut into two halves
● A sprig of mint
● Ice cubes
❖ Add the mint leaves, sugar, and a splash of club soda into a highball glass and muddle with a
cocktail muddler until the sugar has dissolved
❖ Squeeze both halves of the lime into the glass, then leave one half in the glass
❖ Pour in the rum, stir the mixture, then add the ice cubes
❖ Top up with the remaining club soda and garnish with the sprig of mint

Skyfall and Spectre
In the previously released Bond film, Skyfall , there was a little bit of a public outcry as Bond’s official drink of choice in the film was… Heineken. Yes, that’s right, a bottle of lager! This was obviously a classic example of sponsored product placement, but many viewers just didn’t seem to think it fit with Bond’s image even though in the novels he was occasionally partial to Löwenbräu, Red Stripe, and Miller High Life, so perhaps this is not so out of place after all. In the most recent film Spectre, Bond thankfully returns to form, indulging in the iconic vodka Martini as well as numerous other Champagne and whiskey drinks. This time the vodka in question is the premium brand Belvedere , so we imagine product placement was again in full swing. At least it was a bit more in line with his traditional image on this occasion!

At Bonzer we love to create classic cocktails and stock the cocktail supplies you need to make all manner of exotic drinks, so if you have any questions about our cocktail equipment , cocktail accessories, or any of our other products or services, please email sales@mitchellcooper.co.uk or call us on +44 (0)1825 765 511.

So, why not treat yourself to one of the James Bond cocktails mentioned above and let us know how you fared in the comments section? After all, you only live twice!