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Prep Time 4 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Scotty Boxa

Vesper Martini Recipe (Bond's Original, Three Spirits, Shaken Cold)

James Bond's original martini: gin, vodka, Lillet Blanc. Shaken cold, served in a coupe with a lemon twist. The 1953 spec, exactly as written.

Ingredients

  • 3 oz Gin London Dry; Tanqueray, Beefeater, Sipsmith
  • 1 oz Vodka good neutral; Belvedere or Grey Goose
  • 1/2 oz Lillet Blanc or Cocchi Americano
  • 1 Lemon peel, large to garnish

Method
 

Method
  1. Chill a martini coupe glass in the freezer for at least 5 minutes.
  2. Add gin, vodka, and Lillet Blanc to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
  3. Shake hard for 12-15 seconds. Yes, shake. Bond ordered it shaken not stirred. The shake aerates the spirits and the resulting cocktail has a slightly cloudy, lively texture different from the smooth-and-clear stir.
  4. Strain into the chilled coupe glass.
  5. Cut a large strip of lemon peel. Twist over the surface of the drink to express the oils, then drop it into the glass.

Notes

Lillet Blanc. The original recipe called for Kina Lillet, which no longer exists (it had quinine in it; reformulated in 1986). Lillet Blanc is the modern equivalent. Cocchi Americano is closer to the original quinine-bittered profile if you can find it.
Shake or stir? Bond purists insist shake ("shaken not stirred"). Cocktail purists insist stir for clarity. Bond won. Shake it.
Glass. A coupe is correct (the V-shape martini glass spills too easily). Pre-chill it. Always.