James Bond's Vesper Martini | Booze On The Rocks

[@AntiDot70]

Vesper might have been a complicated caracter, but the drink named after her is nothing but. It's simple, straignht-forward and uncomplicated. Just like James is. It's pure Bond. And I love it. Pure and simple. Thank you Sir. Cheers to you. Long live the Queen! Oh, I mean the King... ;)

[@boozeontherocks]

I agree, James was simple and to the point

[@BrenMac93]

The Vesper martini is what got me into making cocktails! I always follow Bond's recipe except I add a couple dashes of Orange bitters just to enhance the citrus flavor slightly. One of my favs! 🙂🍸

[@boozeontherocks]

The Orange bitters is a great idea.

[@7-Liana-7]

David , I really enjoy this video👍...I liked the series of films: James Bond...Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan are my favorites.🤜🤛 Today's cocktail is incredibile ...👍👍👍 I think the planets aligned today, thanks to you 💋😊

[@boozeontherocks]

Hi Liana, thank you. I like them both!!

[@7-Liana-7]

@@boozeontherocks I just made this manlish cocktail🤢 . Is " Matrix" of the cocktails...hihi ...is strong as hell , but not as strong like "pălinca " (Romanian drink)...👍 ...is tasty with the lemon, but I added after mulberry syrup, so that the planet aligns better.👍👍 Great choice of drink for Bond of course , who didn't care if it was stirred or mixed.😛 ...anyway David I think you want to kill me with these hot - strong cocktails😝...hihihi🙃💋

[@christopherglorieux2548]

Quel magnifique cocktail. Merci... Je suis fan de vos vidéos. Christopher (Belgique)

[@boozeontherocks]

Merci Christopher

[@mwrenn6060]

Well done, Dave! I love a Martini, especially a Vesper Martini.

[@boozeontherocks]

Thank you, It is a good one for sure.

[@audiophileman7047]

When a Martini is shaken with ice, the alcohol (ethanol) in the liquors and Lillet Blanc will mix with water from the melted ice causing dilution as you said. 👍👍👍 Both water and ethanol are polar solvents and are miscible with and attracted to each other. ❤ They form an azeotrope that makes them difficult to separate once mixed. 💖 So the idea that the water is on top is just not true. 😜 To more closely approximate Ian Fleming's Vesper Martini (appears in the Casino Royale novel long before the movie), I make it the same way you did with some exceptions. I use Beefeater London Dry Gin, my favorite gin. I add a very small amount of tonic water with a measuring spoon to the other ingredients and shake. Before placing the curled lemon peel in the drink, I like to squeeze it over the top of the drink and rub it around the rim of the glass. That bit of bitter flavor and extra lemon flavor and aroma makes it even better. ❤ It gives it that super spy sophistication and cool.😻😊 It's a stiff drink, so I prefer to split it evenly with someone else (usually my Bond fanatic son) or I use a 1/2 oz as my measure if making one just for me. Cheers, mate!

[@boozeontherocks]

Your slight variation makes a lot of sense and I will defintely try it amd share it.

[@audiophileman7047]

@@boozeontherocks I thought of using the tonic water myself. I've also heard of people using two dashes of bitters, but it might have some unwanted flavors. Quinine is what we want, and tonic water without unwanted flavors is readily available and used for a gin and tonic too, so it's a good choice. You'll have to experiment with the amount of tonic water that works for you, but less is more in my opinion. 👍👍👍

[@audiophileman7047]

@@boozeontherocks I also find that very vigorous shaking always makes a martini better. 💪👊 So shake it like your life depends on it and drink it like your super spy life depends on it. Having one of these while listening to a Bond movie soundtrack recording; reading an Ian Fleming Bond novel; or watching a Bond movie fully completes the experience. 👍👍👍

[@boozeontherocks]

@@audiophileman7047 that is fantastic advice

[@audiophileman7047]

@@boozeontherocks I've subscribed to your channel. If you decide to do an update of your Vesper Martini video, I'll be watching. Thank you for making this video, I really enjoyed it. Now I must deploy your "shake it with a smile" technique when mixing. I'll make some Vesper's tonight. 😊

[@OldFashionedWays]

Hey bud, love the information on this video. thanks. I did see that small clip too and was thinking the same thing. My wife loves a Martini an extra dirty Martini, but this is very different. I may have to make it for her to try. Thanks for another great drink and extra info. cheers

[@boozeontherocks]

This is one that she will definitely like.

[@audiophileman7047]

Unless she doesn't like lemon, she'll love this classic Bond drink. It's a stiff drink, so you may want to use a 1/2 oz as your measure. Drink more than one of these, and she'll be swinging from your chandelier.

[@Ulgarth]

Yay! The Vesper. Have a great weekend. I should be on Discord tonight.

[@boozeontherocks]

Thank you Ulgarth. You too.

[@watchnerd]

Cocchi Americano is often recommended over Lillet Blanc as a modern substitute for Kina Lillet due to the fact that Cocchi Americano has chinchona bark / quinine in it, unlike Lillet Blanc.

[@boozeontherocks]

I will have to see if I can pick some up and see how it differes.

[@ericsloop6063]

Oh this sounds GREAT! and as for the clip about why the reasoning behind the shaken vs stirred and what you said is 100% fact.. a saying I use frequently is of you can't dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle them with bulls*it!😅

[@boozeontherocks]

Hi Eric, You are so right.

[@devinflint5554]

Years ago I heard an interview on NPR from some Bond expert who supposedly knew Fleming and such. He put forward the theory that why Bond's martini is shaken is because cheap vodka in that era could be very oily and shaking it would break up the oil and make it taste much smoother. I have no idea how true that is but having tasted some extremely cheap vodkas I can see it being somewhat plausible.

[@Farksisten]

Back in the 50s, when the Casino Royale novel was written, Gordon's Gin was 90 proof (45% ABV). At least according to ads from the time. Not the watered down 37.5% it is today in most markets and bottlings. So it would not have been an unusual choice for lovers of strong drinks at the time, unlike today.

[@boozeontherocks]

That is some great infor, thank you.

[@gijoey5912]

I made mine with Tanqueray, which unbeknownst to me at the time, is 47.5% ABV. It definitely cured my sobriety.

[@boozeontherocks]

@@gijoey5912 that will definitely do that.

[@audiophileman7047]

Interesting, Bombay Sapphire and Beefeater are 47%, so that's pretty close to the old Gordon's Gin. I prefer Beefeater London Dry Gin over Gordon's Gin due to its better flavor in my opinion.

[@billd7197]

How to make an Old Fashion?

[@boozeontherocks]

I will work on it.

[@AlexandraKormos]

Hey David, i am also a huge fan of James Bond and his Martini is something i would only drink on "Movie Nights" when i really intend to get hammered ... lot´s of booze!!! 😅😉 Thank you for shaking this lovely Cocktail up for us, Cheers! 🤍🧊🍸

[@boozeontherocks]

You're welcome Alexandra. This is perfect for movie nights!!!

[@icemancantcook]

James Bond the ornithologist was from my area and Ian Flemming, a bird enthusiast, had his book, thought the name sounded like a spy, and used his name in the series. In Die another Day, James Bond has a copy of the Birds of the West Indies book by James Bond that gave him that name.

[@boozeontherocks]

I actually no someone who has a signed book by the real James Bond

[@650jeff]

Hi Dave. Good vid and Excellent cocktail, have you ever done a (Rum Cooler ) before. Jeff. UK.

[@boozeontherocks]

Hi Jeff. I have not. I will have to try one

[@stephane.foisy.186]

this one is part of the rotation of a freezer batch bottle

[@boozeontherocks]

This is definitely worth batching.

[@SilverFang2789]

Speaking of martinis, would be cool if you make the Sierra Madre Martini from Fallout New Vegas' Dead Money DLC. The in-game recipe is... questionable, but a Redditor made a concoction that I thought was more appropriate to the lore of the cocktail. Recipe: 2.5oz (75ml) Tequila Anejo 0.5oz (15ml) Red Vermouth 2 dashes of chocolate bitters Add all ingredients to a mixing glass filled with ice and stir thuroughly. Strain into your vessel and serve.

[@boozeontherocks]

I will definitely have to try this.

[@poomped53]

I started making these at home a few years ago and my god they are good but they will knock you on your ass. Lovely floral quality.

[@boozeontherocks]

I totally agree.

[@Czulu]

This an excellent drink, my favorite. But i reccomend trying out cocci americano rather than lilet blanc, as cocci has more bitter taste which is closer to quine flavor i think.

[@boozeontherocks]

That is a good suggestion.

[@audiophileman7047]

To approximate Kina Lillet, I use Lillet Blanc and add a very small amount of Tonic Water with a measuring spoon to get the quinine flavor. Quinine definitely improves the drink.

[@christinecamley]

Great video David! I do stir my Martins! I’ve had Martinis both ways but I find the stirred is preferred. I have never understood why Bond chose Gordon’s Gin! It’s crappy Gin! Big time! I’d use a good London Dry! Cheers!

[@georgeharrison2795]

When the Character was invented oh so many years ago Gordons was a good gin, over the years it has gone down in quality sadly, and here in the UK generally is now 37% proof as it keeps the cost down because it carries a lower tax rate at the %age

[@jamescapps4553]

I'm a huge James Bond fan myself, but not big on Martinis. This 1 however I do want to try. I also never realized that alcohol/booze reacts with ice( frozen water) like oil reacts with water and separates.......🤣🤣🤣

[@boozeontherocks]

Learned something new :)

[@broadwaybarfly]

I got into some of the older Bond films when they put them all on Prime and drank these while I watched. Sometimes I used Cocchi Americano instead of Lillet because it has quinine but with all that gin and vodka, the difference in taste is pretty minimal. Cheers!

[@boozeontherocks]

Hi Rob, I have not tried it with the Cocchi, so I will have to find some.

[@persophone4554]

Shaken (not stirred) with the strength of a thousand one liners.

[@boozeontherocks]

Absolutely!!!

[@WineWorldTV]

I was fully expecting those "experts" to claim the alcohol would get bruised. Anyway, a drink with 4.5 oz of liquor is typically not legal in many places in the U.S. (YMMV). 3 oz typically is the max. Or at least it's the accepted standard in most cocktail recipes even if 4.5 oz is legal. The easiest way to do it "legally" is to cut the "measures" in half. It's a killer cocktail both literally and figuratively.

[@boozeontherocks]

I do agree,

[@blimy01maynard30]

I'm glad I'm not a bartender. How do you handle it when someone speed mumbles their order at you like Daniel Craig did?

[@boozeontherocks]

repeat it back to them to make sure you got it. They will correct you.

[@RedFawcett]

In one of my favorite Bond films, "You Only Live Twice", his host gives it to h8m wrong, apparently. The man says, 'Oh, that's stirred, not shaken, right?' James simply drinks it, and just goes 'Perfect, whether out of bemused sympathy or to spare his host the embarrassment of informing him of the mistake, I never really figured out. But a funny little detail to take in mind.

[@boozeontherocks]

I rememeber that. It was a I know all about you moment.

[@rikkoshop620]

Could be that at cold temperatures those spirts have a reduced taste profile, which could allow one to taste any random Nero toxin that shouldn’t be there !!!

[@boozeontherocks]

That would be interesting if true.

[@ChappysTikiBar]

Shaken not stirred 🍸

[@boozeontherocks]

I agree

[@miksologia]

The reason Bond wants Gordon's gin is... the script he read 5 minutes earlier ;-)

[@boozeontherocks]

That is a good reson!!

[@johnlemuelm.santiago6036]

Vesper martini is shaken always because it's James bind drink

[@boozeontherocks]

Very True

[@rikhowley2718]

He asks for Gordons as he works for the Queen and that's what she drank 😊

[@boozeontherocks]

That is a good choice for sure!!!

[@WBf2002]

That’s 4.5 ounces of booze. It’s like 2 doubles in one glass You’ll be on the floor

[@boozeontherocks]

I know I would be for sure.

[@ejbear8403]

Last time I checked, Alcohol floats on top of water....

[@boozeontherocks]

That it does.

[@audiophileman7047]

The alcohol and water become lovers when mixed and do not separate. They're attracted to each other due to their polar solvent nature and form an azeotrope that's difficult to separate.

[@matthewcollinsiiiakacdawgc7361]

Shaken... Not Stirred

[@matthewcollinsiiiakacdawgc7361]

Favorite Bond Actors Mine are... 1. Connery 2. Brosnan 3.Craig

[@boozeontherocks]

I liked them all!!!

[@audiophileman7047]

Connery and Craig divide the Bond world between them; there's no third for me. But hey, your preference is just as valid as mine. 👊