Name: Vesper Martini
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1 cocktail
Ingredients: 3 oz Gin (Gordon's was the original — any good London Dry works); 1 oz Vodka; ½ oz Lillet Blanc (or Cocchi Americano); Thin lemon peel to garnish

Ingredients

3 oz Gin (Gordon's was the original — any good London Dry works)
1 oz Vodka
½ oz Lillet Blanc (or Cocchi Americano)
Thin lemon peel to garnish

Method

1

Chill your martini glassPlace a deep martini glass in the freezer.
2

Combine in shaker or mixing glassAdd gin, vodka, and Lillet Blanc to a shaker (Bond's way — shaken, not stirred) or mixing glass (the better way, producing a cleaner result).
3

Shake or stir hardIf shaking: shake with ice for 12–15 seconds. If stirring: stir with ice for 30 seconds.
4

StrainStrain into the chilled martini glass.
5

GarnishHang a thin slice of lemon peel on the rim.

Casino Royale, 1953

The Vesper Martini was created by Ian Fleming for his 1953 novel Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel. Bond orders it at the casino bar: '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.' He names it after Vesper Lynd, the female protagonist.

Fleming specified Kina Lillet, a quinine-containing French aperitif wine that was discontinued in 1986. Lillet Blanc (its replacement) has less quinine and is somewhat sweeter — Cocchi Americano is a closer substitute in terms of bitterness. Bond's famous 'shaken, not stirred' instruction is technically wrong: spirits-only cocktails are always better stirred (clearer, silkier, less aerated). But it's fiction.

Variations

🍸 With Cocchi Americano

Replace Lillet Blanc with Cocchi Americano for a more bitter, quinine-forward result closer to Fleming's original Kina Lillet.

🌿 With White Vermouth

Replace Lillet Blanc with a dry white vermouth (Dolin Dry or Noilly Prat). A more standard dry martini with vodka added.

🍋 Vesper 007

Reduce gin to 2 oz and add a teaspoon of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. Slightly more citrusy and approachable.

🔫 Vesper Martini

Casino Royale, 1953

🍸 With Cocchi Americano

🌿 With White Vermouth

🍋 Vesper 007