The Vesper martini was invented by James Bond in Ian Fleming’s classic novel Casino Royale.
He named it after the character Vesper Lynd, played by Eva Green in the 2006 film version of the book.
The original recipe is as follows:
3 measures of gin
1 measure of vodka
Half a measure of Kina Lillet
Shake with ice then strain into a glass and serve with a thin slice of lemon peel.
However, Kina Lillet is nearly impossible to acquire today without a time machine, so one must improvise with Lillet blanc, to which you could also add a dash of angostura bitters once the drink has been poured.
Lillet blanc is a French aperitif ‘tonic’ wine, blended with citrus liqueurs and Cinchona bark. The citrus liqueurs include Mediterranean limes and oranges from countries such as Spain and Morocco, while Cinchona (which contains quinine) comes from Peru. Combine this with Russian or Polish vodka, British gin, perhaps some Sicilian olives, Middle Eastern pistachio nuts, Bombay mix and say, some ‘izakaya’ style snacks from Japan (see here for more ideas) and you’ve got yourself a perfect international fait accompli, synonymous with Britain’s favourite spy, played here by Daniel Craig:
You can’t beat a classic.
