Directions
The Vesper Martini is a great, amazing cocktail, a variation of the classic Dry Martini, invented by writer Ian Fleming in the novel Casino Royale of 1953, where the legendary James Bond ordered a vodka Martini shaken, not stirred.
And that’s the big difference that makes it unique and inimitable and so different from his father.
The recipe that no longer exists
But we have to open a little, but very important, parenthesis, about the ingredients of the original Vesper cocktail, which are the subject of a heated debate: gin, vodka and Kina Lillet, an old vermouth flavored with quinine, which gave a strong, lovely bitter flavor to the cocktail.
Well, today the Lillet vermouth is not produced anymore, so in the official recipe is customary to use the Blond Lillet, super fragrant vermouth that is the opposite of the original Kina Lillet, too sweet to be even dry vermouth. Today is very difficult to drink the Vesper Martini that James Bond loved, you should use the essence of quinine: maybe one day someone will be able to craft suitable vermouth…
The question about which vermouth is more suitable to use to make a Vesper is widely open and there are many bartenders who no longer use the Blond Lillet, but the advice is: choose real products, handmade-artisan vermouth and remember that the vermouth is a wine.
Differences between Vesper and Dry Martini
So first of all the ingredients, we have vodka and not only gin. Second: you have to shake the Vesper, yes, it is made in the shaker and that makes it lighter, fresher and more agile.
Certainly a die-hard Dry Martini lover looks at the Vesper with suspicion and will tell you that is a watered-down Martini, and partly he’s right, because shaking violently the ingredients with ice lower the alcohol content and the cocktail becomes slender, but nevertheless the pleasantness of an iconic drink like Vesper is unique.
But no more talk, James Bond is waiting for his drink!
Ingredients and doses of the Vesper Martini drink
- 6 cl gin
- 1.5 cl of vodka
- 0.75 of Lillet Blonde or your favorite dry vermouth
- lemon peel
How to prepare the perfect Vesper Martini
Chill a Martini glass.
Place all ingredients in a shaker with some ice cubes and shake for 10 seconds.
Throw the ice from the glass, pour the cocktail in the glass and let yourselves be mesmerized by the opalescent color of this nectar. Now take the lemon peel and squeeze it between the fingers over the Vesper Martini, in this way the essential oils of the lemon will impress its scents on the drink, releasing a wonderful breath of fresh air.
Great Gin Cocktail you should try
If you like cocktails made with gin you could make also: Gin Tonic, Black Mamba Kiss, Paradise, Tom Collins, Heidi, Bramble, cocktail Pino, Negroni, Gin Fizz, French 75, Tuxedo, Dry Martini.
Vesper Martini food pairings
Finger food, seafood, comfort food, pasta. Recommended dishes: pasta with shrimps and asparagus, fish balls, salmon with Teriyaki sauce, sweet and sour pork, fried rice, nachos.
