The James Bond Martini Recipe
From:
Field Guide to Cocktails
, by
Rob Chirico
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Also known as the Vesper, James Bond orders this variation on the martini in Casino Royale. Kina Lillet is an old name for what is now Lillet Blanc.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 ounces Gordon’s gin
- 1 ounce vodka
- 1/2 ounce Kina Lillet
- Green olives or twist of lemon peel
INSTRUCTIONS
- Shake the gin, vodka, and Lillet with ice; then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with green olives or lemon peel.
This recipe, while from a trusted source, may not have been tested by the CHOW food
team.
Copyright Quirk Books
mrxp they do make lillet but not Kina they stopped in the 80's, it was much more bitter than the lillet made now. Angostura will alter the blend to be more bitter but adds a red sheen.
This is for MC Slim JB,
You will be happy to know that kina lillet actually does exist. kina lillet was launched in 1895. in the 1920s the company launched lillet dry and reduced the prominence of kina in the name and sometime in the 1930s the name was dropped altogether. so kina lillet does exist, only it is now known as plain and simple "lillet". this is still hard to find in the united states but you can special order it at some liquor dealers. hope this helps!
A splash of Angostura bitters helps bring the Lillet back to the Kina Lillet formula. While not perfect by any means, it gets the job done.
The Lillet website also suggests the Blanc.
The problem with trying to reproduce this recipe is that Kina Lillet no longer exists. Lillet retired this formulation (which featured a strong quinine taste) in the 80s. I make this with the less-bitter Lillet Blanc, and it's very nice, a super-smooth Martini with a properly detectable dose of aromatized wine. I'm not sure how to reproduce Kina Lillet: maybe by adding some cinchona bark powder to Lillet Blanc? In any event, this is a nice variant on a proper Martini, far superior to the very dry Vodkatini Bond is so often depicted drinking in the movies.