Don Draper

Played John Hamm on the TV Series Mad Men.

In a year which can be considered a waste, time we will never get back we lost many legends. The only person who looked “cooler” with a cigarette and cocktail than Don Draper from Mad Men has to be James Bond. Of the six actors who played Ian Fleming’s Bond each had his own way. While I know we all have our favorite, none of them was as cool as Sean Connery drinking a Vesper . Maybe it was the time when it was still cool to smoke. 

So, let us go to the pages of Ian Fleming’s book Casino Royale so there is no mistake how to make it or serve it. The Vesper from Casino Royale

 

James Bond

James Bond made this drink a classic in Ian Fleming’s book Casino Royale. While we have all had our favorite Bond, none was as cool as Sean Connery.

 

‘A dry martini,’ he said. ‘One. In a deep champagne goblet.’

‘Oui, monsieur.’

‘Just a moment. 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. Got it?’

‘Certainly monsieur.’ The barman seemed pleased with the idea.

‘Gosh, that’s certainly a drink,’ said Leiter.

It was the next chapter while talking to the beautiful Vesper Lind in which Bond decided to name the drink after her. 

But, where did Fleming get his inspiration? According  to journalist Donald McCormick it came from Krystyna Skarbek who was a Polish agent working for British Special Operations Executive during World War 2. “Very brave, very attractive, but a loaner and a law unto herself”, was the way she was described by British Spy Master Vera Atkins.

The real world origins of the Vesper come from Ian Flemings visits to Dukes Bar in London, claim Wine and Spirits Merchant Berry Bros and Rudd. This was where acclaimed bartender Gilberto Preti presided over Dukes serving the perfect 5 sip Martini.

 Let’s get started.

As I stated earlier all of our “base” will be Kirland’s. since Kina Lillet is no longer available, Cocchi Americano was used. Lillet Blanc is also a spirit that can be used. Having used both previously, I prefer Cocchi Americano because it has a slightly more bitter taste.

We started by crushing our ice. Since my refrigerator does not have a crushed ice feature we used a wood hammer and a canvas bag to crush the ice. (It works a lot better than a zip lock and hammer.)

After putting the ice in the shaker we added; 3oz of Kirland’s London Dry Gin, 1 oz of Kirland’s Imported Vodka and .25 oz of Cocchi Americano. After putting the shaker top on, we shook hard for about 30 seconds. You could feel the shaker becoming very cold.

With a strainer, we poured the cocktail into a chilled 6 oz Champaign Goblet and added our lemon peel.  A word of caution make sure you have a 6 oz goblet. With the displacement cause by the lemon peel, you have 5 oz of fluid.

 This is one of my favorite drinks. From experience, I limit it to one. Using the breathalyzer, after the first waiting 15 minutes I blew a 0.9. I finished the second 45 minutes later and blew a 1.9. There was no third.

So, if this is your drink, I would follow James Bond’s advice as expressed in Fleming’s book Casino Royale; Bond laughed. ‘When I am … er … concentrating,’ he explained, ‘I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and extraordinarily strong and very cold, and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad.’

 So, here’s to you, A Vesper “Mr. Bond.”

 

Crushed Ice

Need a way to crush ice at home? This works better than a zip-lock baggie with a hammer. Click here to get one.

Cocchi Americano

If you cannot find Cocchi Americano at your local liquer store, click here.

Deep Champaign Goblet

Not all Coups have the ability to contain the volume of this cocktail. Chick here to order one that does.