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There you have it. This is how it all started and I would like you to note that this is not really a classic martini at all as it uses both gin and vodka and Kina Lillet - which is not a vermouth, it is a quinine infused, wine based, orange flavored liqueur!
You'll notice I do NOT have the Kina Lillet in my recipe but have used the Lillet Blanc instead as Kina Lillet is no longer available - having morphed into Lillet Blanc over the years. The change has removed the quinine and most of the bitterness and thus changes the flavor of Bond's original cocktail to a sweeter experience. You might try adding a dash of bitters to get close to the original recipe.
FYI - Bond (Fleming) named this cocktail a Vesper after a lovely double agent in Casino Royale.
As for Shaken, Not Stirred
The first appearance of that famous martini phrase appears in Fleming's novel Diamonds Are Forever (1956). Bond does not utter the line until Dr. No (1958) where the actual phrase is "shaken and not stirred" not "shaken, not stirred." The first time the phrase is uttered in film is by Sean Connery in Goldfinger (1964). In 2005 the American Film Institute listed the phrase #90 on Best Movie Quotes of the last 100 years.
So, my fellow martini lovers, James Bond created the very first designer martini way before the Cosmo or an Appletini burst upon the cocktail scene!
I knew there was a reason I always had a thing for James Bond but I still cringe at his request for a champagne glass instead of my beloved martini glass.
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