Mix. Drink. Enjoy.
Discover amazing cocktail recipes and elevate your mixology game
Vesper
Posted: July 15, 2026
Categories
About
The Vesper is the most famous invented cocktail in literary history, born word-for-word from Ian Fleming's imagination in Casino Royale (1953): '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.' Heavier on gin than a standard martini, with Lillet Blanc's honeyed, orange-blossom aperitif character replacing vermouth, the Vesper is drier, more elegant, and more powerful than any ordinary martini. Named after Vesper Lynd — the first and most iconic Bond girl — it gained an enormous new generation of fans when Daniel Craig ordered it on screen in Casino Royale (2006). Whether shaken (Bond's insistence) or stirred (the purist's preference), the Vesper remains one of the most sophisticated and culturally loaded cocktails ever conceived.
Instructions
- Chill a coupe or V-shaped martini glass in the freezer or by filling it with ice water while you prepare the drink.
- Combine the gin, vodka, and Lillet Blanc in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
- Shake vigorously for 15 seconds until the shaker is very cold — Bond specified shaking, and the extra dilution and aeration suits this spirit-forward drink. (For a stirred version, stir 30 seconds in a mixing glass over ice.)
- Discard the ice water from the glass and strain the cocktail into the chilled glass.
- Hold the lemon peel skin-side down over the glass, twist firmly to express the oils, run it around the rim, then drop it in as garnish.