Booze and Bond

Or, How to Drink Like a Spy

While discussing cocktails and Bond with a good friend of mine, I was struck with the idea of making a list of Bond-themed Cocktails to go with each movie. I tried to stick with classic IBA Cocktails that would have existed when Fleming penned the exploits and escapades of the world’s most infamous spy, and picked the libations that would best fit the tenor and tone of the movie. Some were easy, some took more ingenuity, and some are chosen more for the cheek factor. I’ve included the rationale for each choice along with the recipe below – tell me what you think or or what you would change in the comments!

Dr. No (1962) – Planter’s Punch

Given the majority of the film takes place in Jamaica, a Planter’s Punch was an easy choice. I have to thank Guy for this recommendation. Like the movie it is a classic staple that is simple, refreshing, and genre-defining. It has the confidence of Connery’s Bond, with an easy swagger that will charm you.

4.5cl Jamaican Rum
1.5 cl fresh lime juice
3 cl Sugar cane juice (simple syrup)

Shake to mix and pour into a Highball glass over ice. Garnish with an orange slice/zest.

From Russia With Love (1963) – Moscow Mule

The Moscow Mule was chosen for this one more because of the name than for the tone, but as opposed to the White/black Russians or other Vodka based cocktails that one would associate with the region/title, the Moscow Mule is satisfyingly sweet while having a bit of spice reminiscent of Istanbul.

4.5 cl (9 parts) vodka
1 cl (2 parts) lime juice
12 cl (24 parts) ginger beer

Combine vodka and ginger beer in a copper mug filled with ice. Add lime juice. Stir gently. Garnish with a slice of lime.

Goldfinger (1964) – Mint Julep

At first I wanted a drink that would play off the overt gold references in Goldfinger (full body gold paint, stealing gold bullion, etc), and then I almost picked an Aviation in homage to Pussy Galore and her flying circus, but I ultimately decided that the better choice would be to feature the Mint Julep in homage to Kentucky, and to the prevalence of the drink in the novel of the same name.

6 cL Bourbon whiskey
4 mint leaves
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
2 teaspoons water

In a highball glass gently muddle the mint, sugar and water. Fill the glass with cracked ice, add Bourbon and stir well until the glass is well frosted. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Thunderball (1965) – Rum Collins

Thunderball was a hard one for me to pick. The plot of the movie is fairly straight forward – pay a ransom to the bad guys or they detonate atomic weapons – so I wanted a fairly straight forward cocktail with a touch of explosion. The Rum Collins is a variant off the Tom Collins, a fizzy gin drink, made with rum instead. This felt to be a nice representation of Thunderball’s Caribbean influence, with the added bonus of being a prominent drink in the novel.

4.5 cL (3 parts) Jamaican Rum
3 cL (2 parts) freshly squeezed lemon juice
1.5 cL (1 part) sugar syrup
6 cL (4 parts) carbonated water to taste

Mix the rum, lemon juice and sugar syrup in a Collins glass with ice, top up with soda water. Garnish with lemon slice and maraschino cherry.

You Only Live Twice (1967) – Singapore Sling

I’ll be honest, I picked the Singapore Sling for YOLT on it’s name alone, and I apologize for any unintended insult by using it in reference to a movie that takes place almost exclusively in Japan. I recognize Singapore is it’s own sovereign nation. I liked the alliteration and the allusion to an operation name, which fits in with the ruse at the beginning of the movie that James Bond has died. The drink itself is complicated, but satisfying, much like the overall effect of YOLT.

3 cl gin
1.5 cl cherry liqueur (cherry brandy)
0.75 cl Cointreau
0.75 cl DOM Bénédictine
1 cl Grenadine
12 cl pineapple juice
1.5 cl fresh lime juice
1 dash Angostura bitters

Pour all ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into highball glass. Garnish with pineapple and cocktail cherry.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) – Stinger

You either love OHMSS, or you abhor it (which tends to be the majority). I am one of the few I know where OHMSS is one of my top 5 Bond movies, second only to Skyfall. It has all of the classic elements of the Bond: a cocky philandering Bond, lots of booze, SPECTRE/Blofeld plot lines, fun chases, and excellent Bond ladies, PLUS it has heraldry! If you know me, this is something that dominates my hobbies, so bonus. So when picking a cocktail for this one, I went with the Stinger. It is as divisive as the casting choice of this movie, and the name makes a nice nod to the pangs of Bond’s ill-fated love affair with Tracy. The Creme de menthe has the crisp freshness of the Swiss alps, and the added bonus of masking the flavor of sub-par Cognacs should your preferred vintage not be available (in the same way that the other elements of OHMSS mask the arguable deficiencies of Lazenby in the lead role).

5 cL cognac
2 cL white crème de menthe

Pour in a mixing glass with ice, stir and strain into a cocktail glass. May also be served on rocks in a rocks glass.

Diamonds are Forever (1971) – Black Velvet

For Diamonds are Forever, I wanted to pick something elusive to the faceted sparkle. Outside of picking the Bond quintessential glass of ‘57 Dom Perignon (later Bollinger), I struggled to find something that struck the right chord until the Black Velvet. Not only do most movies show off diamonds on a black velvet tray or cloth to accentuate the sparkle, but in the novel of the same name Bond orders a pint of it and it is noted as Scaramanga’s favorite drink. A true Black Velvet is made with a stout beer (Guinness, usually) and Champagne.

1 part Stout beer (Guinness)
1 part Champagne

Served straight in a pilsner glass.

Live and Let Die (1973) – Corpse Reviver No. 2

For Live and Let Die the obvious choice was the Corpse Reviver (again, thanks to Guy for this one). Not only is the name apropros to the voodoo plot, but it is a quintessential Caribbean drink. One of these will help revive from a hang over, four will knock you out again.

3 cl gin
3 cl lemon juice
3 cl Cointreau
3 cl Lillet Blanc
1 dash absinthe

Shake ingredients together with ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with orange zest.

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) – Pink Gin

Like Goldfinger, I was tempted to go with the gold theme, but opted for something a little different for The Man With the Golden Gun. The Pink Gin is an older classic, which also appears in the film, that has a lot of punch. It was considered the Officer’s signature drink around the time that Fleming penned Bond, and given Bond’s rank is one he enjoyed several times in various novels. I thought it would be fitting to chose a drink that could flatten you with “one shot” – much like the single bullet that could be expended by the Golden Gun.

One part Plymouth gin
One Part water
Dash of Angostura bitters (to taste)

Chill the glass, then coat the inside with the Bitters. Add the gin very well chilled, garnish with a lemon peel. This can be straight up or on the rocks.

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) – Between the Sheets

A Between the Sheets have a perfect name to pay homage to the happy ending for Anya Amasova, the title Spy-who-loved Bond. While something more tropical could have been a good choice to reflect the underwater civilization envisioned by the movie’s antagonist Karl Stromberg, I thought the name of this cocktail was too good not to use for this movie.

3 cl white rum
3 cl cognac
3 cl triple sec
2 cl fresh lemon juice

Pour all ingredients into shaker with ice cubes, shake, strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Moonraker (1979) – Caipirinha

Moonraker is one of those Bond movies that was really uninspiring, so in honor of Jaws finding love and Bond’s amazonian escapades in Brazil, I chose the Caipirinha. Two of these will make you forget that Moonraker is basically The Spy Who Loved Me set in space (instead of under the sea), and with more camp and gadgets.

60 ml cachaça
1 lime cut into small wedges
4 teaspoons sugar

Muddle the lime and sugar into old fashioned glass. Fill the glass with ice and add the Cachaça.

For Your Eyes Only (1981) – Negroni

Guy was quick to pick out the Negroni for For Your Eyes Only. I was a little skeptical at first, but given the plot of the movie, and the prevalence of the drink in the novel, how could I chose anything else?

3 cl gin
3 cl sweet red vermouth
3 cl Campari

Octopussy (1983) – Dry Martini

Despite the somewhat confusing and long plot line (and clown suit), Octopussy is a solid mid-pack Bond flick which deserves a simple and easy to follow drink. This is one of the Bond movies/novels that most people can recognize (probably because the title contains the word pussy, and we are all immature children at heart), so for this installment I chose the drink most associated with Bond up to this point: the dry martini.

6 cl (6 parts) gin
1 cl (1 parts) dry vermouth

Combine all ingredients into a shaker and mix well. Do not stir. Strain into chilled martini cocktail glass. Squeeze oil from lemon peel onto the drink, or garnish with olive.

A View to a Kill (1985) – Horse’s Neck

As Roger Moore’s last appearance as Bond, A View to a Kill is a bit of a rough watch, and critically noted as the nadir of the franchise. With that in mind, I chose the Horse’s Neck for this installment. It is what Fleming dubbed “a drunkard’s drink”, which is fitting for this Bond outing. I also liked the horse reference given the visit to the Ascot Racetrack early in the film. Fleming himself enjoyed it, and referenced it several times through the novel series.

4 cL (1 part) Brandy
12 cL (3 parts) Ginger Ale
Dash of Angostura Bitters (optional)

Pour brandy and ginger ale directly into highball glass with ice cubes. Stir gently. Garnish with a long spiral of lemon peel. If desired, add dashes of Angostura Bitters.

The Living Daylights (1987) – Tuxedo

For Dalton’s inaugural appearance as Bond, I chose a Tuxedo for The Living Daylights due to the return to a more somber and less campy Bond stint. This drink choice is also a nod to the ever dashing tuxedo worn by Bond, especially as the plot of this film takes him to a black tie affair where he meets the cellist Bond girl, Kara Milovy.

3 cl gin (Old Tom)
3 cl dry Vermouth
1/2 barspoon Maraschino liqueur
1/4 barspoon Absinthe
3 dashes orange bitters

Mix all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry and a twist of lemon zest.

License to Kill (1989) – Tequila Sunrise

The majority of License to Kill takes place in Mexico, so what is more fitting than a cocktail that predominately uses Tequila? I opted for the Tequila Sunrise over other Tequila based drinks like the Margarita or Paloma because I like the imagery of having the red grenadine sinker in reference to the bloodshed in Bond movies, even though License to Kill is a relatively blood-less film (23 total, making it the fifth least lethal film in the franchise).

4.5 cl (3 parts) Tequila
9 cl (6 parts) Orange Juice
1.5 cl (1 part) Grenadine syrup

Pour the tequila and orange juice into a Collins glass over ice. Add the grenadine, which will sink to the bottom. Stir gently to create the sunrise effect. Garnish with an orange slice and cherry.

Goldeneye (1995) – Black Russian

Like Goldfinger and The Man With the Golden Gun, my first inclination was to play off of the gold references (Fleming and Bond writers seem to love gold). It still felt too obvious, plus there are a lack of gold-based drinks once you remove Goldschalger from the ingredients list. Instead, I wanted to pay homage to Famke Jansson’s sadistic love of bondage when fighting adversaries, as well as the location of a good portion of the plot and heritage of the villains (plus a very subtle nod to the appearance of Johnny Walker Black that appears in this movie).

5 cl Vodka
2 cl Coffee liqueur

Pour the ingredients into an old fashioned glass filled with ice cubes. Stir gently.

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) – The Last Word

I loved the idea of using the Last Word as the chosen cocktail for Tomorrow Never Dies, as Eliot Carver tries to get the last word on situations around the world by manipulating media through his news network. The Last Word is a green-hued martini variant that eludes to Carvers envy and greed, and like the movie is a little sweet, a little sour, and a little pungent.

22.5ml gin
22.5ml lime juice
22.5ml green Chartreuse
22.5ml maraschino liqueur

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

The World is Not Enough (1999) – Alexander

The World is Not Enough was one of the hardest to inspire a cocktail. My first choice was an Americano to play off of Dr. Christmas Jones as a Bond girl. I also debated a White Russian to play off of the villain Zokas. There was some consideration on something Oil-themed for the main plot of the movie, but I knew I wanted to use that for Quantum later on (right?). Ultimately I decided to go with the Alexander. It is a light, sweet drink often imbibed in the Bond novels that fits the very campy and pun-tactic ride that is The World is Not Enough.

3 cl cognac
3 cl brown crème de cacao
3 cl light cream

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain contents into a cocktail glass, serve straight up. Garnish with a sprinkle nutmeg.

Die Another Day (2002) – Mojito

Die Another Day offered a few options for cocktails, but I opted to go with the very Cuban inspired Mojito, especially as Bond meets Jinx in Havana. It’s an excellent classic cocktail, and one chosen for Bond to consume in the movie, that could be enjoyed whether in havana or a Icelandic Ice Palace.

4 cl white rum
3 cl fresh lime juice
6 sprigs of mint
2 teaspoons sugar(or 2 cl of simple syrup)

Muddle mint leaves with sugar and lime juice in the bottom of a Collins glass. Add a splash of soda water and fill the glass with cracked ice. Pour the rum and top with soda water. Garnish with sprig of mint leaves and lemon slice.

Casino Royale (2006) – Vesper

A Vesper for Casino Royale. I had to go with the obvious for this one. Not only does Bond invent this drink in the movie, this is one aspect that is 100% true to the book. If you are surprised by this choice, apologies, but really what would be a better choice?

4.5 cl gin
1.5 cl vodka
0.75 cl Lillet Blanc

Shake (do not stir) and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Quantum of Solace (2008) – Oil Slick

From the beginning of this project, I knew that I wanted to theme the drink for Quantum of Solace after the last scene (spoiler alert) where the villain is left in the desert with naught to drink but a single can of oil. For this one I diverted from the goal of only using recipes that existed in Fleming’s time, especially ones that Bond did/might drink, but I could not ind something that suited. Instead, I opted for the Oil Slick shot – just as Bond would never drink the oil, he would never drink this one – so I felt it fit the tone of the movie.

1 part chilled Jagermeister
1 part Rumplemintz

Shake together and strain into a shot glass.

Skyfall (2012) – Old Fashioned

Skyfall is my favorite Bond movie to date, and the Old Fashioned is my favorite drink – coincidence? I chose the Old Fashioned for this movie because the plot literally takes us back to Bond’s roots, and is fraught with references to all previous Bond films, and what could be more evocative of that than what is old fashioned? The movie is a new classic, and the drink never went out of style.

4.5 cl Bourbon or Rye Whiskey
Few dashes Angostura bitters
1 sugar cube
Few dashes plain water

Place sugar cube in old fashioned glass and saturate with bitters, add a few dashes of plain water. Muddle until dissolved. Fill the glass with ice cubes and add whiskey/rye. Garnish with orange slice or zest, and a cocktail cherry.

Spectre (2015) – Americano

I had trouble finding an appropriate drink to match the mess that is Spectre. This movie is in my bottom 5 Bond movies due to it’s in cohesive plot that seems lackluster, especially following the beauty that was Skyfall. For this, I chose the Americano in homage to L’Américain hotel in Tangiers, where Bond and Swann find the evidence left behind by Mr. White of Oberhauser’s base in the Sahara, which acts as the catalyst for the remainder of the movie and lasting effects for future films.

3 cl Campari
3 cl red vermouth
A splash of soda water

Pour the Campari and vermouth over ice into a highball glass, add a splash of soda water and garnish with half orange slice and a lemon twist.

No Time to Die (2020) – Angel Face

Given that this movie had not yet been released when the choice was made, I had to base this choice on the trailers and what I know of the plot. For this, I chose an Angel Face on the premise that the plot would be based around the relationship between Bond and Dr. Madeleine Swann, along with the new female 007 agent. It’s a feminine twist on a martini, with very fruity flavor profile while still being so strong (entirely alcohol) it will knock you on your ass.

3 cl gin
3 cl Apricot brandy
3 cl Calvados

Pour all ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Served without ice or garnishes.

Many thanks to Guy for letting me nerd out over Bond and booze and for the suggestions, and all credit to Wikipedia for the recipes.

Most importantly thanks/credit/copyright/legal things to MGM/UA/Eon Studios/the Broccoli family/Ian Fleming for the wonderful novels and films that are 007 and James Bond. They own the rights to the characters, movies, novels, etc. referenced herein, so make sure to support them by seeing or buying the movies.

The opinions stated in this article are of the author and not associated or endorsed by the associated corporations that hold the trademarks and copyrights mentioned throughout.