The word “vesper” refers to the evening hour when the star of Venus first makes an appearance. Vespers, the sixth of the seventh canonical hours of the divine office, harkens the sunset and twilight for evening prayer. In many settings, this is also the start of cocktail hour.
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In the early 1950s, when vodka merely spiked tomato juice or ginger beer for Bloody Marys and Moscow Mules, the Vesper (after all, Bond was not the Daiquiri type) was among the first cocktails to showcase the newly chic spirit in something as refined as a Martini variation. Bond’s order as written in the book: “Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until ice-cold, then add a large slice of lemon-peel. Got it?”
Though also shaken, not stirred, the Vesper did not become Bond’s signature order until later, however the popularity of Fleming’s later works in the 1960s boosted sales of Casino Royale and it was briefly popularized in chic lounges. It was the 2006 movie adaptation starring Daniel Craig that gave the literary drink new life in a prominent scene, detonating it onto the modern cocktailsphere like a key fob bomb. Even though vodka was considered an unhip spirit by this time, the Vesper was the exception even the cocktail snobs could make peace with.
15 ml unflavoured vodka
7 ml Lillet Blanc or Cocchi Americano
60 ml dry gin
Lemon peel, to garnish
- Shake all ingredients with ice until well chilled.
- Strain into a chilled coupe glass (originally a “deep champagne goblet”).
- Garnish with lemon peel.
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Recipe extracted from Signature Cocktails by Amanda Schuster, published by Phaidon. $80, out now.
