Shaken not Stirred

‘I take a ridiculous pleasure in what I eat and drink.’  James Bond.

This sounds better spoken in a Sean Connery accent.

That was a quote from  Casino Royale.  Another from Thunderball says  ‘I can’t do my work on carrot juice… life’s too short’.

Well few of us can do our job on half a litre of spirits and 80 cigarettes but when you are a fictional spy, and a huge film franchise you can do as you wish. In fact, he wasn’t a spy was he? His actual job title was something else....A handler or something like that?

Bond drinks a few cocktails... Americano cocktail, (1 measure Campari, 1 measure sweet vermouth, Soda water), 

Negroni, (1 measure Gordon’s gin, 1 measure Campari, 1 measure Italian vermouth) 

Old Fashioned, (3 dashes Angostura bitters, 2 measures rye whisky, 1 sugar cube, Soda water) 

Rum Collins (2 measures light rum, 1 teaspoon superfine sugar, 1/2 measure lime juice, Soda water)

Sazerac (2 1/2 measures rye whisky, 2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters, 1 dash Angostura bitters, 1 sugar cube, Absinthe, Lemon peel) 

Stinger (2 1/4 measures brandy, 3/4 measure white creme de menthe), 

Mint Julep (Mint leaves, 3 measures bourbon, 2 teaspoons water, 1 teaspoon sugar). 

Mojito (Mint leaves, 2 measures white rum, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/2 measure lime juice, Soda water) 

Black Velvet (Guinness stout, Brut champagne) I believe this drink was invented to mourn the death of Prince Albert.

And of course the Vesper (3 measures Gordon’s gin, 1 measure vodka, 1/2 measure Kina Lillet, 1 large slice of lemon peel, Shaken, not stirred)

 

Cocktails, seemingly have a certain shorthand that denotes a degree of sophistication or being world weary, of being trendy or of being drunk. And they are very common in crime fiction, once you start to think about it.

Dame Agatha uses the cocktail as a murder weapon in more than one story. In Sparkling Cyanide the poison is delivered in a Champagne cocktail. Chandler utilises a  Gimlet -I thought a gimlet was a wee drill type of thing!!!  Hammet uses a Dry Martini, Ross McDonald a Gibson and my favourite is Colleen Mullaney’s  Agatha Whiskey and Daiquiri on the Nile.

Doing research for the blog, and no other reason ( except they were "free"), my other half and I ordered a different cocktail each night on a recent trip and marked them out of ten for appearance and drinkability. It was a tough job but we approached it scientifically. He made a spreadsheet and a league table. Those of you who know him will know that he did do exactly that....

Bloody Mary   Score  1.    Cold tomato soup that tastes like there's a dead herring in it. Why would anybody drink that?

Negroni    Score  2. Vaguely reminded me of the footbath they used they used to have in old swimming pools to kill off athletes foot.

Dry Martini  Score  4      Drinkable. But only just.

Margarita   Score   5       Very popular with some types. Looks pretty, Fruit added to the vitamin daily requirement.

Tom Collins   Score   6      Drinkable. If it was labelled as a decongestant, I would have believed it.

Love on the beach Score   6  pretty to look at, lots of fruit, less that 100 calories.

Pina Colada   Score 7   Liquid Bounty bars. Don't know if you get Bountys in the states. If not, you just need to trust me on this one.

Champagne cocktail  Score 7   I liked this. It has a maraschino cherry at the bottom. Height of sophistication!

Kir Royal   Score    7           Tasted like the inside of a liqueur chocolate without the advantage of the chocolate to take the taste away, but very drinkable.

Tequila sunrise  Score  7    A classic, and this was quite nice. Maybe the 28 degree heat helped.

                                                      

The Winner..... The  Mojito  Score  8        With wee minty bits so one of your five a day. A nice drink under a hot sun.

What would your character drink? 

Caplan is a green tea drinker. Maybe I should invent a cocktail just for her.