Author Profile: David T Smith

David T Smith celebrates Live and Let Die’s 50th anniversary with a look at locations and drinks. This week is the 50th anniversary of the UK release of 1973’s Live and Let Die, Roger Moore’s first film as agent 007. Rather than pick the film apart scene by scene – after all, you might as […]

David T Smith on the upcoming UK screenings of all 25 of Eon’s James Bond films celebrating 60 years of cinematic 007. If the delays to the release of No Time To Die confirmed anything, it was that Bond belongs on the big screen. Unfortunately, many of us have never had the chance to experience […]

Ahead of the No Time to Die premiere, David T Smith looks at the Dirty Vodka Martini from SPECTRE. Along with many other 007 fans, I have been re-watching the series in preparation for the release of No Time To Die. As someone who (only slightly metaphysically) lives and breathes cocktails and distilling, I was […]

One of my favourite and most frequently used culinary insights from the James Bond books is the recipe for scrambled eggs from 007 in New York, originally from the US edition of Fleming’s collection of travel writing, Thrilling Cities. Author of the new Bond book Solo, William Boyd, writes his book having been inspired by the […]

Today sees the release of the new James Bond novel – Solo – by William Boyd. It is a special year for Bond books, as 2013 is the 60th Anniversary of the original publication of Casino Royale in 1953. I got the chance to go along to The Dorchester for the launch yesterday to hear […]

Many years ago (even before Casino Royale was released in 2006), I was consulted on the possibility of making a pre-mixed Vesper. In the end, this came to nothing, so I was interested to see that Master of Malt’s Handmade Cocktail Company had released a bottled Vesper to coincide with the release of the latest […]

There were expectations regarding the potential prominent product placement of Heineken (a lager beer) in the latest Bond instalment, Skyfall. Well, lo and behold, it appeared at least 5 times. It is the first drinks brand that we see, even making the pre-title sequence. Despite its numerous appearances, I didn’t find it that intrusive (and […]

The drinks of this article come from one of the shorter 007 stories and one of the few books whose title has not been made into an Eon film (as such, there was speculation that this would be the name of Bond23 before Skyfall was announced). The book in question is Risico… Within the first […]

We’ve already covered the signature drink from the latest Bond book, Carte Blanche, but, in true Fleming style, the story is packed full of the finer details on a host of other drinks; some enjoyed by Bond and some by other characters. A few of these drinks are Stolichnaya Martinis; further details on these can […]

May is the month of the Kentucky Derby and so what could be a better choice for this month’s featured James Bond drink, but the Mint Julep? This mix of bourbon, mint and sugar doesn’t actually feature in the books, but it does appear in the film Goldfinger. Traditionally, this is the cocktail of Kentucky […]

James Bond is known for his discerning taste in matters of food and drink, but, occasionally, he takes advice from a companion, whether that be M’s thought on wine or a field agent’s opinion of the local hooch. An example of such a drink is The Stinger, which Bond first drinks in Diamonds are Forever.
Bond obviously has a taste for the drink, as, in Thunderball, he orders another one, this time to accompany after-dinner coffee with Leiter at the Nassau Casino. This mix of Brandy and Creme de Menthe is often seen as a good digestif.

I have been putting off writing about the Vodka Martini, the most prominent of Bond’s drinks and a cocktail that gave birth to the most famous bar instruction of all time: “Shaken, not stirred”.

The Vodka Martini is a variation on the original Dry Martini, which, in turn, is descended from the Manhattan. The Martini was originally made with sweet vermouth, but, around the turn of the last century, it became more popular to drink it with dry vermouth. The first reference to the Dry Martini can be found in How To Mix Fancy Drinks from 1903.

Before the Vesper, there was the Americano; this is the first cocktail that James Bond ever orders. He does this at the bar of the Hermitage Hotel whilst he waits for Mathis and Vesper Lynd. When they arrive, Bond orders Mathis a Fine à l’eau and a Bacardi for Vesper.

One of the trademarks of the James Bond books, especially those written by Ian Fleming, is the attention to detail given to what 007 drives, wears, eats and drinks. Since the release of the 2006 film, Casino Royale, the Vesper has rocketed to popularity in bars across the world. So it comes as little surprise […]

This article is by guest writer David T Smith of Summer Fruit Cup. The Pink Gin is an old navy drink, a mix of gin and Angostura Bitters. Gin was the Naval Officer’s drink of choice and the bitters were thought to have medicinal properties. Traditionally, the drink is associated with Plymouth Gin, a spirit […]

The Old Fashioned is a Grandfather of a drink and adheres to a very early definition of a cocktail; alcoholic spirit, bitters, water, and sugar.

My second favourite James Bond drink, after the Vesper, would have to be what I call the “James Bond Gin & Tonic” from Fleming’s 1958 book, Dr No. His interpretation of this drink really sets itself apart from your standard G&T.