In Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, James Bond orders a Vesper cocktail with gin, vodka and Kina Lillet.
Bond specifies three measures of Gordon’s gin, one measure of vodka and half a measure of Kina Lillet, shaken with ice and served with a thin lemon-peel garnish. The drink is named after Vesper Lynd, a fictional British agent and Bond’s romantic interest in the novel.
The Vesper is often confused with a regular vodka or gin Martini because Bond orders it in a similar setting. However, its original recipe differs through the combination of gin and vodka and the use of Kina Lillet, a historical version of the French aperitif Lillet. Kina Lillet was reformulated in the 1980s, so modern recreations may use Lillet Blanc with a small amount of quinine bitters.
The cocktail became widely known through Casino Royale, first published in 1953. Fleming’s detailed fictional recipe helped make the Vesper one of the most recognizable literary cocktails.