Dregs – James Bond’s Drinks

The Tulleeho Guide to James Bond’s Drinks:

[toggle title=”Diamonds are Forever” state=”close” ]When in Saratoga drink Bourbon and preferably with branch water – our words not Mr. Fleming’s. Anyway, the first time Bond drank Bourbon with branch water was in Diamonds are forever (on Felix Leiter’s advice). Confused by what branch water is ? For those old enough to remember Dallas, branch water was also J.R’s favourite drink. The answer is simple, branch is nothing more than the term given a stream in the American South. If you can locate a nearby stream near your house (unpolluted preferably!), pick up some water, take it home, put it in a bottle and call it branch water, thus becoming a Bourbon snob.

Bourbon isn’t of course the only thing Bond drank in DAF. He stays loyal to his cocktails, the only variation to his medium dry Martini with a lemon peel is a change in his vermouth to Cresta Blanca, a new brand from California, recommended by Felix. “Best vermouth I ever tasted, said Bond” (what price Kina Lillet, Mr. Bond?). Those out there looking for Cresta Blanca will have to stay disappointed as this product from the Cresta Blanca Winery is long since gone as is the Winery. Hopefully the sandstone cliffs overlooking the Winery (from which it gets its name), remains. The Cresta Blanca Winery was purchased by Wente vineyards in 1981 and turned into their visitor centre.

Bond also drank a Stinger (a popular cocktail of the 60’s) on a couple of occasions with Tiffany Case. The Stinger for those interested combines 2 oz. (60 ml) brandy with 1 oz. (30 ml) of white creme de menthe. Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and strain into a chilled Martini glass. The Stinger can also be made with green creme de menthe, but Bond preferred white. Et vouz?

Where there’s Bond, there’s Champagne – he orders Clicquot Rose the first time he has dinner with Tiffany Case (played most delectably by Jill St. John in the movie) and later on the liner back to England, he orders Bollinger to go with the Bearnaise sauce Tiffany sends him along with his steak. Sadly the vintage of either is not disclosed.[/toggle]

[toggle title=”Goldfinger” state=”close” ]

James Bond with 2 double bourbons inside sat in the departure lounge of Miami airport and thought about life and death. When the flight was delayed he had another double bourbon on the rocks.

In between foiling the plans of Auric Goldfinger to rob Fort Knox, the US Gold depository (here’s a piece of trivia for you, if Fort Knox houses the US gold, then where is the US Silver stored ?) and bedding a number of willing women, including Jill Masterton (who gets painted in gold for this) and Pussy Galore (leader of a lesbian organisation – but when did that stop James or the women?), Bond also manages to drink a copious amount of alcohol through the course of Goldfinger, some of which required us to make use copious use of Google. Any of you out there drunk Enzian?

Junius Dupont, the reclusive millionaire takes Bond to Bill’s on the Beach for the finest stone crabs in the neigbhourhood. As an aperitif they had a couple of Vodka Dry Martinis with a slice of lemon peel and with the Stone Crabs, Dupont ordered the Pommeroy – Pink Champagne – Pommeroy 50 – 2 pints in silver tankards – champagne in tankards, not bad.

It should actually be Champagne Pommery however not Pommeroy.

At dinner with Goldfiner, Bond has a Moselle**, the Piesporter** Groldtropfchen 53 with shrimp curry and rice.

Later on in the dinner, Goldfinger opens a bottle of Mouton Rothschild 1947 to accompany the roast duckling.

Goldfinger himself doesn’t drink or smoke. “As for drinking I am something of a chemist, and I have yet to find a liquor that is free from traces of a number of poisons, some of them deadly, such as fusel oil, acetic acid, ethyl-acetate, acetaldehyde and furfurol”

“Since you’re a drinker, Mr. Bond, I will give you one word of advice, never drink so-called Napoleon Brandy, particularly when it is described as ‘aged in the wood’. That particular potion contains more of the poisons I have mentioned than any other liquor I have analysed. Old bourbon comes next”. If you’re familiar with cockney rhyming slang, you’ll know what Napoleon Brandy is slang for.

“Thank you I’ll remember. Perhaps for those reasons, I have recently taken to vodka. they tell me its filtration through activated charcoal is a help”

In the Hotel de la Gare Bond has an iced pint of Rose d’Anjou**.

The Rose accompanies a large sole meuniere** He has a Hennessy Three star cognace with his coffee.

In St. Laurent, after Bond wrecks Tilly Masterton’s car, Bond tells her to get him sausage, bread and butter, and a half litre of Mâcon** with the cork pulled. In Geneva @ the Bavaria, a modest Alsatian Brasserie, Bond drinks Enzian** washed down with Lowenbrau.

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