With the new James Bond film, Spectre, released in China this week, Decanter steps beyond product positioning on the big screen to discover what James Bond really drank in Ian Fleming's original novels. Clue: it wasn't just Bollinger and Dry Martinis.
The Dry Martini, shaken not stirred, is often considered the James Bond drink of choice, but Ian Fleming’s Bond certainly also had a taste for fine wines and Champagne.
Champagne
Bond declared Taittinger Blanc de Blancs Brut 1943 as ‘probably the finest Champagne in the world’ in Casino Royale, the original James Bond novel first published in 1953. But, his taste proved somewhat fickle. In Moonraker, published only two years later, Bond says that Taittinger was ‘only a fad of mine’. He drank Dom Pérignon instead.
Bollinger, certainly a firm favourite in the films, did not feature quite so prominently in the books, but did appear in Diamonds are Forever and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Veuve Clicquot, Krug and Pommery also make appearances in the novels.
Bordeaux
Goldfinger helps to widen Bond’s drinking taste when it comes to wine by serving him the Pommery 1950 vintage Champagne. He also introduces 007 to Château Mouton Rothschild 1947 and Piesporter Goldtropfchen 1953, Riesling from Germany’s Mosel area. Bond develops a taste for Mouton Rothschild, drinking the 1953 in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Chianti
Fleming’s James Bond also enjoys drinking Chianti on trains across Europe; in From Russia with Love he drinks it on the Orient Express. He then drinks it on the Laguna Express to Venice in For Your Eyes Only, where he spills it on the tablecloth.
Liebfraumilch
It’s not all fine wines for the British spy; in Live and Let Die Bond drinks Liebfraumilch, the semi-sweet German wine that has gone from hero to zero for some wine drinkers in the UK and US. In the book, Fleming’s second and published in 1954, Bond and his friends enjoyed Liebfraumilch, declaring at one point that the contents of their glasses was ‘as good a Liebfraumilch as you can get in America’.
(Editing: Chris Mercer / Ellie Douglas)
All rights reserved by Future plc. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of Decanter.
Only Official Media Partners (see About us) of DecanterChina.com may republish part of the content from the site without prior permission under strict Terms & Conditions. Contact china@decanter.com to learn about how to become an Official Media Partner of DecanterChina.com.
Comments
Submit