Why James Bond drank his martinis made with vodka, and why mine is gin


When Ian Fleming created the character of James Bond in the 1950s he set in motion confusion about what a martini is made with that lingers to this day. This may seem confusing, especially if you've just had a few, but I'm stone cold sober right now (unlike in the photo at the top of this post) so I'll see if I can explain.

I'm not really a martini person, I much prefer my gin mixed with tonic water. I really don't know why, and I've always just chalked it up to my Anglo-Saxon roots. The British drank a LOT of gin, and tonic water (as you know) has quinine, which was the best that they could do against malaria for a long time. So don't worry about me, I'm in no danger of getting malaria!

But back to James Bond, whose job was to go to other countries and kill people on behalf of the British government. That is, he collected a British paycheck, but he didn't spend much time there. In the 1950s, right after World War II, he spent a lot of time in Russia, or to be more precise, the USSR, or the Soviet Union. There was a cold war going on between the East (which included Russia) and the West (which included Britain). And while things have changed a lot in Russia, one thing that you could always count on was getting vodka. Plenty of vodka! Bond could always count on finding vodka where he worked, which was mostly in Russia. Sure, he could get gin, but remember that he was a secret agent, and drinking gin in Russia is no way to blend in!

So Bond made his martinis with vodka, not gin. And that's why you will always hear him asking for vodka specifically. If you just ask for a martini, it's made with gin and vermouth. Martini purists would be outraged at the thought of making it with vodka, the same way that they would be outraged by how I'm holding the glass, allowing my hand to warm up the drink, which should be drunk ice cold, but never on ice. But I gotta tell ya, I tried martinis only once and they have such a kick that it surprises me that I'm not holding it with two hands in the photo.

This photo was taken by my brother who helped me try martinis for the first and last time. It's in my backyard, and I had even purchased the martini glasses for the occasion (he lives in California and flies out to visit his old brother at least once a year).

Anyway, I really can't recommend martinis, although you might like them. They're a mixture of two alcohols (yes, vermouth is an alcohol, too) so the taste is very raw, and to me the effect of the liquor felt like getting hit in the face with a two-by-four. Of course, you're probably tougher than me.

Choose your next witticism carefully, Mr. Bond!
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