The vodka martini will return: Bond's favourite cocktail set to appear in Spectre after luxury brand announces partnership with film makers
- Sony Pictures have signed multi-million pound deal with Belvedere Vodka
- It means Vodka Martini – shaken, not stirred – will be back on 007's menu
- Bond was last seen guzzling Heineken thanks to a £30m advertising deal
- Companies to have signed up to feature in the film include Aston Martin, Bollinger, Jaguar Land Rover, Omega, Sony Electronics, and Sony Mobile
PUBLISHED: 09:34, 16 December 2014 | UPDATED: 13:49, 16 December 2014
'I would like a medium Vodka dry Martini – with a slice of lemon peel. Shaken and not stirred please'
Since Sean Connery first uttered the immortal words in 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, they have been synonymous with the world's suavest spy.
So when Daniel Craig was last seen sprawled on a bed, guzzling Heineken in 2012's Skyfall, as part of a rumoured £30million advertising deal, Bond purists were outraged. Bond - a lager lout?
Now, to the delight of fans everywhere, filmmakers Sony Pictures have signed a lucrative multi-million pound deal with Belvedere Vodka for new film, Spectre, to put Martini – shaken, not stirred – back on 007's menu.
Sony Pictures have signed multi-million pound deal with Belvedere Vodka to put Vodka Martini – shaken, not stirred – back on 007's menu
The finer details of the deal are yet to be confirmed, but are said to include a hefty amount of product placement and a world-wide advertising campaign
The finer details of the deal are yet to be confirmed, but are said to include a hefty amount of product placement and a world-wide advertising campaign.
Bond is no stranger to lucrative marketing deals.
In 2012 Sony, Coca-Cola, Bollinger, jewellery giant Swarovski, watch manufacturer Omega and fashion designer Tom Ford struck similar agreements.
This year, companies to have already signed up to feature in the film include Aston Martin, Bollinger, Heineken, Jaguar Land Rover, Omega, Sony Electronics, and Sony Mobile.
And Bond creator Ian Fleming was said to be a fan of filling his stories with brand names - and first released the perfect recipe for the Vodka Martini in novel Dr No, published in 1958.
In it he orders a drink to exact orders: 'I would like a medium Vodka dry Martini – with a slice of lemon peel. Shaken and not stirred please. I would prefer Russian or Polish vodka.'
When Daniel Craig was seen sprawled on a bed, guzzling Heineken in 2012's Skyfall, as part of a rumoured £30million advertising deal, Bond purists were outraged.
Daniel Craig even agreed to appear in a Heineken advert to promote the brand as part of the lucrative deal
Belvedere will release two custom made, limited edition bottles to celebrate Bond's vodka martini. It has replaced the iconic Belvedere Palace with the famous MI6 headquarters on the bottles
Michael G. Wilson, the co-producer of the Bond films, has previously defended the deals.
‘What normally happens is the firms agree to provide the products free of charge along with the necessary technical support,’ he said.
‘If you look at the original Bond books by Ian Fleming, you realise that he mentions specific products in them.
The character knew he could find himself dead at any time and he wanted to enjoy the good things in life.
‘We try to make sure that we only include products that are in keeping with that idea.’
And Bond’s commercial tie-ins aren’t confined to the on-screen action.
In 2012, Eon, Skyfall’s production company, teamed with Procter & Gamble to launch a 007 fragrance for men.
OPI, the cosmetics giant, has a range of nail varnishes including The Spy Who Loved Me, while Hornby has based Scalextric sets on cars from Skyfall and Goldfinger.
Even tourism agency Visit Britain signed up, with Daniel Craig’s 007 selling the idea of a UK holiday, using the slogan ‘Live Like Bond’.
It was Sean Connery who first uttered the immortal lines: 'I would like a medium Vodka dry Martini – with a slice of lemon peel. Shaken and not stirred please'
Thunderball (1965), sees Sean Connery as James Bond and Claudine Auger as Domino Vitali knocking back the famous cocktail
Diamonds Are Forever (1971), starring Sean Connery even saw Bond enjoying one of the cocktails in the bath
Die Another Day, featuring Pierce Brosnan as the super spy, showed Bond enjoying a Vodka Martini, ordered to the most particular standards. But according to research, Bond is actually a greater lover of whiskey
For now though, the return to 'classic Bond' appears to have pleased even the most hardcore of fans.
Ajay Chowdhury, president of the James Bond International Fan Club, told the Telegraph: 'In the novels, Bond drinks everything – beer, whisky – but the drink most associated with him is vodka martini, shaken not stirred. Everything else is gravy.'
Andrew Lycett, biographer of Ian Fleming, added: 'I think Bond aficionados like the sense of a classy drink, and somehow vodka has come through the field over the last 50 years.'
MARTINI MUST BE SHAKEN NOT STIRRED... BUT BOND ACTUALLY PREFERS BOURBON
He may be best known for his love of Vodka Martini, ordered to the most particular standards.
But according to research, Bond is actually a greater lover of whiskey.
He sinks 317 drinks in Fleming’s 14 books, Vanity Fair reports.
He racks up 101 of whiskeys, including 37 orders of straight bourbon.
He also quaffs sake, champagne, wine, and of course the Vesper.
Invented by the superspy, the Vesper includes 3 measures of gin, 1 measure of vodka, ½ measure of Kina Lillet, and a thin lemon slice.
He orders it just once, in Casino Royale.
Filming of Spectre began last week after the film was announced on December 4 and revealed to include stars Monica Bellucci (Lucia Sciarra), Christoph Waltz (Oberhauser), and Léa Seydoux (Madeleine Swann).
It comes after a draft script for Spectre was stolen from the film studio by a group calling themselves the Guardians of Peace.
Producers confirmed the cyber attack on the computers of Sony Pictures Entertainment last month and additional writers have had to be drafted in to help make changes to the ending..
The leak revealed that Spectre has a budget of over $300 million, which is $50 million more than the predecessor Skyfall.
The internal documents reveal additional writers, including Jez Butterworth, have been drafted in to help Skyfall veterans Neal Purvis and Robert Wade with major changes to the plot of the new film. It was also revealed that the 24th film will be shot in locations including Pinewood Studios, London, Rome, Mexico City, Morocco and the Alps.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2875745/The-vodka-martini-return-Bond-s-favourite-cocktail-set-appear-Spectre-luxury-brand-announces-partnership-film-makers.html#ixzz3M6rs0Bff
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