KEY POINTS:
NEW YORK - Actor Daniel Craig says don't try this at home - drink as many martinis as he puts away in his debut as James Bond in the new movie "Casino Royale."
The famed agent for Her Majesty's Secret Service has long taken his martini shaken, not stirred. But the new 007 now sounds like what bartenders call a "cocktail dork."
"Three measures of Gordon's (gin,) one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet, shake it over ice then add a thin slice of lemon peel," Bond asks a waiter as he duels with his adversary in a high-stakes game of Texas Hold 'em poker.
But of that drink - the "Vesper," named for Bond's love interest Vesper Lynd - Craig warns, "I'd try one. But if you try two, be careful because it's a lot of vodka and gin."
Later, 007 orders another tipple to steady his nerves after matters have taken a turn for the worse. But when the bartender asks if he wants his cocktail shaken or stirred, Bond replies, "Do I look like I give a damn."
"He's had a very rough night," producer Barbara Broccoli explains of the story, adapted from Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, published in 1953. "The recipe is word-for-word from the book. It's very good too. But it is very strong."
Professional bartenders say there has been a resurgence in the popularity of cocktails in recent years.
And while they like that Bond drinks gin martinis, instead of the recently trendy vodka martinis loathed by purists, they remain horrified he still has his drink shaken.
"You only stir a cocktail made of spirits. You shake a cocktail with juice or syrups," said Jason Kosmas of the specialty cocktail bar, Employees Only, in New York's West Village.
Craig, who grew up working class in Liverpool, says a pint of Guinness is more his speed.
"I drink Guinness, but if I can get a good vodka martini, I will drink one," Craig said in an interview to promote the movie, which opens November 17.
- REUTERS
