Top 10 James Bond drinks facts

Marking the release of the new James Bond film Spectre, we have compiled a selection of Bond-related boozy facts.

From his taste in Champagne and cocktails to drinks sponsorships left, right and centre, Bond and booze seem inseparable.

We therefore feel it’s appropriate to celebrate this everlasting partnership with a few tasty facts that are perfect for boring your fellow cinema-goers as you queue up for your popcorn before the film, which was released in the UK on 26 October.

Disclaimer: Having not yet seen Spectre, all facts concern the films preceding the latest release.

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Bond’s Martini-count (pre-Spectre) is fairly high.

Bond has slurped sophisticatedly on 27 Martinis in the 23 films leading up to Spectre. He likes them to be made a certain way, although we can’t remember quite what that way is…

Daniel Craig prefers a whet whistle to wet lips.

The current incumbent of the Bond throne, Daniel Craig, is the only 007 to have had more vodka Martinis than on-screen kisses. He has had nine Martinis and just seven kisses in his three films before Spectre.

Things that have the name James Bond on them for some reason No.1: A crystal wine cooler.

Longtime partner with the Bond franchise, Champagne Bollinger released a limited edition crystal wine cooler, complete with a magnum of R.D Bollinger, in September to mark the release of Spectre.

Only 307 have been produced (making just 007 would have stuck to the branding, but probably wouldn’t have been worth the effort), and they are retailing for £3,650.

The only occasion that we can think would be appropriate to use it would be for a James Bond movie marathon (which, of course, is every weekend).

But Bolly isn’t the best bubbles in the Bond books…

Taittinger was in fact Ian Fleming’s favourite Champagne, not Bollinger, and the brand was mentioned in the literary versions of Casino Royale, Moonraker, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Goldfinger. However, the last time Taittinger made a screen appearance was in 1963′s From Russia with Love.

Bond keeps the pace up when it comes to drinking.

On average, Bond has a drink every 10 minutes 53 seconds, putting seasoned student party-shooters very much to shame.

Daniel Craig is the booziest Bond of them all.

This graphic courtesy of GBShowPlates.com shows the average alcohol units consumed per Bond film, with a definite spike around Mr Craig’s appearances. Timothy Dalton’s turn as Bond in License to Kill shows just one unit being consumed. Poor effort, Tim…

Things that have the name James Bond on them for some reason No.2: Vodka bottles.

Plush vodka brand Belvedere also tipped its hat to Bond recently with the release of its 007 Spectre limited edition bottle, complete with a James Bond gun barrel and 007 gun logo.

Belvedere’s well-known “silver saber” bottles will also have the 007 branding and be offered in a 1.75l bottle.

Belvedere has even created its own (slightly confusingly named) vodka cocktails: the Belvedere Spectre 007 martini, the Belvedere 007 martini, the Double 0 and the Belvedere Spectre 007. Try asking for a round of those at the bar in a hurry… 

The Macallan partnership with Bond has created some rather expensive whisky.

A bottle of The Macallan 1962 signed by cast members of Skyfall, the last Bond blockbuster, raised £9,635 for charity at an auction in 2013, showing the power of Bond’s marketability.

The label of the donated bottle bore the signatures of villain Javier Bardem, Bond girl Bérénice Marlohe and Bond himself, Daniel Craig, adding even more value to the already highly collectible whisky.

The single malt was distilled in the same year Bond first hit the big screen in Dr No, and was donated by The Macallan’s owners Edrington for the Sotheby’s Finest and Rarest Wine Sale.

The money raised was even collected for a charity helping members of the British security and intelligence services.

…but Bond’s taste for Scotch is underplayed in the films.

James Bond actually drinks more Scotch with soda in the Fleming novels than Martinis. Reportedly, Scotch and soda features as many as 21 times in the books compared to 19 mentions for the Martini.

Heineken really wanted to get on the Bond bandwagon

And finally, the latest drinks partnership with the Bond franchise – Heineken lager – saw big bucks being poured into the Skyfall film to make sure the beer was poured out on the big screen.

The Dutch brewer reportedly paid US$45 million for the deal, which saw the beer make its first appearance in the 2012 film.