Kina Lillet

Kina Lillet was created in France in the late 19th century where wine-based tonics flavoured with quinine were popular. Quinine comes from the bark of the cinchona tree in South America, often known as "kina kina", which lent the drink its prefix.

When 007 ordered his drink in 2006 he was wrong; Kina Lillet hasn't existed for decades and may not even have been used at the time Fleming was writing.

The company gradually reduced "Kina" from the name of the product and eventually promoted it simply as "Lillet".

In the 1960s the name was changed from Lillet to Lillet Blanc when a red version of the drink was introduced an dfinally in 1986 the formula was changed to reduce the bitter aftertaste of the quinine; Lillet Blanc is now much frutier and it is impossible to test how good Ian Fleming's original Vesper really is.

However; to add the bitterness back into the Vesper you can add quinine powder or a drop or two of bitters, but be careful not to overdo it.

The recipe for the Vesper given by Ian Fleming was as follows:

3 measures of Gordon's gin
1 measure of vodka
1/2 a measure of Kina Lillet

Bond's instructions in the book were to shake until ice cold and serve in a deep champagne goblet with a large thin slice of lemon peel.