Ian Fleming chose the name “James Bond” for the protagonist of his spy novels because it was unassuming name; a bland, neutral-sounding name ideal for someone on covert operations; the name of someone who could blend into the background. But in 1953, with the publication of Casino Royale, the character that Fleming created leapt off the pages of that first novel and has captured our imaginations ever since. James Bond, in his formal dinner jacket, with his bevy of beautiful women and a taste for martinis, became indelibly woven into the fabric of popular culture.
The author, Ian Fleming shared several notable characteristics with his fictional character, James Bond. Both Fleming and Bond worked in the spy industry; Fleming in the Naval Intelligence Service (an arm of the British Admiralty) during WWII and Bond as an operative of MI6. They also went to the same school; enjoyed the same foods; indulged in the habits of smoking, drinking and womanizing; and had a fondness for fast cars, firearms and gadgets of any kind.
“Shaken, not stirred” has become the symbol of the ultimate metro male even before the term first appeared in the mid 1990s. The famous Rat Pack (name given to the group of entertainers that hung out together made up of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford) were famous for their consumption of martinis and their suave, smooth fashion style. Reputed to be largely due to the influence of the famous fictional MI6 spy, the martini’s popularity remained strong until the 70s when it first waned and then faded until its comeback in the 1990s.
Although his preference for the cocktail appeared in previous novels, James Bond himself did not utter the now famous words until Dr. No, published in 1958. Technically, he’s not drinking a martini at all. Before Bond forever changed the very nature of this popular libation, a classic martini was made of gin garnished with a single olive. But then the spy started ordering a dry martini with one part vodka to three parts gin and the martini was forever changed.
Today, the martini is a popular as ever. Celebrated in bars, lounges and restaurants all across the country, the classic martini and the vodka martini continues to be enjoyed, embellished and reinvented. The martini, or rather the glass it is typically served is, is a popular theme for home bars, barstools and counter stools.
Ian Fleming wrote 12 James Bond novels and two James Bond short story collections. The last James Bond novel written by Fleming, The Man with the Golden Gun, was published posthumously. But the James Bond franchise has continued to grow, both in novel and movie forms and the spy that preferred his martini shaken and not stirred, served up in a deep champagne goblet, still continues to thrill us after all this time.
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