The name's malt... Single Malt...
James Bond is drinking whisky again. More specifically, he’s drinking Talisker – and the relationship is benefiting both of them. Dominic Roskrow reports
The barâs crowded and noisy when Bond enters, but he is noticed immediately. He is dressed perfectly, tux and bowtie spotless, hair groomed
to perfection.
His target â in more ways than one â is at the bar, and he spots her immediately. She is wearing designer evening dress and she exudes beauty. As he approaches she looks partly amused, partly intrigued.
âThe nameâs Bond, James ⦠â he starts.
âI know who you are,â she says curtly, in an accent that would once have been Russian but is now indistinctively Slav or East European. âA vodka Martini, shaken not stirred, I presume?â
âActually, no. May I have a single malt whisky. Alittle water, no ice?â
CUT.
Surely thereâs some mistake? After all, doesnât everyone know what 007âs favoured tipple is?
Yes and no. For the martinis have been a flamboyant emblem of Bondâs style and panache over the years, but you suspect that heâd choose whisky at home. And while Scotch has been sidelined in the films, in the original Ian Fleming books, whisky always was his drink of choice.
Perhaps directors didnât consider whisky cool enough for 007, but in recent times it has made a comeback. It featured in the recent James Bond film The World is not Enough, complete with exploding ice cubes. And it features in the latest film, Die Another Day.
It seems that in these post-Glasnost years, James Bond is moving on. Just as the baddies are no longer communists, Miss Moneypenny is 30 years younger than she use.....
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By Dominic Roskrow
Section : Whisky and Film
Page number : 34. 35
