Hotels Celebrate “Skyfall” With Special James Bond Martinis
I remember my first Bond film, Goldfinger. Watching it once was not enough and over the years I grew to love the smug smirk of Sean Connery and watch various Bond actors try to take his place. I also loved the classic idioms that became the water cooler talk standard: Shaken, not Stirred being the most famous.
What’s so appealing about Bond is his stoic grace, not to mention his flawless style. From Aston Martins to Martinis, he is savvy enough to always pick the better than best, but far from a cheesy way. While the story origins hail from the UK, America has not been immune to the James Bond charm, and several television networks have Bond marathons during the holidays.
Credit: Zone 41 on Flickr
I’m eager to catch Skyfall in the U.S. theaters this weekend. If you want to truly up the dapper quotient and celebrate in style, here are some hotels offering Bond Specials.
The Chesterfield Mayfair, London
The hotel is offering a pretty impressive James Bond Cocktail Menu with drinks that include The Vesper and Miss Moneypenny. The hotel is also offering a Bond-inspired package which includes two nights’ accommodation, an English breakfast on the morning of the stay, two James Bond Martinis and two tickets to see “Skyfall.”
Apparently, this is where the writer Fleming penned the words “shaken, not stirred.” He also wrote a substantial portion of Casino Royale. Alessandro Palazzi, is head barman at the hotel and maestro of the martini, and often gives masterclasses to intimate (up to six) groups eager to learn the secret of the super drink. Some tips? A frozen glass, Amalfi lemons, olives from Puglia. There are various James Bond style martinis served here, including the Fleming ’89. Check out its Bond experience options here.
All guests get to experience free “shaken, not stirred” martinis in the hotel lounge, through November 15, 2012 in honor of Skyfall. These refreshments are offered in the evening, along with the hotel’s signature champagne service. A truly romantic hotel, it is located a stone’s throw away from the beloved area I used to live in (Sloane Square), which is all about old world elegance and charm.
American martini-philes, fret not. A new James Bond drinks book by David Leigh is free for Kindle readers (expires today, November 7) and is available here for readers.
We just returned from London and I am sad to say we did not indulge in the martini excellence the city can offer. It was fun to be in town when the movie premiered though. Definitely loads of ads up, reviews and excitement. Now I’ll just have to satisfy my martini needs here in the states as it debuts in theaters this weekend.
Oh 007, he’s the ultimate bad boy, jetsetter, martini drinker, suave & smooth talker! Love him!
My dad is a big fan so I grew up loving the character.
Sean Connery was and still is sexy
Great post & that just made me thirsty. I’ll have a Martini, shaken bitte
K.
Very atmospheric post, Charu! Would love to book into a classic hotel for a classic martini and more. I’ll be one of the first in line to see Skyfall; my parents had all the original Ian Fleming paperbacks in a cupboard in the basement and I read them all as a kid. Daniel Craig portrays Bond most accurately, IMHO. Would love to find those paperbacks now and reread…
This post is giving me Bond-based wanderlust!
Hope the new James Bond movie will be good. Daniel Craig has been a surprisingly good Bond even though people gave him a hard time in the beginning because he was blond.
The hotels all look lovely. Unfortunately I wasn’t as impressed with the film, I thoughht it was a bit of a let down compared to the last two.
The hotels both look lovely. Unfortunately I wasn’t that impressed with the film. I thought Skyfall wasn’t as impressive as his last two outings,