Fancy yourself as a smooth-talking 00? In anticipation of Daniel Craig’s latest Bond movie, Spectre, we have rounded up the best places in London to drink his signature cocktail: the Martini. So important is the classic tipple that vodka brand Belvedere has decided to collaborate with the new film.
Belvedere will release limited edition bottles to celebrate Bond’s vodka Martini ‘shaken not stirred’, and its partnership with the 24th Bond adventure, Spectre. The brand’s bottle will sport the famous MI6 headquarters in place of its usual Belvedere Palace and Belvedere’s signature blue will be swapped for Bond’s signature green. There will only be 100 bottles available.
The inimitable bar manager Alessandro Palazzi from Dukes Bar, where Bond author Ian Fleming used to drink, calls the Martini ‘elegant’ and he says the beauty of the drink is in its simplicity. ‘It’s all about the ingredients and the simplicity of the execution. The trick is to serve a Martini very cold and if the bartender shakes or stirs, they must not over-dilute the drink with ice.’ At Dukes, the bar’s own vermouth is combined with gin or vodka to suit the drinker, while unwaxed Amalfi lemons ignite the senses. ‘Ingredients are very important – the alcohol is not masked by fruit juices. A Martini lover will travel miles for the perfect Martini; it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, young or old, the Martini is timeless and elegant,’ he says.
So, slip on your best suit and sip a Martini at one of these top London bars…
Like all good Bond plots, nothing is as simple as it seems at 69 Colebrooke Row. Take the Woodland Martini for example; it actually contains woodland. Well, in bitters form.
On the Strand, The American Bar at The Savoy (left) is one of the most important watering holes in drinking history. The Savoy Cocktail Book, compiled by Harry Craddock in 1930, is still regarded as a cocktail bible and the man himself was said to be instrumental in popularising the classic Dry Martini.
Artesian may have made a name for itself as a cocktail innovator but its signature Langham Martinis are the business. They even have their own bespoke ‘glasses’ (made of metal). Drinkers beware, the top detaches from the stem.
Newcomer Bar Termini (right) brings a touch of Italian train station chic to Old Compton Street and you can sip a small and tasty aperitif in this small and tasty little bar. Try a Marsala Martini (gin, marsala dolce, dry vermouth and almond bitters). Worth missing a train for.
The Connaught Bar (bottom left) at its namesake hotel is a cocktail institution. Sit back and await the glorious Martini trolley, then watch on as awhite-gloved bartender creates your bespoke Martini, with a range of different bitters options. Though at this venue, Martinis are quietly stirred and never shaken.
Legendary bartender Salvatore Calabrese made the Dukes Bar Martini infamous when he perfected his recipe as resident bartender there in the 80s. Travel writer Stanton Delaplane declared the drink a success and the Martini torch is now carried by the equally legendary Alessandro Palazzi. You can even take a masterclass with Maestro Palazzi. He could probably teach Bond a thing or two...
007 knows as well as us that the Martini is one of the greatest aperitifs of all time. So if you find yourself booked in at Dabbous (lucky you) for dinner, then get there early and slip downstairs like a secret agent to Oskar’s Bar. Indulge in Another Day in Paradise – a twist on a Martini with the addition of extra virgin olive oil – it’s not quite the title of a Bond film, but it might make you feel invincible.
If Bond is a Great British institution in the entertainment world, then its bar and restaurant equivalent is Rules in Covent Garden. Like The Connaught Bar, Martinis at Upstairs at Rules are stirred and never shaken. Old-school. 
If you’re a vodka fan with a sense of adventure, go for the Bone Dry Martini at White Lyan. It contains house vodka and bone tincture, which is made by dissolving chicken bones in acid. Finger lickin’ good. Bond might turn his nose up at such variation, but the addition of acid makes it perfect for a Bond villain, we reckon.