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Business News/ Industry / Media/  The martini has evolved, so has Bond: Claire Smith
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The martini has evolved, so has Bond: Claire Smith

Belvedere's head of spirits creation and mixologist on why James Bond likes his martini shaken, and the premium vodka unit's deal with the next Bond film

Claire Smith says Belvedere has reached a tipping point in India, there is enough visibility and awareness. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/MintPremium
Claire Smith says Belvedere has reached a tipping point in India, there is enough visibility and awareness. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint

New Delhi: Claire Smith is head of spirits creation and mixologist at Belvedere, the premium vodka unit at Moët Hennessy, UK. Also an award-winning former bartender, Smith was in India to promote the brand’s association with Spectre, the next James Bond film scheduled for release in November. Smith declined to share the size of the deal with the Bond franchise, but showed us the crucial difference between the “shaken" and the “stirred" martini. In an interview, she spoke about Belvedere’s growth in India and the revival of the cocktail. Edited excerpts:

What is your plan for this visit?

I am here really to help take off the communication on the collaboration with Spectre and James Bond partnership. Also, the brand has reached a tipping point in India—there is enough visibility and awareness. Moët got Belvedere into India in 2009 as an integral part of its portfolio. Over the years, we have seen both demand and economy grow.

Could you elaborate on the collaboration with ‘Spectre’?

It is our biggest partnership today. Belvedere is available in over 120 countries and Bond is a global franchise, so it is a natural partnership for us. India is among the top 20 grossing countries for the Bond franchise. It is really an important market.

Bond is known for his vodka martini, and we’ve always maintained and used the martini as a way to communicate our product quality because there isn’t any way to hide in that drink. We got a special bottle here in India which is one in a hundred that was created to celebrate the partnership. On the bottle we replaced the Belvedere palace with the MI6 building, which is the British secret service building—which you recognize from many of the movies. We will be opening this bottle and others for charity. There is another special edition of the bottle for sale which lights up. These are just two of the tools that have been developed. There will be a series of activities building up to the launch of the movie in November.

What kind of product placement do we see in the film?

You will have to wait and watch the movie. They just started filming it.

How did the deal happen?

We have been working quite hard for the last two to three years to help celebrate the martini, to refresh the thinking about that cocktail and the mood. A lot of our work has, in fact, led the studio to talk to us. James Bond is the most famous martini drinker, so it was probably a partnership waiting to happen.

Smirnoffhas been an earlier sponsor. Besides, with Daniel Craig, the whole Bond image is changing. In ‘Skyfall’ he says, “Do I look like I care...". Isn’t it a difficult time to be collaborating with Bond? A Sean Connery or Roger Moore would have been a better fit.

I don’t find it unusual in any way. It’s a natural fit. James Bond has been around since 1953, so it has had its own evolution. Belvedere was first created in 1993—in the luxury vodka section and we’re celebrating the partnership in 2015. Every man has a particular repertoire of drinks he enjoys. Martini has evolved, so has Bond.

Is there a classic Bond martini recipe?

There are many and they all come on the variation of the theme. But the first is the Vesper martini of 1953. Very often I am asked why Bond likes his martini shaken, not stirred. In the 1953 book, James orders the Vesper martini in a very specific way—two measures of Gordon’s gin, one measure of vodka and half a measure of Kina Lillet shaken till it is very cold, and a thin strip of lemon. And in the second paragraph he explains why he ordered that drink. He goes on to say he likes his drink very well made, very cold and very strong.

In fact, the shaken cocktail is typically colder than stirred cocktail. So James Bond likes his cocktail ice cold, that’s why it is shaken and not stirred.

What we have done to celebrate the partnership is to invert the proportion of gin to vodka, so we have a reverse Vesper—two parts Belvedere to one part gin.

So when you say martini has evolved, the mix itself has changed.

If you look at the very first martini—originally the drink dates back to 1860s and 1870s—it was a gin-based cocktail. Vodka really wasn’t even available that early. Don’t forget it is very much an American cocktail. It was very sweet, very red. And gradually, beginning in 1890s when the American consumers’ palate began to dry out, the sugar content became less. This coincides with the introduction of martini extra dry in 1899.

Then, because of two World Wars, the availability of vermouth became tricky in the US. It wasn’t coming across from Europe. Consequently there was less vermouth used in cocktails. Also the grain shortages after World War II impacted the quality of gin. That paved the way for the opportunity of vodka to be introduced. It became really popular in 1950s, 1960s. So the cocktail became less gin-heavy and eventually became a vodka cocktail. The cocktail itself really went out of fashion in the 1970s, 1980s and was replaced by lots of sweet blue cocktails. We invigorated it with the introduction of Belvedere in the 1990s. It was created in 1993 in Poland and launched in the US in 1995 in the super premium category.

Isn’t vodka a male drink?

Culturally it is consumed neat in Central and Eastern Europe. When it left Central Europe, it became gender-neutral. It is today a global spirit, made all over the world. For us, our demographic is pretty evenly split. It is a chameleon. It lends very well to anything, so it works very well whether you are a man or a woman.

What is the total world vodka market size?

It’s 70 million cases worldwide now, with the US being the largest market.

What’s your share in that?

Our share in 70 million is a drop in the ocean. A lot of that 70 million is made up of very sub-standard, entry level brands. A lot of those brands are conceived in Russia. That 70 million is not made up of super premium. Even super premium would be very small. Grey Goose would be part of our competitor brands.

What’s the difference between a mixologist and a bartender?

That’s a question that troubles the industry. I look after mixology—which is really a creation of cocktails. I don’t tend the bar, but I am still in charge of creating signature cocktails. Bartender for me is the person who creates fantastic cocktails, but is also a host. A mixologist is someone who is not hosting, but solely focusing on the creation of the drink.

What do you look at as a mixologist?

When we create signature cocktails, we are really looking at ingredients that will pull out the best elements of the spirit. Belvedere, for instance, works particularly well with grapefruit, that’s because it has a natural vanilla aroma and flavour coming from the grain. Vanilla and grapefruit are very complementary. They share a similar chemical structure.

So we look at things like that. It’s a very flexible spirit, so we have to be very careful to always have a lightness of touch, to do not overdo the cocktail. So our drinks are light, fresh, and easy to consume and make at home.

You have already created flavours such as Belvedere Black Raspberry, Pink Grapefruit, Bloody Mary and Lemon Tea. Is there a new flavour on the cards?

We will be launching Wild Berries in US—Polish strawberries and American blueberries. And I am working on a flavour due out next year, which is a secret.

What won you so many awards when you were a bartender?

I was really, really good. I studied law. I was well-versed in being able to deliver an argument. So presenting a cocktail is really to me presenting an argument. It seemed that no one was presenting cocktails in that way.

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Published: 30 Jan 2015, 11:58 PM IST
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