10 Films That Surprisingly Boosted Sales Of Food And Drink

3. James Bond - Vodka Martini

At least in part created as a vehicle of wish fulfillment for mid-level naval intelligence functionary Ian Fleming and his snobbishly specific tastes, James Bond just happened to become the star of the world's highest earning film franchise (adjusted for inflation). Fleming's novels are full of Bond's particular culinary tastes (there are seventy different meals in the whole series, one short story even drops in a recipe for scrambled eggs). The films haven't always embraced the superspy's love of a prawn curry and a sly doner kebab, but his high functioning alcoholic habits have survived the transition pretty much intact. From Bollinger to Bourbon, Bond's heroic alcohol intake has always been a key feature of the series and has always influenced the tastes of his audience, but one drink is associated with the misogynist dinosaur more than any other: vodka martini, shaken not stirred. Martinis, a cocktail that mixes spirits and vermouth, had been popular since the prohibition era but almost always made with gin. Indeed, Bond's first martini recipe, the Vesper, contained three parts gin to one part vodka. By the time of the 1960s film series, though, Fleming had switched Bond to a purely vodka based version of the cocktail, something that Sean Connery ordered in the series' most iconic film, Goldfinger. Thanks to Connery and Goldfinger and the associated cool of Bond, vodka started being used more and more often in martinis and the cocktail enjoyed a 60s revival. As the franchise became a major target for modern product placement, naturally Bond's drinking habits were up for sale. Heineken saw a big boost in sales after Bond was seen drinking a bottle of the Dutch beer in the billion dollar hit Skyfall. A much vaunted deal with Polish vodka producers Belvedere, however, will see him return to his martini roots in the upcoming Spectre, no doubt with an associated jump in the cocktail's popularity once more.