Belvedere Vodka SPECTRE partnership launched in London

On Tuesday 16 December 2014, Belvedere Vodka announced that the brand would be an official partner of the upcoming SPECTRE movie (read press release). Bond Lifestyle attended the launch events in London and takes a closer look at the two Limited Edition bottles that were revealed this week.

UPDATE September 2015
- Read now Belvedere 007 Edition bottles released

James Bond has always been a vodka drinker and the spirit has always been a part of his signature Martini, shaken, not stirred. After drinking Wolfschmidth in the novel Moonraker, and Smirnoff in several movies, Absolut in Never Say Never Again, Stolichnaya in A View To A Kill and Finlandia in Die Another Day, Bond will now partner up with the Polish Belvedere Vodka in the movie SPECTRE.

Belvedere Vodka is produced in a century-old Polish distillery, in a manner derived from 600 years of vodka making tradition. Belvedere is owned by the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH and internationally categorised as a super premium vodka.

On 16 December, Bond Lifestyle had a chance to catch up with Charles Gibb, president of Belvedere, during a meeting at the Mandarin Hotel in London. Gibb explained how happy he is about the partnership with the franchise. The idea for the Bond and Belvedere link came up early 2014 and he is very glad to finally be able to announce the partnership. There are many promotional activities planned for the coming year but none of these can be revealed at this point, unfortunately.

When asked if James Bond himself, or the villain or any of the other main characters, will drink Belvedere vodka in SPECTRE Gibb couldn't be persuaded to reveal any details about the appearance of the vodka in the movie.

The type of vodka used in the Vesper Martini (the drink invented by Bond in Casino Royale) was never specified by author and Bond creator Ian Fleming, so remains open for interpretation. Maybe Bond will reveal in SPECTRE that he prefers Belvedere, to which a bartender can then reply "Excellent Choice, Mr. Bond", which also happens to be the tagline for the upcoming Belvedere advertising campaign. We will have to wait until we see the movie to know for sure how prominent Belvedere will be featured.

Limited Edition Belvedere bottles
To celebrate the announcement of the partnership between Bond and Belvedere, two Limited Edition Magnum Bottles are being released. During the interview, Charles Gibb showed the members of the press the two special bottles, which are larger than you might think looking at the photos. They are Magnum bottles, containing 1,75 litre (59.175 US oz).

The most limited of the collector’s editions is the MI6 bottle. The bottle features a black 007 logo and for the first time in its history, Belvedere has replaced the image of the iconic Belvedere Palace with the famous MI6 headquarters on the bottle (see image).

Belvedere's HQ (top) and MI6 HQ (bottom)

Belvedere’s signature blue color will be switched for a distinctive green, mirroring the secret spy agency’s ink of choice.

MI6 bottle, number 007 of 100
photo by Mark O'Connell

Only 100 bottles will be available worldwide, although it is not clear yet how, where and when these bottles can be purchased. According to Charles Gibb they will be given away to certain people and might turn up at (charity) auctions, but he couldn't give more information on the availability.

The other limited edition bottle is even cooler: the Silver Sabre 007 bottle. This Magnum size bottle features a silver coating, with laser cut design and logo. To top it off, a built-in LED light, which can be switched on and off at the bottom, illuminates the bottle from within, giving a blue hue to the vodka and emphasising the large 007 and Belvedere logos.

A regular Belvedere 'Night Sabre' Magnum bottle with illumination (but without the Silver or 007 logos) is available, for example on Amazon.co.uk (UK only), for £98, so expect the 007 version to cost a bit more than that.

The bottle is covered in a silver layer, with the light shining through the laser cut openings
photo by Mark O'Connell

This Silver Sabre bottle will a limited edition but there will be more available than the MI6 bottle. It was not announced where the bottle will be for sale and what it will cost.

President Charles Gibb couldn't reveal if other 007 branded bottles will be released in the future, but we assume that other 007 branded bottles and merchandise will be available next year at the time of the release of the movie.

Belvedere Launch Party photos
In the evening of the 16th, Belvedere organised a launch party in the Film Museum in London where the Bond In Motion exhibition is still on display. Between all the amazing Bond vehicles, the rooms where filled with the Belvedere Limited Edition Silver Sabre 007 bottles. Some cars were removed to make room for popup bars and a DJ booth. About 300 guests enjoyed the endless supply of very stiff Vodka Martini's (served with Belvedere Vodka of course) and a short presentation from Belvedere president Charles Gibb about the partnership and special bottles.

Belvedere launch party at the London Film Museum

The Bond In Motion was an amazing backdrop for the Belvedere launch party

One of three bars at the event that served exclusively Vodka Martinis

DJ Tinie Tempah
photo by Mark O'Connell

Stiff Vodka Martinis as far as the eye could see

Belvedere Silver Sabre bottles mixed with iconic Bond vehicles...
...shaken, not stirred.

Neil "The Incredible Suit" Alcock, secret agent for hire Ben Williams, Bond Girl Nicole from LVMH The Netherlands, Remmert van Braam (yours truly), and Mark "Catching Bullets" O'Connell
in front of the record breaking Aston Martin DBS from Casino Royale
Photo by Ajay "JBIFC" Chowdhury

One of the 100 Limited Edition Belvedere MI6 bottles on display in a glass box during the event

We will have to wait and see how Belvedere will be featured in SPECTRE and which bottles and merchandise will be available, but we can definitely expect to see much more of the brand in the coming year.

With many thanks to Belvedere Vodka, Mission PR, LVMH The Netherlands and Mark O'Connell.