Lillet cocktails.

Lillet is an aromatised wine from Bordeaux — mostly white wine, a little citrus liqueur, a trace of quinine — and it is the ingredient that makes the Vesper and the Corpse Reviver No. 2 what they are. The complication is that both of those recipes were written for Kina Lillet, which was reformulated in 1986 into something gentler, so a modern bottle and an old recipe do not quite agree.

What is Lillet?

A brand of aperitif wine made in Podensac, south of Bordeaux, since 1872, when the brothers Paul and Raymond Lillet began blending local wine with fruit liqueurs. The blend is about 85% Bordeaux wine and 15% macerated citrus — sweet and bitter orange peels, mostly — plus a small amount of cinchona bark, which supplies quinine and places Lillet in the family of quinquinas, the quinine-bittered aperitifs of the nineteenth century. It is bottled at 17% ABV and aged in oak.

Three versions exist: Blanc, the original, from Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc; Rouge, from Merlot and Cabernet, introduced in 1962; and Rosé, from 2011. Blanc is the one cocktails mean.

Kina Lillet was the name of the original Blanc until 1986, when the recipe was changed — less quinine, less sugar, a lighter style — and the "Kina" dropped. James Bond's Vesper, the Corpse Reviver No. 2 and the Twentieth Century were all written for the old, more bitter version.

How it's made

The citrus peels — from Spain, Morocco, Haiti and Tunisia, the company says — are macerated in spirit for several months to make liqueurs, which are blended with the wine and the cinchona infusion. The blend is fined, then aged in oak vats for around a year, and bottled. It is a wine product first: the base wines are vintage-dependent and the house blends to a style.

What it tastes like

Lillet Blanc: honeyed white wine, orange peel, a little pine and lime blossom, light sweetness and a faint quinine bitterness on the finish. It is softer and less bitter than a Cocchi Americano and sweeter than a dry vermouth. Rouge is darker, with red fruit and more spice; Rosé sits between, with grapefruit and strawberry.

Styles worth knowing

Bottle	What it is	In a drink
Lillet Blanc	White Bordeaux, citrus, light quinine	Corpse Reviver No. 2, Vesper, Twentieth Century, Lillet Spritz
Lillet Rosé	Pinker, grapefruit-led	Spritzes; with tonic
Lillet Rouge	Red-wine based, spicier	In place of sweet vermouth in a light Manhattan
Cocchi Americano	A different producer's quinquina, closer to old Kina Lillet	See Cocchi Americano; the usual Kina stand-in

Which bottle to buy

Lillet Blanc, and keep it in the fridge. It is the recipe standard and an excellent aperitif on its own with ice and an orange slice. If you make a lot of Corpse Revivers or Vespers and want them closer to the original bite, a bottle of Cocchi Americano beside it is the answer. Rosé and Rouge are pleasant and optional.

Using it in drinks

The Corpse Reviver No. 2 uses it as one of four equal parts with gin, orange liqueur and lemon, and it is where most people first taste it. The Vesper — three parts gin, one vodka, half Lillet — is Ian Fleming's 1953 invention. The Twentieth Century pairs it with gin, white crème de cacao and lemon. On its own: Lillet over ice with tonic or soda and a slice of orange or cucumber is Bordeaux's house aperitif, and a Lillet Spritz with prosecco is a lighter alternative to Aperol.

In stirred drinks it replaces dry or blanc vermouth wherever you want a touch more sweetness and citrus — a Lillet Martini is a soft, fragrant thing.

Substitutes

Cocchi Americano is the closest and, in old recipes, arguably more correct. Blanc vermouth (bianco) is sweeter and lacks the quinine but works in a pinch. Dry vermouth plus a dash of orange bitters gets the structure. Dubonnet Blanc is a cousin where you can find it. A white port is the furthest acceptable reach.

Storage

It is wine. Refrigerate after opening and use within a month; an unrefrigerated open bottle is noticeably tired in a week. Unopened it keeps for a few years in a cool, dark place but does not improve.

Questions

Is Lillet a vermouth? No. Vermouth must contain wormwood; Lillet is a quinquina, bittered with cinchona instead. They are used in similar ways.

What is Kina Lillet? The original, more bitter and sweeter formula, discontinued in 1986. Modern Lillet Blanc is the same product reformulated. For the old taste, use Cocchi Americano.

What goes in a Vesper? Fleming's recipe: three measures of gin, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet, shaken, with a lemon peel. With modern Lillet Blanc it is a softer drink than he intended.

Does Lillet go off? Yes. It is a wine at 17%, and an open bottle on the shelf oxidises. Keep it cold and drink it within weeks.