\"A dry martini,\" [Bond] said. \"One. In a deep champagne goblet.\"\n\n    \"Oui, monsieur.\"\n\n    \"Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?\"\n\n    \"Certainly, monsieur.\" The barman seemed pleased with the idea.\n\n    \"Gosh, that's certainly a drink,\" said Leiter.\n\n    Bond laughed. \"When I'm...er...concentrating,\" he explained, \"I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I can think of a good name.\"\n\n    --Ian Fleming, Casino Royale \n\nPlaces everyone!  Cue lights, music. Roll cameras!  Mark!  Action!  After a brilliant birthday dinner at The Barrymore, we gravitated like a magnet to this bar.  Not as dramatic in ambiance as The Chandelier with all its bedazzled finery, the Vespar Bar is a bit more discreet with a clientele a little older, more mature, more sophisticated.  Well, maybe I speak for myself.  There's a swankiness here that cannot be explained but only experienced.  Perhaps the name Vesper is meant to be a refrained whisper that sounds more intriguing each pass of the lips.  \n\nThe signature drinks here are phenomenal and brink on legendary.  Case in point being their Hot Mule (Hanger One Spiced Pear, Housemade Ginger Syrup, Lemon, Angostura, Ginger Beer & Mint).  So best to order up, not down.  Explore the liquid artistry of the mixologists and challenge them to create a masterpiece rather than paint by numbers and pop open a can.  Faux pas is wearing Manolo and ordering Grey Goose with a can of energy you could easily buy at 7-11.  All dressed up and still ordering like a kid.  Our mixologists shakes his head and says to us, \"Wide awake and drunk.\"  No Manolo could class that drink up.  \n\nOooh Vesper, is that you at the corner bar stool?  Your platinum blonde hair, your deep blue lagoon eyes, luscious lips and hourglass je ne sais quoi.  Nope, just a very high end \"professional companion\" going for about $350/hour. \"I'm afraid I'm a complicated woman,\" is what Vesper Lynd said in \"Casino Royal\".  Oh, I have no doubt.   Just another actor on the stage of life, entertaining those still sober to care, sipping a crafty cocktail (or three or four) and taking in the scene.  No less, a great place to call it a wrap.\n\nHappy 2012!