“The Hildebrand Rarity”

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“Bond estimated that by now Mr. Krest had just about one whole bottle of various alcohols, mostly whisky, inside him.”

Published:

• Playboy, March, 1960.
• Part of For Your Eyes Only, 1960.

Overview: In one of Ian Fleming’s most evocative short stories, James Bond tags along on an expedition to capture a rare tropical fish in the Seychelles Islands. After a very ugly American meets a fishy fate, Bond gets to play “cleaner.”

What does Bond drink?

• As they head for the Wavekrest, Fidèle Barbey tells Bond about the ship’s many amenities, including “the best after-breakfast bottle of champagne since the last time I saw Paris.”
• After they make a circuit around Chagrin Island in search of the fish (the eponymous Hildebrand Rarity), Fidèle Barbey tells Bond he’s ready for a drink and something to eat. The two men go ashore and have chicken salad sandwiches and cold beer (from a cooler).
• That night, after killing and capturing the fish, Krest suggests the party have caviar (a two-pound tin from Hammacher Schlemmer, grade ten-shot with all the trimmings) and pink champagne. When asked if that suits him, Bond replies “Sounds like a square meal.” While it’s almost certain that Bond drinks much more during the various meals on the ship, it would seem Fleming was drawing a deliberate contrast between 007’s clearheadedness and Krest’s heavy drinking.

Other people’s drinks:

• The Wavekrest has a sideboard “laden with drinks.”
• Mrs. Krest offers Bond a drink, but Milton Krest immediately steps in and takes charge. He instead suggests that Bond (who had introduced himself as a civil servant) help Liz fix the canapés for pre-lunch drinks.
• The well deck has a serving bar in one corner, leading Bond to surmise that Krest is a heavy drinker.
• As he shows Bond around his ship, Krest mentions that it “Carries enough frozen food and liquor for a month.”
• Before lunch, Krest has three double bullshots (vodka in iced consommé). He then drinks beer with his meal.
• During his final dinner, Krest gets very drunk. At one point, he knocks a glass off the table. Bond estimates that Krest has drank an entire bottle of alcohol (mostly whisky).
• In the middle of the night, Krest comes outside to sleep on a hammock on the boat deck. He keeps Bond awake with “those deep, rattling, utterly lost snores that come from big blue sleeping pills on top of too much alcohol.”
• When Bond dumps Krest’s body into the Indian Ocean, it gives off a “sickening fume of stale whisky.”

Total: Two. At least one beer, and it’s implied that 007 has at least one glass of pink champagne.