The Spy Bar’s Volume III cocktail list, housed inside the historic Old War Office, pays tribute to legendary figures such as Nancy Wake and Ian Fleming’s literary backstory through 12 signature serves.
There is the story of the spy most wanted by the Gestapo, the green ink used by the head of MI6, and the red signals deployed during the Cold War. Two drinks inspired by Ian Fleming also make an appearance—far removed from the Vesper, yet equally worthy of attention.
Volume III: The New Cocktail List at London’s Spy Bar
The Spy Bar sits in London, inside the lavish Raffles London at The OWO, with OWO standing for Old War Office—the building that once housed the British department responsible for the armed forces. In some of its underground rooms were the offices of the intelligence services, MI5 and MI6. It is within these very walls that the Spy Bar now operates.
The setting naturally dictates the theme of its cocktail programme: espionage is unavoidable. That part is easy. The real challenge lies in uncovering fresh stories each time and ensuring they genuinely connect with the drinks themselves, rather than serving as decorative storytelling detached from ingredients and recipe construction.
Bar manager Sotirios Konomi has ensured that Volume III, the Spy Bar’s third menu, delivers both coherence and substance. Twelve cocktails inspired by secrets, intrigue and double agents, all rooted in the venue’s location and the legacy it carries.
Cocktails and Spy Stories
The beating heart of Volume III remains consistent with the previous two editions: revisiting classics through unexpected twists, while drawing inspiration from the hidden stories of the OWO and the wider intelligence world.
One example is the remarkable story of Nancy Wake, nicknamed The White Mouse. During World War II, she earned the dubious distinction of becoming the Gestapo’s most wanted female spy. Steel-nerved and capable of holding her drink better than almost anyone, Wake concealed secret documents in her handbag, powdered her nose, adopted the air of a distracted socialite and glided through Nazi checkpoints with astonishing ease. When necessary, she would even offer soldiers a shot to soften them up. The cocktail created in her honour, The White Mouse, combines gin, basil pesto, peach wine, cardamom and lime juice.
Then there is The C, a vivid green cocktail made with vodka, sake, soursop, kaffir lime and soda. The colour references the ink Mansfield Cumming used to sign documents. Cumming was the first head of MI6 and, according to the Spy Bar team, the chief of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency still signs with a green “C” to this day.
Another highlight is Red Signal, an explicit nod to a Cold War communication tactic. The practice involved wearing a red tie or leaving a red mark on a specific column to signal that sensitive information had been successfully delivered. At the Spy Bar, the drink takes shape with whiskey, rum, sweet vermouth, beetroot and oat cream.
These are just three examples from Volume III. Two more turn to Ian Fleming.
Ian Fleming’s Legacy in Two New Signature Cocktails
Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, worked in British Naval Intelligence during World War II—an experience that would later shape the adventures of agent 007.
It is easy to understand why the Vesper Martini holds a permanent place at the Spy Bar. Volume III expands that universe with two additional cocktails inspired by Fleming’s fiction.
The first is Room 055, named after the Ministry of War office where Fleming worked. Its alcoholic backbone combines bourbon with coffee leaf distillate, echoing a mixture described in For Your Eyes Only, when James Bond comes across a flask of “Black Fire”—three parts bourbon to one part black coffee.
The second, Code 7777, draws from the plot of You Only Live Twice. In the novel, Bond is stripped of his 007 status and sent to Japan under the new numerical identity 7777. There he befriends the head of Japanese intelligence, an avid admirer of local whisky. Appropriately, Code 7777 takes the form of a highball made with Japanese whisky, tea, fig leaf soda and toasted rice syrup.
Photo courtesy The Spy Bar
