When Fleming sent Bond to Jamaica, he gave him the island’s beer. Red Stripe Jamaican Lager is a 4.7% pale lager, brewed by Desnoes & Geddes in Jamaica and the Netherlands, which makes the Red Stripe lager the beer of Fleming’s Jamaica. It comes in a short brown bottle with a painted label.
In the books and the film
In The Man with the Golden Gun, Bond drinks Red Stripe at the Dreamland Café while hunting Francisco Scaramanga. In the novel Dr. No it is Quarrel who has the Red Stripe at Puss Feller’s bar, while Bond has a gin and tonic. The Dr. No film repeats the moment: Quarrel, played by John Kitzmiller, drinks a Red Stripe when Bond enters, and cases are stacked in the storage room. Photographs are also said to show Sean Connery, Ursula Andress and Fleming drinking it on location.
Drinking it now
Drink it straight from the bottle, very cold, with something salty. It is a light, golden lager with light carbonation, which suits a warm evening better than a long dinner. Total Wine, a US retailer, lists imported bottles from Jamaica, and a six-pack of 11oz bottles was US$10.99 at the time of writing, October 2026; stores vary.
Specifications
| Style | Pale lager |
|---|---|
| Strength | 4.7% ABV |
| Brewer | Desnoes & Geddes, Jamaica |
| Bottle | Short brown glass, painted label |
| Pack | Six-pack of 11oz bottles (US$10.99 at Total Wine, October 2026) |
The brewer’s own site is redstripebeer.com.
More drinks and food are in Food & Drink; the screen Bonds are on the Bonds page, and every title is listed under Films.
