The holidays are once again upon us so it’s an appropriate time to get your festive on.
The first time I ever had a French 75 was Christmas Eve a few years ago. The effervescence of the Champagne really opened up the juniper pine notes of the gin and the drink just smelled of Christmas. A good friend was behind the bar and was determined to make sure we were all as mirthful as possible – mission accomplished.
You can make a French 75 with either gin or Cognac, both are correct and both are delicious.
Here’s the recipe because we’re not the kind of place to force you to read seven unrelated paragraphs.
- 2 oz. gin or Cognac
- 1 oz. lemon juice
- 3/4 oz. simple syrup
- chilled Champagne
Shake gin or Cognac, lemon juice, and simple syrup with ice, strain into flute and top with champagne. Garnish with a twist of lemon.
For serving several in one go Epicurious has a wonderful recipe to make these by the pitcher full.
- 1 cup gin or cognac
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup simple syrup
- Chilled Champagne
Stir 1 cup gin or cognac, 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, and 1/2 cup simple syrup with ice in a pitcher for 10 seconds. Strain into Champagne flutes. Top with chilled Champagne. Garnish with lemon twists.
Harry’s New York Bar in Paris is considered the birthplace of the French 75, and a recipe for the drink in its current form was published in Harry Craddock’s (different Harry) The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930. The Savoy Cocktail Book is an excellent resource, and is still in print; you can get it from Amazon.
The drink hit its popularity in New York City’s Stork Club – a bastion of NYC Café Society. So make yourself a drink or several and enjoy the holidays in style.
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