French 75
I saw a few tweets today about the French 75, which reminded me that although I have read about it many times, I never tried one. I would imagine that happens a lot with guys and cocktails involving champagne. It’s maybe not the manliest ingredient out there, but then again, a drink named after a cannon couldn’t be that wimpy.
So just what’s in this thing anyway?
- 2 oz gin (Martin Miller’s)
- 1 oz fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp simple syrup (or 2 tsp superfine sugar)
- 1 oz Champagne (Toques & Clochers Sparkling Wine)
- Lemon twist
How to make it:
- Add the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup (or sugar) to an iced cocktail shaker and shake vigorously until a frost develops on the shaker.
- Strain into a champagne flute
- Top with champagne and garnish with the lemon twist.
- Enjoy
The flavors of the French 75 are delightful. For something that’s mostly booze, it’s still light and refreshing. The Martin Miller’s flavor profile meshes nicely with citrus and the sparkling wine–not too junipery, but not “wet” either.
If you enjoy sparking wine, you will likely enjoy this classic cocktail tremendously.
Aloha,
Josh
Inu A Kena 
Oh, bollocks to that. Sparkling wine is lovely. I don’t care what people say or think. :p
Indeed. You’ve got the right attitude! I tend not to make a lot of champagne drinks because I often end up wasting most of the bottle. What I have taken to now is buying little mini sparkling wine bottles. They’re cheap and just the right size for a few cocktails. Aloha
Very true – I don’t make them at all myself. I just make sure to partake in a bottle of the fizz whenever it is offered. :p
McCormick and Smick’s (Anaheim, Ca.) makes a great 75 using Prosecco and Hendrick’s. Some recipes call for cognac which imho is a more flavorful cocktail.
Cheers, David,La Mirada, Ca.
At GW Fins in New Orleans, they use citrus vodka, simple syrup, and lemon juice, shaken with ice and then topped with Champagne. A wonderful lively French 75
nice post
After a lot of experimenting I found that calvados makes the best French 75. I use Berneroy VSOP but there’s probably better ones out there. I bought it to make an angel face which I found an disappointing cocktail then I found out it makes an excellent French 75 by accident. I tried it because I heard it was one of the things that used to be a common base for it before cognac became the most common choice.