French 75 Recipe

Before you start

A French 75 is a gin sour finished with sparkling wine. The shaken base gives it structure, and the wine adds acidity, toast and a fine bead of bubbles. Some bartenders argue the drink should be made with cognac; early printed recipes vary, and both versions are worth making. This page uses gin, which gives a lighter, more floral glass.

The main decisions are proportion and temperature. Too much base and the drink is a flat gin sour with a fizzy top; too much wine and it tastes like Champagne with lemon. About 60 to 90 ml of a dry brut balances 60 ml of shaken base. Everything must be cold, including the wine and the flute, or the bubbles foam up and disappear before the first sip. Add the wine last and never shake it.

Ingredients

• 30 ml (1 oz) London dry gin
• 15 ml (½ oz) fresh lemon juice — strained
• 15 ml (½ oz) simple syrup (1:1)
• 60 to 90 ml (2 to 3 oz) brut Champagne or dry sparkling wine — well chilled, about 12% ABV
• 1 cup (about 150 g) ice cubes — for shaking
• 1 long strip lemon peel — for garnish

Method

1. Chill the flute in the freezer for 10 minutes, and keep the sparkling wine in the fridge until the moment you pour.
2. Add the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup to the shaker with ice. Shake for about 8 seconds; the base needs to be cold but not heavily diluted, because the wine will lengthen it.
3. Double-strain the base into the chilled flute. It should fill the glass about a third of the way.
4. Tilt the flute slightly and pour the sparkling wine slowly down the inside wall. Pause when the foam reaches the rim, let it settle, then top up.
5. Give one gentle lift with a bar spoon from the bottom to blend the base without knocking out the bubbles.
6. Twist the lemon peel over the glass to release its oils and lay it along the rim or curl it into the drink.

Tips for success

• Use a dry brut. Sweeter sparkling wines plus the syrup make the drink cloying.
• A Champagne stopper keeps the opened bottle lively in the fridge for a day or two, so you can make a second round later.
• If you prefer a drink over ice, build it in a Collins glass with cubes; it dilutes faster but stays colder in warm weather.

Substitutions

Gin

VS cognac gives a rounder, richer drink with a dried-fruit note. Keep the same measure and use a slightly drier wine to balance it.

Champagne

Crémant, cava or a dry prosecco all work. Prosecco is fruitier and softer, so cut the syrup to 10 ml.

Simple syrup

Superfine sugar dissolved in the lemon juice before shaking works fine. Honey syrup adds a floral sweetness but can dull the bubbles slightly.

Variations

Cognac 75

Replace the gin with cognac and garnish with an orange twist instead of lemon.

Elderflower 75

Replace half the syrup with 7 ml elderflower liqueur for a floral, slightly sweeter glass.

Troubleshooting

It foamed over the glass

The wine or glass was warm, or you poured too fast. Chill both thoroughly and pour down the side of a tilted flute in two stages.

The drink tastes flat

Stirring hard or shaking with the wine knocks out the carbonation. Add the wine last and blend with one gentle lift only.

It tastes like a sour with a splash of wine

Not enough wine for the base, or the base was over-diluted. Shake the base briefly and top with the full 90 ml.

Storage

Serve immediately; the bubbles fade within minutes. Pre-mix gin, lemon and syrup an hour or two before a party, keep it in the fridge, and shake and top each drink to order.

Safety notes

With 30 ml of gin and up to 90 ml of 12% sparkling wine, one glass is about 1.3 U.S. standard drinks (a standard drink is roughly 14 g of alcohol). Serve only to adults of legal drinking age, and do not drive after drinking.