This is the fifty-third entry in this cocktail recipe series, which means we’ve been running “It’s Friday … Have a Drink” for one year, now. Happy birthday to us!
This cocktail, along with the venerable Champagne Cocktail and the recently recovered Seelbach, sits at the top of the list of classic drinks made with sparkling wine. It’s essentially a gin fizz made with champagne instead of club soda, but there’s nothing wrong with that!
The drink is named after the famous French 75 mm field guns used extensively in World War I. I can only assume it got its name because like those guns it packs a substantial wallop. Two full ounces of 90-proof gin on top of a glass of sparkling wine is not a lightweight drink!
As with most citrus drinks, I tend to go light on the juice. I think it makes for a more elegant cocktail. If the recipe below isn’t tangy enough for you, then feel free to drop another quarter ounce in.
French 75 Cocktail Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 oz London Dry Gin (Bombay Sapphire)
- .5 oz 1:1 Simple Syrup
- .25 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- Sparkling Wine
- 1 Lemon Twist
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a chilled champagne coupe and stir thoroughly.
- Top with sparkling wine, stirring gently.
- Garnish with a lemon twist.
This article is a modified and enhanced version of a post that ran on my nightly cocktail blog, DrinkShouts. Liquors in parentheses are what I used when I made this recipe, and are included as suggestions.
