The French 75

I’ve always thought of the French 75 as an elegant cocktail. It is served in a champagne flute and is topped off with bubbly. As elegant as it looks, however, this is a drink that also packs a bit of a punch. The French 75 is named after the French 75mm field gun – which was often simply called the French 75 during WW1, where it was the most powerful anti-personnel weapon system in use.

The punch in the cocktail comes from gin and lemon juice, giving the drink a higher alcoholic content than champagne alone and a burst of fresh citrus. Some people add only a drop of simple syrup to maximize the brightness of the lemon juice, but I like to make mine a little sweeter to tone done the lemon’s acidity and make the whole drink smoother.

Glassware: Champagne Flute
Method: Shake

Ingredients
1 oz. Gin
1 oz. Lemon Juice
1 oz. Simple Syrup
Chilled Champagne

Pour the gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup into an ice filled shaker. Shake and strain into a chilled champagne flute. Fill with champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.

Other popular classic cocktails on Barmansjournal.com
The Old Fashioned
Bee’s Knees
The Sazerac