The French 75

One of my favorite champagne cocktails is the French 75. If you’ve been following my cocktail posts, this should come as no surprise because it’s also a gin-based cocktail with a lot of tartness.

Let’s go to my trusty 1969 Old Mr. Boston De Luxe Official Bartender’s Guide for the recipe.

The OMB French 75
Juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 oz OMB dry gin
Champagne

In a 12 oz Tom Collins glass, stir together the lemon juice and powdered sugar. Add one ice cube, and gin. Fill the glass with champagne. Stir gently. Decorate with a slice of lemon, orange, and a cherry, serve with straws.

I wanted to make this drink look a little more fancy in the spirit of Oscar night, so I switched it up and used my favorite sparkly martini glass. To make the cocktail cold, but cleaner looking, I used a cocktail shaker. Here was my process:

Untwisted French 75
Place the juice of one lemon, 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, and 2 oz. gin in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake, shake, shake.  Poor into a martini glass. Top with champagne and carefully stir. Garnish with a slice of lemon.

This is a very, very tart cocktail, especially if your champagne is dry.  I would suggest starting with half a lemon.

Cheers!