The French 75

Fancy a celebration? I think we could all do with a little bit of excitement in our lives right now. Even if you are doing  Sober October don’t feel left out as we have an alcohol free recipe for you too!

Before we get mixing and drinking here is some history about the cocktail.

The History

The true history of the cocktail is a bit mixed up, forgive the pun, but you can find its true origins in The Savoy Cocktail book (1930).

It was believed thatScot, Harry MacElhone, owner of the Harry’s American Bar in Paris, named the cocktail after the 75mm Howitzer field gun used in World War 1 by the French army. Apparently the kick from the cocktail was like being hit by the gun! Although he never claimed the drink was his own and credited that to Macgarry of Buck’s Club in London.

The history of the drink can be traced back even further to 1867 when Charles Dickens used to give callers to his home cups of gin and Champagne. No matter how far back you trace the cocktail the aforementioned Savoy Cocktail Book led to its popularisation around the world and bagged a feature in the film Casablanca.

The Cocktail

As I mentioned earlier we will be featuring two versions of this cocktail, alcoholic and non alcoholic so it’s approachable for everyone, the ingredients needed can be purchased on our website and it can be easily made at home.

How to make the alcoholic version:

• 50 ml gin (we recommend Hemming's)
• 15 ml lemon juice 
• 10 ml sugar syrup (see below to make)
• Topped with prosecco (we recommend Millage DOC Brut Prosecco)

Shake gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a flute. Then simply top with prosecco, feel free to add a lemon twist garnish if you are feeling fancy!

How to make the non alcoholic version with a rhubarb twist:

• 50 ml non-alcoholic rhubarb spirit (we recommend V.I.B.E Rhubarb)
• 15 ml lemon juice
• 10 ml sugar syrup (see below to make)
• Topped with alcohol free sparkling wine (we recommend V.I.B.E Sparkling Wine)

Exactly the same as the method of the alcoholic cocktail. Shake Rhubarb Spirit, lemon juice and sugar syrup with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a flute. Then simply top with alcohol free sparkling wine, feel free to add a lemon twist garnish if you are feeling fancy!

For the sugar syrup:

STEP 1
Dissolve 300g caster sugar in 150ml water over a low heat.
STEP 2
Leave to cool and bottle for future use in cocktails. Store in the fridge.

Cheers!