French 75
Recipe and name first printed in Judge Jr.'s Here's How, 1927
The French 75 is gin, fresh lemon and a little sugar, shaken cold, strained into a flute and topped with dry Champagne. The gin adds botanical backbone, lemon keeps it bright and the Champagne carries it all on fine bubbles. It is strong, festive and easy to make for a crowd, which makes it New Year's Eve's drink.
- GlassFlute
- MethodShaken
- Ingredients4
Directions
- Shake the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup with ice.
- Strain into a flute.
- Top with Champagne.
ToolsJiggerShakerHawthorne strainerFlute glass
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Harry MacElhone printed a drink called the "75" in 1922, made with Calvados, gin, grenadine and absinthe. The modern recipe of gin, lemon, sugar and Champagne, and the name French 75, appeared in Judge Jr.'s 1927 book Here's How. The 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book republished it and made it famous.
Making a batch? Scale it for a crowd, add dilution water, and see how many bottles to buy.
What you'll need to buy
Based on 750ml bottles (25.4 oz), rounded up.
Bottle math, generally
Batching dilution
When you batch, there's no ice melting in a shaker, so you add the water yourself: 18% for spirit-forward drinks, 25% for shaken ones.
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