French 75: Make the Best and Easy Champagne and Gin Cocktail

You may not know it yet, but the French 75 is your new favourite cocktail. It is a classic champagne and gin cocktail that ticks all the boxes. Here is our take on it.

But, What Does French 75 Refer to?

The origin of this classic cocktail, according to "Le Larousse des cocktails", goes back to the year 1925. Like many other cocktails, the B-52 or the Depth Bomb. It borrowed its name from the military semantic field.

During World War I, the French army featured a 75 mm field gun that became famously known for its light weight: the French 75.

The canon was widely used and, over the years, many variations were created and tuned for several situations and scenarios.

Alright, back to our drink now! The recipe was actually based on another cocktail named "75 Cocktail" which did not contain champagne, but Calvados. A very strong drink if you ask me! We had to wait for Harry McElhone, owner of the Harry's Bar in Paris, to frenchify and rebaptise this classic champagne cocktail to what we now know as French 75.

An Easy Cocktail Ready for All Terrains!

Not unlike their eponymous pieces of weaponry, the French 75's are very popular and inspired many named or unnamed variations. Notably, you can substitute the gin with vodka and BOOM! You get a Diamond Fizz!

In the same vein, the recipe we're sharing here is a variation. We shake instead of stirring; we ditched the sugar cane in favour of honey; we ate the cherry and used a lemon twist!

Unfortunately, I haven't found a good alcohol-free alternative for this cocktail recipe. The best I can think of is replacing the gin and the champagne with their alcohol-removed equivalents. Please reach out to my mailbox if you have a worth-trying solution to this problem :). Otherwise, take a look at our non-alcoholic collection of drinks for additional options.

Honey Syrup

Have you ever tried using honey to sweeten a cold beverage? If so, you've likely noticed that it doesn't work very well. You just end up with clumps of honey sitting at the bottom of your glass... And don't get me started on having to clean it up!

The solution is honey syrup, also known as simple syrup. No need to buy it! All you need is honey and water. That's it! Simply add water and honey in equal proportions into a small sauce pan and gently stir it over low-medium heat. When you get a homogeneous solution (about 5-6 min is plenty), you know it's done. No need to bring to a boil.

Once you get the right consistency, let the syrup cool down before using it. If you are planning to make many French 75s then make enough honey syrup in advance and put it in the fridge.

Also, making this syrup at home gives you a great tool to control its sweetness and, therefore, the sweetness of your cocktail. This allows you to use a dry gin and a dry champagne which you can use in other drink recipes

Make the French 75 yours

It's a general rule when it comes to cocktails but it's worth saying here: feel free to play with the proportions and adjust it to your own taste! Our recipe below, as well as the original recipe, used lemon juice. But you can also use different kinds of oranges, or maybe grapefruits? I'm a sucker for a nice brut champagne but you can make this sweet gin cocktail more budget friendly by using a well chosen sparkling wine (or even non sparkling) white wine.

I'm actually going to give it a go with a sparkling red. If you try it before I do, please leave me a comment at the bottom of this page.

And there you have it! The French 75 is a bubbly cocktail, the perfect companion for any special occasion or as an afternoon apéritif. An what a sight to see!!!

What I love about this cocktail, besides its simplicity, is its gorgeous colour that makes you feel like a million dollars at no additional cost :)

Make sure to serve in a frozen champagne flute or a chilled cocktail glass and let the French 75 become your and your guests' favorite drink. Don't wait until next new year's eve.

Santé!