What is the most romantic cocktail? It depends on your taste, and we all have a type. For us, we consider a nearly 110-year-old, 4-ingredient, pre-prohibition cocktail with champagne, gin, sugar, and lemon to be the most romantic cocktail to serve up in this season of romance and intimacy.
The Most Romantic Pre-Prohibition Cocktail
Part of the romance of the French 75 comes from its simplicity. True cocktail romance lies in the elegance that stripping down a beautiful cocktail to its core elements creates, resulting in a wonderfully light flavor profile and satisfying mouthfeel. The combination of gin, champagne, lemon juice, and sugar creates a sultry balance of tart and sweet with a light bubbly texture. The short ingredient list also means it’s incredibly easy to make for a quiet date night at home.
Part of why the French 75 feels so romantic is in part due to the notion that French equals Romance – not an untrue suggestion. The French simply refer to this cocktail as Soixante Quinze. But, the name ‘French 75’, although romantic-sounding and fun to order at a bar, has its origins in warfare.
The inspiration for the title of the French 75 was a 75 mm Howitzer field gun (the Canon de 75 Modèle 1897) used by French forces in the first World War. This gun was known for its speed and accuracy, qualities shared by the gin and champagne cocktail, and as such, the French 75 is known for having a bit of a kick that hits you in just the right way.
To create the French 75, we used our Jos. A. Magnus Vigilant District Dry Gin, a London-style bold gin meant to be cocktail-forward, and fresh and spicy with an upfront palette of tart flavors, including juniper, marionberry, and finished with bright hints of grapefruit and orange. Serve this bubbly cocktail in tall, elegant champagne glasses and with a twist of lemon peel to complete your French 75 experience.
French 75
- 1.5 oz Joseph Magnus Vigilant District Dry Gin
- .5 oz fresh lemon juice
- .75 oz simple syrup or a cube of sugar
- 3 oz chilled champagne
- Lemon twist, garnish
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup (or sugar cube). Shake vigorously until well chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain the liquid into a champagne glass and top with Champagne.
Take a lemon slice and cut off the lemon rind so that you have one long continuous strip of lemon peel. Twist your lemon peel into a tight curl and hold it for a few seconds to retain the shape. Garnish your glass with the lemon twist.
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