029 – French 75

Sydney Covid ‘lock-down’ exploration of the ‘French 75’ cocktail.

Lockdown has inspired me to explore this famous cocktail. Let’s take a look at the classic ‘French 75’ cocktail, and explore some of the cocktail’s history and construction, and how to make your own at home.

Make your own ‘mix-at-home’ Locktail, the ‘French 75’.

METHOD – Add 30ml Gin, 15ml freshly squeezed lemon juice, and 15ml of home-made sugar syrup (using 2-parts sugar to 1-part water) into a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice. Shake until cold (10-15 seconds) and strain into a chilled champagne flute. Top up the flute with Brut Champagne, usually between 60 and 90ml of Champagne. Option to garnish with a lemon peel spiral.

HISTORICAL NOTES – Champagne Cups were common early cocktails in the 1800’s, including many in books like William Terrington’s, ‘Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks’ in 1869, which I have just started reading. Many of these entertaining drinks, usually for multiple people (parties) included Champagne, sugar, lemon juice and ice. Some already had Gin added to create drinks very similar to the more contemporary ‘French 75’. Hopefully we all get to experience ‘parties’ again soon.

The name started to appear as the ’75’ in Harry MacElhone’s 1922 edition of ‘Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails’, and his attribution as the creator of the cocktail is supported in other publications of the time. The problem is, this is a different cocktail containing Calvados, Grenadine and Absinthe. In France the cocktail is still just called a ’75’, or rather a ‘soixante quinze’.

It wasn’t until the 1927 publication ‘Here’s How’ by Judge Jr, that the currently accepted recipe appears matched with the name ‘French 75‘. It also appears in Harry Craddock’s 1930, ‘The Savoy Cocktail Book’, which is the most definitive tome of the Prohibition (1920–1933) period and earlier.

It is generally agreed that this particular form of the earlier ‘Champagne Cup’, was named in honour of the French M1987 ’75mm’ Light Field Gun, which was a major piece of artillery (canon) used in World War One (1915–1918). Created it is believed by Scottish Bartender Harry MacElhone, working in the New York Bar in Paris, France.

The ‘French 75’ status as an iconic cocktail was certainly helped by its appearance in the 1942 film ‘Casablanca’, somewhat ironically during yet another World War.

THE OFFICIAL MIX – The ‘French 75’ is on the International Bartender Association’s (IBA) ‘Contemporary Classics’ list, here. The recipe calls for 30ml Gin, 15ml Sugar Syrup and 15ml fresh lemon juice, shaken with ice and then strained into a champagne flute and topped up with 60ml of Champagne. No garnish.

TASTING NOTES – So what variant of the ‘French 75’ is almost the first question to ask?

In the French 75 ‘Lock-tail’ re-discovery, Lyle, Jodie and I tried all five of the above. The 1915 first from the Washington Herald in 1915 (one-third Gin, one-third applejack (replaced with Calvados), one-third Grenadine and a dash of lemon juice with no Champagne). The second is the 1926 Harry MacElhone recipe in ‘Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails’ (one-teaspoon grenadine, two-dashes absinthe, two-thirds calvados and one-third gin). The third is from Judge Jr.’s ‘Here’s How (Second Impression)’ (2-jiggers Gin, 1-part lemon juice, a spoon-full of sugar and top-up glass with Champagne) – pretty close to the currently accepted ‘French 75’ recipe. The fourth is my recipe above, which is also a contemporary recipe, based on Harry Craddock’s recipe from the 1930 ‘The Savoy Cocktail Book’, but using syrup instead of crystal sugar. The final (5th) version is a 2017 recipe from Simon Difford (on his site, here) with Cognac and many of the other ingredients along the journey to really represent the 75mm Canon – and a ‘big hit’. To be honest we all preferred No.4, the most contemporary mix and Harry Craddock’s version, followed by the completely different 1915 ‘Washington Post’ mix from journalist Frank Leōn Smith.

The main flavour for the modern version is your Champagne of choice, and it should be ‘dry’ (aka ‘Brut’) as you are adding sugar. The lemon strengthens the Champagne flavour and the sugar softens it. Then the Gin, and this should be Juniper-strong ‘heavy hitter’, gives the French 75 it’s ‘Canon’s’ hit.

F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said, “If you have a French 75 you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.” It is could just as easily have been called a ‘sniper’ in my opinion, because it is a ‘sneak attack’, by a very well disguised but potent drink.

LOCKTAIL CHANGES – I haven’t touched this classic, at least in it’s more established form. I am keen however to try Harry MacElhone’s 1915 version with Calvados, Grenadine and Absinthe.

As for the mix, it is your choice of Gin and Champagne. I have gone with West Winds, The Cutlass from Western Australia, a highly awarded and quality Gin that works incredibly well with the Moët Brut, which was thankfully given to us by a friend. This is best with good quality Champagne if you can stretch to buying one for a mixed drink.

YOUR LOCKTAIL EXPERIENCE – If you’d rather taste than read, I am progressively building an ingredient list and other sourcing information on this site. I will re-use ingredients where I can (good for my budget too), so that the cost goes down overtime if you are ‘playing at home’.

Let me know what you think.

Cocktails you’d like reinvented.

Recipes you’ve tried and your ‘score’.

This is the ninth of the 1911-1920 bracket of ‘Locktail’ remixes. See the full list in the index.