063 – Kir Royale

A post Sydney Covid ‘lock-down’ exploration of the ‘Kir Royal’ cocktail.

Exploring this famous World War Two cocktail. Re-made as a celebration of the end of 105-days of the Covid-19 delta-strain, second-wave lock-down in Sydney Australia. Also a chance to take a look at the incredible and inspirational life of Canon Félix Kir, the cocktail’s WWII creator.

Make your own ‘mix-at-home’ #Locktail the ‘Kir Royale’.

METHOD – Build in a Champagne Flute, using 20ml of high-quality Crème de Cassis, and then 120ml of very cold, dry (Brut) and high-quality French Champagne, poured slowly.

HISTORICAL NOTES – The combination of Crème de Cassis with white wine, existed as the ‘Cassis Blanc’ from 1904, and possibly earlier, most likely invented by a waiter at a café in Paris.

However the ‘Kir’ and ‘Kir Royale’ name, owe their origin to Canon Félix Kir (1876–1968). Kir was ordained as a Catholic Priest in 1901 and then conscripted into the French Army at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. After the War, Kir returned to the Church, fostering an interest in agriculture, wine and politics. When the German Army approached Dijon in June 1940, he was appointed to head the municipal council in place of the Mayor who had fled ahead of the German arrival.

Kir was instrumental in helping over 5,000 prisoners of war escape from a Camp at Longvic, for which he was arrested and tried by the German Military Court and sentenced to death, fortunately released by a subsequent inquiry. He continued to aid the French Resistance and was again arrested in 1943, charged with aiding people in their escape to England, and was somehow again released. In January 1944 he was shot in the arm and leg by militia who had forced their way into his home, recovering and then returning to Dijon in September 1944 with the liberating army, riding on one of the first allied tanks into Dijon.

It is suggested, although hard to confirm, that during the occupation with the Nazi’s confiscating Burgundy’s famous red wines, that Canon Kir combined Crème de Cassis with Aligoté, the regions available dry white wine, to mimic the colour of the region’s red wine. In a morale boosting effort, he declared it the official drink of Dijon’s City Hall.

At the end of World War Two, Canon Félix Kir was made a knight of the Légion d’honneur and elected Mayor of Dijon and was also elected to the French National Assembly. He would win re-election as Mayor on four occasions, remaining Mayor of Dijon for 23-years, until his death in 1968, aged 92.

Kir was a strong supporter of the ‘twin town’ movement, for which he was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 and 1961. When delegations from other countries would visit Dijon (including Dallas, USA, and Volgograd, USSR), he would serve them the Kir Cocktail, simultaneously promoting two products from the region. In 1951, the Crème de Cassis brand, Lejay-Lagoute, asked the Mayor if they could use his name, ‘Kir’ to actively promote the cocktail, to which he formally agreed, and Lejay-Lagoute patented the ‘Kir’ cocktail in 1952.

This liqueur exclusivity has been challenged several times, and was re-confirmed by the ‘Cour de Cassation’ (the French Supreme Court) in 1992, after which Lejay-Lagoute added the ‘Kir Royal’ trademark registration.

THE OFFICIAL MIX – The ‘KIR’ cocktail appears in the International Bartender Association’s (IBA) ‘Contemporary Classics’ listing, here. The recipe calls for 10ml Crème de Cassis and 90ml of dry White Wine, made in the glass with no garnish. The IBA also includes the ‘KIR Royale’ option, using Champagne instead of White Wine.

TASTING NOTES – Crème de Cassis is a sweet blackcurrant liqueur that matches extremely well with the dryness and acidity of white wine or Champagne, the dryer the better. With Champagne, choose a ‘Brut’ (Dry) Champagne, as they must have less than 12gm of residual sugar per litre, or even drier with an Extra Brut (<6gm/l) or Brut Nature (<3gm/l). This is probably one of the most elegant Champagne Cocktails and the flavours work well together, a great way to introduce Champagne to people who are not generally Champagne fans. It is important to use good quality ingredients with both the Champagne and the Crème de Cassis.

LOCKTAIL CHANGES – The earlier (1950’s) mixes generally had more Crème de Cassis, with ratios of 5:1 and even down to 3:1 Champagne to Crème de Cassis, often seen as over-sweet and syrupy. Strangely the IBA recipe is 9:1, an uncommonly frugal amount of Crème de Cassis. Most contemporary recipes seem to be in the 6:1 range, and that seems to be the best combination in my opinion, so I am sticking with that, at a reasonably generous 140ml total pour.

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 third cocktail from the 1951-1960 bracket of ‘Locktail’ remixes. Full list in the index.