David Wondrich in a recent article from Liquor.com reflects on the origins of the celebrated cocktail French 75. Apparently it is hard to provide precise origins for this drink.
French 75, is-it mixed with gin or cognac? In fact, one can find both variations to be used with lemon, sugar, ice and Champagne. This is a perfect summer cocktail that everyone can do and every bartenders must know. Who said cognac is only for winter?
In the USA, The French 75 was known during the Prohibition as the bootlegger easy mix. A great deal of gins was produced during that period in bath tub I was told and they were not the best boutique kind so mixing it was a must.
David Wondrich mentions that "from there, it got picked up by the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, and once it was in there, it was everywhere. The elixir has the distinction of being the only classic born in America during the dry period. Indeed, the combination of gin and Champagne was a popular one with gents of a certain class. According to their contemporaries, it was a favorite of Queen Victoria’s son, the Prince of Wales, and also Kalakaua, the sporty type who was king of Hawaii. The combination of cognac and Champagne was just as well-known, if not more so; as the “King’s Peg,” it was a standard served in the eastern parts of the British Empire."
I believe it is acceptable to sacrifice a cognac VS with some 'real' bubbly champagne to trade up the gins.
Source: liquor.com
No comments:
Post a Comment