I am a lover of almost ALL classic cocktails, but one of my favorites is a French 75. Whenever I see it on a menu at a restaurant or bar, I order it. It’s so refreshing and surprisingly smooth.

The origin of this cocktail dates back to the early 1900s during World War I. It was named after the French 75-millimeter light field gun because they thought the cocktail packed such a powerful punch, just like the gun.

The recipe has changed a bit over the last hundred years, but there is a standard recipe that people use today. The base spirit of the cocktail is gin, but it also involves a dry sparkling wine. You may be thinking that would make for a pretty boozy cocktail, but it is actually quite refreshing! Be careful though, these drinks do have a tendency to sneak up on you.

The French 75

Print Recipe

Course Drinks

Servings 1 drink

Ingredients

1½ oz gin
¾ oz simple syrup
1 oz lemon juice
3 oz prosecco or a dry sparkling wine
lemon peel for garnish

Instructions

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
Combine the gin, simple syrup and lemon juice in the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for one minute.
Pour the mixture from the cocktail shaker into a coupe glass or champagne flute.
Fill the rest of the glass with your sparkling wine/prosecco. This is usually about 3 ounces of liquid.
Optional: Garnish with a lemon peel.