dinner party "french theme" need cocktail

[shantytownbrown]

was invited to a dinner party first time for us at a "dinner club"....

we were invited late and all courses are spoken for, so I would like to bring a cocktail...

something i can mix up (for the most part) ahead of time and something that will serve around 20 folks...needs to have a french origin in some way...

any good variations on a french 75 you can think of? something more creative? something with a good story...?

definetly want something in the "classic" side or some variiation there of...

figured i could pick your brains...

party is in 10 days

thanks in advance

shanty

[Chris Amirault]

What are the apps? I'm thinking about Wondrich's Weeski or a few others with Lillet, but the pairings matter.

[KatieLoeb]

any good variations on a french 75 you can think of? something more creative? something with a good story...?

There's THIS variation with St. Germain I made a few months ago. It was tasty and well received.

How about French Martinis with Lillet and an orange twist (not that abomination with Chambord and pineapple juice some folks call a French Martini. I don't even know where that came from...)? You could be creative with flavored vodka like orange or grapefruit to be a bit different. Finlandia Grapefruit fusion is delicious and everything tastes better with Lillet in my book...

[haresfur]

Kir.

[CincyCraig]

French 75, ala Harry's Bar in Paris.

http://www.cocktailia.com/bar-reviews/harrys-new-york-bar

[thirtyoneknots]

Any reason behind not wanting to go with the standard French 75? I think it's got a great story behind it, especially when you consider the name is a semi-elaborate pun.

Not really French origin except in ingredients and inspiration but Robert Hess' Black Feather is pretty nice, if perhaps a bit much for Summer.

Sidecars never fail and are a perennial crowd pleaser.

The Rose is pretty nice, elegant drink as well, particularly with good raspberry syrup, and perhaps easier to pre-mix than something with citrus.

If all else fails there's always the Champagne Cocktail.

Scads of great drinks were created in Paris back in The Day, but the French aren't really cocktail drinkers as we think of it, so these are typically going to be invented by Americans or Brits living there. How French does it have to be?

[KatieLoeb]

Kir.

←

If you do this with real Cassis de Bourgogne and Aligote it would be sublime. Both the wine and the liqueur are from the same region. My understanding is that the locals used the Cassis to sweeten the highly acidic aligote to make it more palatable.

A resourceful people, those Burgundians. No wine shall be wasted...

[weinoo]

How about the French Pearl, created by Audrey Saunders at the Pegu Club:

* 2 ounces Plymouth Gin

* 3/4 ounce Lime Juice

* 3/4 ounce Simple Syrup

* 1/4 ounce Pernod

* 1 Mint Sprig

Muddle, shake and double-strain.

[prasantrin]

Ditto on the Kir. It's simple but underrated. I've actually met a lot of people who don't even know what Kir is!

[shantytownbrown]

Kir and katies french 75 variation are sitting at the top of the liist right now...

also found a possible in a champagne and st germaine..

to anwer a few questions:1. not averse to a traditional french 75 at all, just proposed that OR a variation

2. will try to find out what apps are being made, then try to hone(sp??) down the choice

i also need to figure out what glassware the host has...

great advice, thanks, keep it coming

[Lisa Shock]

Just piling on with support for the Kir. I run into a lot of people who don't even know what cassis is -which saddens me because it's my favorite fruit.

There is of course, variations on the Kir. The Kir Royale is my favorite of those -if your pocketbook can take it.

[Wild Bill Turkey]

Just spent a 3-day weekend at a rented party house with French people. One night, the host made her mother's traditional "Champagne Soup", and many of the guests acted like this was a fondly-remembered family ritual as well.

Found this recipe online, though our host used simple syrup rather than granulated sugar...

CHAMPAGNE SOUP COCKTAIL

Soupe de Champagne (champagne soup) is an original and very good

apéritif that you can serve to everybody … 1 bottle Champagne

(you can use sparkling white wine instead of Champagne) / 1 ladleful

Cointreau / 1 ladlefull lemon juice / ½ ladleful sugar /

3 ladlefuls ice cubes

Simply mix in a salad bowl the cointreau, lemon juice, and sugar together,

then pour the Champagne and add the ice. Mix well and serve right away

with a ladle !

Edited June 3, 2009 by Wild Bill Turkey (log)

[Busboy]

When I was last in France, an expat friend introduced me to a cocktail quite popular among her French friends and in-laws called ironically, perhaps, the Americano.

Quite tasty and a little more unusual than a Kir.

[plattetude]

When I was last in France, an expat friend introduced me to a cocktail quite popular among her French friends and in-laws called ironically, perhaps, the Americano.

Quite tasty and a little more unusual than a Kir.

←

Perhaps so, but decidedly Italian. And it begat the classic cocktail, the Negroni (a ginned up Americano with no soda).

Christopher

[Alcuin]

When I was last in France, an expat friend introduced me to a cocktail quite popular among her French friends and in-laws called ironically, perhaps, the Americano.

Quite tasty and a little more unusual than a Kir.

←

This drink is Italian, hence the Campari, though that doesn't make it any less delicious. For a more Frenchy long drink, try a

Pompier

3 oz French vermouth (Noilly Prat)

1/2 oz Creme de cassis (Giffard's Cassis de Bourgogne if possible)

build in a double Old Fashioned glass, add ice, stir, top with soda.

It's like a Kir, but over rocks and with the floral bouquet of vermouth. They're easy, they can hit the spot on a nice hot day, and they're French to the max.

[shantytownbrown]

Just spent a 3-day weekend at a rented party house with French people. One night, the host made her mother's traditional "Champagne Soup", and many of the guests acted like this was a fondly-remembered  family ritual as well.

Found this recipe online, though our host used simple syrup rather than granulated sugar...

CHAMPAGNE SOUP COCKTAIL

Soupe de Champagne (champagne soup) is an original and very good

apéritif that you can serve to everybody … 1 bottle Champagne

(you can use sparkling white wine instead of Champagne) / 1 ladleful

Cointreau / 1 ladlefull lemon juice / ½ ladleful sugar /

3 ladlefuls ice cubes

Simply mix in a salad bowl the cointreau, lemon juice, and sugar together,

then pour the Champagne and add the ice. Mix well and serve right away

with a ladle !

←

this begats one quick Off-topic "conversion" question....how much sugar(brix(?correct word use here?)-wise) is an equivalent amount of sugar (in this case a 1/2 ladle) vs simple syrup (assuming a 1:1 mix) ??

scott

[shantytownbrown]

For a more Frenchy long drink, try a

Pompier

3 oz French vermouth (Noilly Prat)

1/2 oz Creme de cassis (Giffard's Cassis de Bourgogne if possible)

build in a double Old Fashioned glass, add ice, stir, top with soda.

It's like a Kir, but over rocks and with the floral bouquet of vermouth. They're easy, they can hit the spot on a nice hot day, and they're French to the max.

←

this sounds quite good..

for either this or a Kir, is it "safe" to mix a batch ahead of time and chill, say in an old wine bottle???

[rockdoggydog]

How about the Le Bourget? You can pre-batch it very easily, just shake it at the last moment and serve.

2 oz gin

1/2 oz St Germain

1/2 oz lemon juice

Shake and strain.

Rocky

[Alcuin]

For a more Frenchy long drink, try a

Pompier

3 oz French vermouth (Noilly Prat)

1/2 oz Creme de cassis (Giffard's Cassis de Bourgogne if possible)

build in a double Old Fashioned glass, add ice, stir, top with soda.

It's like a Kir, but over rocks and with the floral bouquet of vermouth. They're easy, they can hit the spot on a nice hot day, and they're French to the max.

←

this sounds quite good..

for either this or a Kir, is it "safe" to mix a batch ahead of time and chill, say in an old wine bottle???

←

I don't see any reason why not. It would be even better if the vermouth were pre-chilled to cut back on dilution when it hits the ice because in this case, the less dilution, the better. I'd batch the vermouth and creme de cassis, pour over ice, and top with soda or have the guests do it themselves.

[Alcuin]

How about the Le Bourget?  You can pre-batch it very easily, just shake it at the last moment and serve.

2 oz gin

1/2 oz St Germain

1/2 oz lemon juice

Shake and strain.

Rocky

←

If you do make bottled cocktails and chill them to be served up, make sure to include some water which they'd normally get from the ice. Even if you do shake them, since they're pre-chilled you might not get enough water in them and the drink might be a bit unbalanced. Around %20 water is what to shoot for in a pre-bottled cocktail, but doing it to taste is best (remember, you can always add but never take away). If you have the bottle pre-diluted, you can just have it over ice and pour it without shaking. Don't make a bottled drink with juice in it too far ahead of time though, because the citrus will degrade--make it the same day and give it a good long chill in the refrigerator before putting it on ice.

[shantytownbrown]

all sounds good, still trying to find out the apps menu, will likely be a few days, then we can narrow the selection a bit..

a cassis and Aligote question...

a. how do i look for Aligote? will it be labeled as such? my familiarity with french wines is they dont state the varietal (which i assume Aligote is) on the bottle....can you hint me something to look for...??

as for the cassis..so far all i find is Cassis de dijon and some garbage (i assume) Hiram Walker stuff...anyone know what is available to me in connecticut? or other brands other than Giffard to look for....

and whats the difference between Creme de Cassis and "blackcurrent liqueur"? (i can get matilde brand here...

shanty (scott)

[Herf]

and whats the difference between Creme de Cassis and "blackcurrent liqueur"? (i can get matilde brand here...

shanty (scott)

←

I almost always prefer to use a hgh quality Black Currant Syrup instead of Creme de Cassis of any brand.

And in many cases, without modification of the recipe.

Edited June 3, 2009 by Herf (log)

[shantytownbrown]

and whats the difference between Creme de Cassis and "blackcurrent liqueur"? (i can get matilde brand here...

shanty (scott)

←

I almost always prefer to use a hgh quality Black Currant Syrup instead of Creme de Cassis of any brand.

And in many cases, without modification of the recipe.

←

such as...?? and why??

Edited June 4, 2009 by shantytownbrown (log)

[Herf]

any good variations on a french 75 you can think of?  something more creative? something with a good story...? 

←

Here's a nice variant from Harrington and Moorhead.

4 oz. champagne

1/4 oz. gin

1/4 oz. cointreau

1/4 oz. lemon juice

Shake gin, cointreau and lemon juice over cracked ice and strain into chilled flute. Top with chilled champagne. Garnish with a lemon twist.

[Alcuin]

all sounds good, still trying to find out the apps menu, will likely be a few days, then we can narrow the selection a bit..

a cassis and Aligote question...

a. how do i look for Aligote? will it be labeled as such? my familiarity with french wines is they dont state the varietal (which i assume Aligote is) on the bottle....can you hint me something to look for...??

as for the cassis..so far all i find is Cassis de dijon and some garbage (i assume) Hiram Walker stuff...anyone know what is available to me in connecticut? or other brands other than Giffard to look for....

and whats the difference between Creme de Cassis and "blackcurrent liqueur"? (i can get matilde brand here...

shanty (scott)

←

Sorry, I just suggested Giffard's Cassis because I like it and it's what I use. I've never tried the Mathilde liqueur, but I imagine it would work well--creme de cassis and blackcurrant liqueur are one and the same as far as I know. Also, most cremes de cassis that declare their origin, such as Dijon, will likely be pretty good.