French 125 (French '75' with cognac)

Difford's Guide
Discerning Drinkers (68 ratings)

Serve in a

Flute glass

Garnish:

Lemon zest twist on rim

How to make:

STIR powdered sugar with lemon juice in base of shaker until sugar dissolves. Add cognac, SHAKE with ice and fine strain into chilled glass. TOP with champagne and lightly stir. (Consider pouring half the champagne into the glass first to help reduce foaming.)

1/2 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1 12 barspoon Powdered sugar (white sugar ground in mortar and pestle) (or use 5ml of 2:1 sugar syrup per spoon)
1 1/2 fl oz Cognac (brandy)
2 1/2 fl oz Brut champagne or sparkling wine
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Review:

Cognac makes for a heavier cocktail than a French 75 made with gin, yet this cocktail remains enlivening, refreshing and quaffable.

The use of powdered sugar instead of sugar syrup adds an attractive sherbet note to this cocktail. However, the drink also works well with sugar syrup – use ¼oz/7.5ml sugar syrup in place of the 1½ spoons of powdered sugar.

History:

A cognac based version of the French 75 which was named after the French 75mm field gun used by the French army during the First World War. This cognac version is appropriately named after another gun, the tank mounted Soviet 2A46 (also called D-81T) 125mm/L48 smoothbore cannon.

The first recipe for a French 75 made with cognac rather than gin appears listed under the name French 125 in Jones' Complete Barguide by Stanley M. Jones, published in 1977. Jones' French 125 is served long, over ice in a Collins glass. The flute serve shown here is more modern but has become the normal serve.

Arnaud's French 75 Bar in New Orleans' French Quarter chooses to make its eponymous cocktail with cognac rather than gin, "in honour of the cocktail's French origins."

French 75 history and recipe variations

Alcohol content:

  • 1.6 standard drinks
  • 16.13% alc./vol. (32.26° proof)
  • 21.8 grams of pure alcohol
Difford's Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Buy direct from
the_whisky_exchange store logo
£ -.--

Makes a minimum of ... cocktails
Just £ -.-- per cocktail*

* This list may not include all required ingredients.
Price per cocktail is an estimate based on the cost of making one cocktail with the available ingredients shown above and does not include any postage charges.
Buy direct from Difford’s Guide
Difford's Easy Jigger
£8.72 £8.72 exc VAT
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