French 125 (French '75' with cognac)
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French 125 (French '75' with cognac)
Serve in a Flute glass
| 1⁄2 oz | Lemon juice (freshly squeezed) |
| 1 1⁄2 barspoon | Powdered sugar (white sugar ground in mortar and pestle) or use 5ml of 2:1 sugar syrup per spoon |
| 1 1⁄2 oz | Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac |
| 2 1⁄2 oz | Brut champagne/sparkling wine |
How to make:
- Select and pre-chill a Flute glass.
- Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.
- STIR powdered sugar with lemon juice in base of shaker until sugar dissolves.
- Add brandy and SHAKE with ice.
- FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
- TOP with sparkling wine and briefly stir. (Or pour half the sparling wine into the glass first to help reduce foaming and eliminate need to stir.)
- EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.
Allergens:
Recipe contains the following allergens:
- Brut champagne/sparkling wine - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites
Strength & taste guide:
No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Review:
Brandy 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 brandy-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
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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Anyway, I up the cognac and champagne to better balance the lemon, and use maple syrup instead of sugar. It doesn’t taste like maple in the drink, but adds a subtle note.
2 oz cognac, 3 oz champagne, 1/2 oz maple syrup, 1/2 oz lemon juice. Garnish with lemon twist.
To my tastes, and in spite of my fondness for brandy, this is inferior to the 75, which is inferior to the Sabot. Maybe I should try a sabot with cognac, or a champagne sidecar… or maybe champagne and cognac are just not meant to be friends (for me, at least).