French 75
The French 75 is the most reliably elegant brunch cocktail there is — gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup, topped with champagne. Named after a French 75mm field gun from the First World War (the cocktail was said to hit like one). The right Scottish gin makes a French 75 that genuinely competes with anything served in a champagne flute in Paris.
The French 75 first appears under that name in Harry MacElhone's 1922 'ABC of Mixing Cocktails' at Harry's New York Bar in Paris. The 'French 75' nickname refers to the famous Canon de 75 modèle 1897 — a French field artillery piece used extensively in WWI. The cocktail, with its gin base and champagne top, was said to hit drinkers with the same impact. Originally made with cognac in some early sources, the gin version became standard through the 1920s and remains the canonical recipe.
Ingredients
- Gin30ml
London Dry or contemporary Scottish gin. The Botanist, Edinburgh Gin, and Tanqueray all work well.
- Fresh lemon juice15ml
Freshly squeezed only — bottled lemon ruins the drink
- Sugar syrup (1:1)7.5ml
Simple syrup is correct here — a richer demerara syrup is too dark for the drink
- Champagne or dry sparkling wine60-75ml
Brut champagne is the classic; a quality cava or English sparkling wine works at a lower price point. Avoid Prosecco — too sweet.
- Lemon twist1
For garnish
Lemon twist or peel
Method
- 1
Add the gin, lemon juice, and sugar syrup to a shaker with ice
- 2
Shake hard for 10-12 seconds until properly cold
- 3
Strain into a chilled champagne flute or coupe
- 4
Top slowly with the champagne — pour at an angle to avoid foaming over
- 5
Garnish with a lemon twist
Which whisky / spirit to use
The serious French 75 gin. Complex enough to come through the champagne and lemon. The Islay foraged-botanical character is genuinely distinctive.
Classic London Dry-style Scottish gin. Floral notes complement the champagne. Reliable, widely available, well-priced.
Works well — the cucumber-and-rose character against dry champagne produces a notably aromatic French 75. Particularly suitable for summer drinking.
Not Scottish but the textbook French 75 gin — assertive juniper holds up well against the champagne dilution.
Variations
French 76
Replace the gin with vodka. Smoother, more neutral, lets the champagne dominate. A different drink with a different character — some prefer it; purists don't.
French 95
Replace the gin with bourbon. Richer, more autumnal, less spring-like than the classic. Worth knowing as a winter variation.
French 125
Replace the champagne with prosecco. Lighter, sweeter, more brunch-suitable. Not strictly a French 75 but commonly served as one in UK cafés and restaurants — be aware of the substitution.
Diamond Fizz
The French 75's pre-WWI predecessor — same recipe but without the cognac/gin's identity established. Mentioned here for cocktail-history completeness.
Food pairings
- Brunch — eggs benedict, smoked salmon bagels, croissants
- Oysters (the gin-and-citrus cleans the palate)
- Cheese boards — particularly with creamy soft cheeses
- Wedding canapés (the textbook upmarket aperitif)
- Bottled lemon juice. Tastes flat and slightly oxidised. Always fresh.
- Cheap prosecco instead of champagne or dry sparkling. Prosecco is too sweet and produces a cloying drink. Use a quality brut sparkling — English sparkling wine works beautifully at a champagne-adjacent price.
- Topping with champagne too fast. The drink foams over if you pour too quickly. Tilt the glass and pour against the side, slowly.
- Too much gin. The 30ml proportion is correct — bumping to 40ml or 50ml produces an unbalanced drink that loses the champagne brightness.
The French 75 is the most reliably good champagne cocktail in existence. Four ingredients, two minutes to make, and the result is universally well-regarded. As a brunch drink, an aperitif, or the right thing to hand someone who has just walked through your door for a celebration, it has no equal.
The French 75 is the cocktail that converts champagne sceptics. A glass of cheap brut on its own can feel acidic or thin; the same wine in a French 75 with gin and lemon produces a drink that tastes worth £10. If you have a decent bottle of sparkling wine and a Scottish gin in the house, this is the cocktail to know.
Frequently asked questions
+Can I make a French 75 with prosecco instead of champagne?
You can but it produces a sweeter drink. Prosecco has noticeably more residual sugar than brut champagne, which works against the lemon-and-gin balance. If you need a non-champagne alternative, use English sparkling wine (Nyetimber, Chapel Down) or Spanish cava brut. Avoid sweeter proseccos.
+What gin is best for a French 75?
Assertive, citrus-friendly gins work best. The Botanist (Islay) is the upscale choice. Edinburgh Gin and Hendrick's both produce excellent French 75s. Tanqueray London Dry is the international standard. Avoid soft, floral-only gins (some craft gins with heavy elderflower) — they get lost in the drink.
+Should I use a champagne flute or a coupe?
Both work — different traditions. The flute is the modern choice and preserves the bubbles longer. The coupe is the historical glass and is more elegant on a table. Use whichever you have; the drink tastes the same.
+How much champagne should I use?
60-75ml — enough to fill the glass. Some recipes suggest topping with as much as 90-100ml, but this dilutes the gin character too far. The right proportion is roughly 2:1 champagne to gin.
+Can I batch-make French 75s for a party?
Yes, partially. Batch the gin, lemon juice, and sugar syrup together (refrigerated, up to 4 hours) — but add the champagne to each glass individually when serving. Pre-mixing the champagne loses the bubbles within 20 minutes.
Related cocktails
Gin Martini
The Gin Martini is the cocktail that requires the most attention to the spirit itself. Gin, dry vermouth, ice, lemon peel or olive. No mixers, no sweeteners, nowhere to hide. The right Scottish gin in a properly-made Martini is one of the great drinking experiences. Hendrick's specifically is internationally famous for its Martinis, and several other Scottish gins — The Botanist, Caorunn — produce serious Martinis too.
Negroni
The Negroni is the bitter, complex, intensely red Italian classic — gin, Campari, sweet vermouth, equal parts. Served over a large ice cube with an orange peel. One of the few cocktails where Scotland's juniper-forward gins (The Botanist, classic London Dry-style Scottish gins) genuinely outperform the international standards. The right showcase for a serious Scottish gin.
Whisky Sour
The Whisky Sour is one of the foundational classic cocktails — whisky, lemon juice, sugar, optionally egg white. Properly made it is balanced, citrus-forward, and one of the most reliably good cocktails you can produce at home with three ingredients.
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