champagne

Does anyone share my budding fascination with French 75s? This is a champagne cocktail named after a WWI French machine gun. I work on modern literature, so I felt it crucial to sample this libation. Some particularly hip friends served it to me recently, and I immediately felt my coolness increase by 7.5%. Then I was gunned down in a few seconds flat.

Take my advice: drinking a French 75 will help with all your problems. Here’s how to make one, via video by Robert Hess, on whom I may just have a slight crush. Champagne. Gin. Lemony goodness. Simple syrup. Heaven.

Here’s his recipe, with my commentary:

French 75

1 1/2 oz. gin
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
3/4 oz. simple syrup

Shake the gin and lemon juice with ice, then strain into a champagne flute. Top with champagne, and garnish with lemon twist. Note: straining is important: you don’t want lemon bits in your teeth when you’re kissing that special someone. If you’re tempted to use meyer lemon, don’t. The eureka lemon’s acidity is important for this drink. You may want to play around with the proportions of the simple syrup (I make this with a formula of 2 sugar: 1 water, then heat, stirring, until sugar melts; refrigerate). DO NOT use a Collins glass. That gives away the secret that you will be “hit with remarkable precision.” Think Mata Hari. Think fast. You can thank me from the floor.