French 75 (cocktail)

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French 75
Type:	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume:	Gin
Standard drinkware:	flute or Collins glass
Commonly used ingredients:	Two parts gin 1 1/2 Ounces of Simple syrup juice of half a lemon Champagne
Preparation:	Pour a 1 count of Hendricks or Plymouth gin, top with a half flute of sparkling wine or champagne, add sugar (it will fizz up so make sure the flute isn't full yet) then top off with more sparkling wine. Alternate: Combine sugar, lemon juice, and gin in a shaker full of ice. Shake well, then pour into a tall glass and top with champagne. (If possible, ice the glass ahead of time.)
Notes:	cherry or orange slice

French 75 is a cocktail made from gin, champagne, lemon juice, and sugar. There is some controversy over whether the cocktail was originally made with gin or with cognac and champagne. If Vodka is substituted for the gin it may be referred to as a French 76. The Bar Hemingway at the Ritz Paris serves a "Ritz 75," which contains mandarin juice in addition to lemon juice.

The drink was originally concocted by the Franco-American World War I flying ace Raoul Lufbery who was part of Escadrille Américaine air fighting unit. Legend has it that he liked champagne, but wanted something with more of a kick to it, so he mixed it with cognac which was readily available. The combination was said to have such a kick that it felt like being shelled with the powerful French 75mm howitzer artillery piece, also called a "French 75", or "Soixante Quinze" in French. The French 75 was popularized in America at the Stork Club.

[edit] Quotes

"In the same family as the various versions of champagne cocktail is the celebrated French 75, an elixir which, if it did not actually have its origin in the first of the German wars, at least came to the general attention of American drinkers at that time and was immediately enshrined in the pharmacopoeia of alcohol artistry in the United States upon the conclusion of hostilities in 1919." - Lucius Beebe, The Stork Club Bar Book

"Hits with remarkable precision." - Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book

"It's unclear what makes the French 75 so powerful-- maybe it's the combination of liquors-- but, whoo boy, do you feel it when you down one!" - Jean Shepherd, raconteur and author