French 75 — French 75 is gin, sugar, and champagne — a drink that

The French 75 is gin, sugar, and champagne — a drink that tastes like it cost twice as much as it actually does.

Ingredients

• 1 oz gin
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 oz simple syrup
• 3 oz champagne or dry sparkling wine to top it off
• Top with it off
• Garnish: about three ounces of champagne or dry sparkling wine to top it off

Method

Grab your shaker and add the gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup with ice. Shake hard for twelve seconds — you want it ice cold. Here’s where most people mess this up: they add the champagne to the shaker. Don’t. The bubbles are the whole point, and shaking kills them instantly. Instead, double strain into your glass first. The fine strainer catches any ice chips that would melt and water down your drink. Now add the champagne slowly, pouring down the side of the glass to preserve as much fizz as possible. You want those bubbles to last until the very last sip.

Serve

Serve this up in a coupe — no ice. Express a lemon peel over the surface and drop it in. The oils from the peel add a brightness that makes the whole drink sing.

Pro Tip

Your champagne choice changes everything here. You don’t need Dom Perignon, but skip the bottom shelf. A decent Cava or Prosecco works perfectly — you want something dry with good acidity. Sweet sparkling wine makes this cloying. And here’s the real trick: make sure your champagne is properly chilled before you start. Room temperature bubbles go flat the moment they hit the cold gin mixture.