French 75

Today we're drinking the French 75, a gin, lime juice, and champagne combination that is an outstanding cocktail choice for any occasion.  But first, I want to quickly talk about a television show that wrapped up its season on Sunday.

There are only a handful of television shows that I watch, and try to pimp out to my friends.  The only reality show in the bunch is the Amazing Race, which finished its season on Sunday evening.

For those who don't watch, the Amazing Race features various teams of two people traveling all over the world performing tasks that tie into the local culture.  It's a great show for anyone who enjoys travelling and foreign culture.  And, there is far far less reality show gimmickry on the Amazing Race, compared to other shows that play up the melodrama.  As always though, the real reason to watch are the surroundings. The teams traveled to some really interesting places, like the Seychelles, Singapore, Chile, and Malaysia.

This season featured one of my favorite teams of all time, the cowboy brothers, Jet and Cord.  They were always in a good mood, even under the most trying of circumstances.  They came in second, next to another set of brothers, Dan and Jordan.  I liked Dan and Jordan up until the finale, when they started playing ruthless with Jet and Cord.  Aside from the last episode, they were likeable. 

The real drama this season was between Caite and Brent (dating models, and Caite by the way is the infamous Miss South Carolina of YouTube fame) and Carol and Brandy.  These two teams hated each other.  Brandy, the alpha dog on her team, seemed to find reason to dislike everything and everyone on the Race, at one point or another.  She was, at times, unwatchable.  She made a point, time and again, to make statements and utterances that could be boiled down to: "Look at me, I like fancy things."  It was rough to witness, and embarrassing.

Caite and Brent were no angels either.  They bordered on verbal domestic abuse frequently, and Caite tried a bit too hard to make the Amazing Race her chance to show "the world" that she's smart.  On the one hand, I empathize with her because she went through a horrible public experience.  On the other hand, she still needs a few more years of maturity.  Case in point: I think she said to Brent "Shut up before I hit you in the face" maybe a dozen times on the show.  Not classy.

Congrats to Dan and Jordan for winning this season's Race.  Looking forward to the next go-round, which likely begins in the summer. 

In honor (not really) of their victory, we drink the French 75!  I found an excellent recipe in a recent Wine Spectactor:

Wine Spectator Magazine, May 31, 2010, page 83

French 75

3 oz gin
3 oz fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar
8 oz Champagne

In a shaker, dissolve sugar in the gin and juice.  Add ice, shake hard, and strain into chilled flutes.  Add Champagne to top.  Serves 2.

For this cocktail, I'm using New Amsterdam gin, Korbel California Champagne (don't buy something fancy, this is $8/bottle, and will do just fine), and Nellie and Joe's Key West Lime Juice.

The French 75 is an excellent sparkling wine cocktail.  It's sweet, but not too sweet.  The gin adds just enough spice to the mix so that it's not a sugary mess. 

You can taste the lime juice, to be sure, but it balances itself well with the other ingredients.  At times in fact, this drink tastes like many other sours, as well it should because under most definitions of the sour family, the French 75 would make the cut.  It has a base liquor, lime juice, and a sweetener in the sugar.  Surprising that the French 75 might be grouped in with the Sidecar or Daiquiri, but so it is.

Notice too, that the recipe is intended to make 2 cocktails - this is a drink meant to be consumed with friends or better-halves. 

I'd suggest this cocktail under any occasion.  I mean that - truly any occasion.  This could be a brunch cocktail, and wedding shower cocktail, an aperitif, a post dinner cocktail, and any other moment deserving of celebrating the good life.

Tomorrow, we're going to try the Ring of Kerry, named after the southwest coast of Ireland - a beautiful and scenic area that I hope, due to its namesake, means good things to come for this cocktail.