Lemony French 75 Cocktail Recipe
Are you looking to impress a date, please a partner, or leave a great impression on everyone at the dinner party but ... you're not much of a mixology master? No problem, recipe developer Erin Johnson of Probably in the Kitchen has you covered with this drink. Her lemony French 75 cocktail recipe is quick and easy — easy to the point that you really can't mess it up. Yet the drink it produces tastes complex and refined thanks to the elegant interplay of the champagne, spirits, and the lemon essence syrup. But don't worry if you don't have all those exact ingredients readily available.
"If you don't have champagne on hand, or you want a more affordable option, feel free to substitute Prosecco or your favorite dry sparkling wine," Johnson says. Just don't swap out the gin for, say, tequila or Scotch, or your guests are going to be nonplussed instead of impressed.
Gather your ingredients for the lemony French 75 cocktail
You'll need six ingredients to make this great cocktail, assuming we're not counting the ice as an ingredient. All told, you'll need sugar, water, lemon juice, gin, champagne (or another sparkling white wine), and some lemon peel for garnish.
But for the record, you can leave the lemon out if needed or preferred. Johnson says, "If you don't want to make a lemon simple syrup, you can use a regular simple syrup as well."
Prepare the lemon simple syrup
Start by making the simple syrup. To do that, combine the sugar, water, and lemon juice in a saucepan and put it over a medium to high heat. Stir the liquid well and allow it to come to a boil. Once all the sugar has melted, remove the pan from the heat and set it aside. (And again, you can leave the lemon juice out if you want.)
Prepare the cocktail
In a cocktail shaker, add the gin, lemon juice, and an ounce of the lemon simple syrup. Then fill the cocktail shaker with ice, leaving a bit of room for motion, then close it up and shake that shaker vigorously.
Next, strain the drink into a champagne glass (or glass of your choice) and then top it up with champagne.
Add the lemon garnish, then enjoy
And that's it, your drink is done! Garnish the glass with lemon peel twist, then serve and enjoy it. This twist won't add much flavor, so it's a good idea for the optics even if you left lemon out because of flavor preferences, by the way. Likewise, it's not necessary for more than the visual if you'd prefer to just sip the thing as it is.
Also note that you'll have plenty of extra lemon simple syrup, and that's a good thing. "This simple syrup will last in the fridge for up to two weeks," Johnson says.
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 ounce gin
- juice from ¼ lemon
- 3 ounces champagne (or sparkling wine)
- 1 lemon peel, for garnish
- Combine the sugar, water, and lemon juice in a saucepan.
- Stir well and allow this to come to a boil, then take off heat and set aside to cool.
- In a cocktail shaker, add gin, juice from ¼ of a lemon, and 1 ounce of the lemon simple syrup.
- Fill the shaker will ice, then shake vigorously.
- Strain the drink into a champagne glass (or glass of your choice) and then top with champagne.
- Garnish with lemon peel twist.
| Calories per Serving | 554 |
| Total Fat | 0.2 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0.0 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.0 g |
| Cholesterol | 0.0 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 109.7 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1.9 g |
| Total Sugars | 103.0 g |
| Sodium | 9.8 mg |
| Protein | 0.6 g |
