The French 75 Cocktail – a delightful combination of two ingredients: gin and sparkling wine. It is no secret that we love the French 75; this recipe will mark our 4th variation of this refreshing cocktail! The magical addition of sparkling wine to the mix can help turn any get together into a celebration, and, let’s be honest, after the year we had, we deserve a French 75 to toast our gradual return to normalcy.
Our new French 75 variation includes rhubarb, a favorite springtime ingredient. We love to use it in jams, desserts and cocktails. In creating this cocktail, Kyle felt the tartness of the rhubarb would mesh nicely with the other flavors in a French 75 for a bright and bubbly, perfectly pink cocktail.
As luck would have it, rhubarb has a very narrow window of availability – it’s short season could be over before you were even aware of it! The solution to this was to cook up the rhubarb into a syrup that could be stored in the refrigerator for a few months. This way we can be sipping on rhubarb enhanced cocktails all the way through Labor Day!
We used a very similar rhubarb syrup to make Rhubarb Margaritas; however, this time Kyle swapped out the oranges for lemons to reflect the ingredients of a true French 75. The lemons coupled with the rhubarb in this syrup create a bit of a sour-on-sour taste flavor-wise, which balances out the added sugar and results in a very well-rounded drink.
It can be extremely easy to drink a batch of these refreshingly delicious cocktails in one sitting (we might be speaking from experience). Their bright and inspiriting effervescence belie the fact that this concoction is basically liquor (gin) mixed with more alcohol (sparkling wine), so they can really pack a punch if you are spending a relaxing afternoon either on the porch, by the pool or at the beach.
If you wish, there are a few ways to enjoy a round of these cocktails at a lower proof. You could just omit the gin and mix the Rhubarb Syrup with some sparkling wine to create a Rhubarb Spritzer. You could also add a splash of the Rhubarb Syrup to a gin and tonic – in fact we highly recommend that you do! For a completely alcohol-free version, mix up the Rhubarb Syrup with some seltzer.
Rhubarb Syrup doesn’t have to be limited strictly to cocktails, just spoon some over a scoop of ice cream, such as Salted Creme Fraiche, for a delicious dessert – a great addition to a sweet treat!
Last year, Kyle made the Apple Cider French 75, and joked in that post that we would soon be able to have a “French 75 for all seasons”. We now have one for autumn, TWO for summer including our Watermelon Basil French 75 AND the French 75 Slushie, and this lovely Rhubarb French 75 for late springtime. A winter French 75 is the only one left on the checklist. Stay tuned! Winter-y French 75 ideas are brewing! Cheers!
- For the Rhubarb Syrup:
- 1 ½ pounds rhubarb, diced, about 4 cups
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 lemons, juiced (about ⅔ cup juice), peels from one lemon reserved
- ⅓ cup water
- For theRhubarb French 75
- 1 ½ ounces gin
- 1 ½ ounces rhubarb syrup
- Dash of orange bitters
- 2 ounces very cold Sparkling wine
- Lemon peel for garnish
- For the Rhubarb Syrup, in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, bring rhubarb, sugar, lemon juice, lemon peels, and water to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let mixture cool.
- Strain through fine-mesh sieve. Refrigerate in a covered container for up to one month.
- For the Rhubarb French 75, in a cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake gin, rhubarb syrup, and orange bitters.
- Strain into a chilled coupe or champagne glass, and fill with 2 ounces Sparkling Wine. Garnish with lemon peel.
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