1½ ounces gin
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
¾ ounce simple syrup
3 to 4 ounces Champagne
Lemon twist garnish
Combine gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice and shake until frosty.
Strain into a large champagne flute or coupe. Top off glass with Champagne & garnish with lemon twist.
Like a lot of classic cocktails, the origins of the French 75 are a little murky, but we do know one thing for sure. This cocktail was named after a fast-firing 75-millimeter French field gun from WWI that was known for firing faster and more accurately than other guns.
While the classic recipe we know today calls for gin, lemon, simple syrup, and champagne, some older recipes call for cognac rather than gin. Some people believe that this cocktail actually grew out of an allied fighter pilot unit made up of both French and American soldiers during the first world war. They used to drink cognac and Champagne mixed together after successful air raids, and would toast to the 75-millimeter gun that kept them safe.
One of the most popular and commonly cited origin stories is that the French 75 was invented by Harry MacElhone at Harry’s New York bar in Paris. Whether he actually invented it or just popularized it we can’t be sure, but we do know that his version called for cognac rather than gin. While gin is much more popular today, a lot of people say that the cognac version is definitely worth a try.
In 1927, the more contemporary gin-based recipe we know today appeared in print for the first time, in a cocktail book called Here's How. When this version was published again in 1930 in Harry Craddock’s “The Savoy Cocktail Book”, the French 75 recipe we know today was spread to bars around the world.