Leftover Bubbles? Yes, it does happen - 75 'em!

I love a French 75. Everyone loves a French 75. If you haven't had a French 75 yet, even you probably love them and just don't know it yet.

Early this year I realized how many cookbooks I have and how little love the vast majority receive. Because I like to take things to a neurotic level, this month I decided to burn through as much as I could of David Lebovitz's My Paris Kitchen. That's another post for another day, but after making a riff off his Tangering Champagne Sortbet with Champagne Gelée I had juuuuust enough sparkling rosé left to cobble together a pair of cocktails before dinner. I'd purchased a bottle of Luxardo Maraschino that day, so - inspired by the French 75, I shook together some gin and lemon juice with maraschino in place of simple syrup and garnished with a lemon twist and sprig of rosemary to compliment the sage and juniper notes in my favorite gin - Beehive Distilling's Jack Rabbit Gin [keep an eye out later this week for a post highlighting an evening spent with some of the best ladies around touring Beehive's Distillery and Bar X! In the meantime, check out Chelsea's post here] 

Maraschino 75
1.5oz Beehive Distilling Jack Rabbit Gin [or your favorite dry-style gin]
.75oz Luxardo Maraschino
.75oz lemon juice
*Approx 1-2oz bubbles [or more! - your glass size and appetite are the limit. Party hard. I used sparkling rosé, but cava, champagne, and prosecco are all lovely]

Shake gin, maraschino, and lemon juice with ice until thoroughly chilled. Strain into glass of your choice [traditionally a coupe or flute, but I like the flexibility a wine glass offers in the event that you want to go hard with the bubbles.] Top with bubbles and garnish with a lemon twist and sprig of rosemary. Sip outside and feel thankful into your bones that spring is finally around the corner.




If you don't have Marashino, a classic French 75 is tough to beat. Shake together 1.5oz gin, .75oz lemon juice, and .5oz simple syrup. Strain into a coupe or flute, top with champagne, and garnish with a lemon twist. Variations are endless - try swapping out the simple syrup for maple syrup and use bourbon in place of gin or try one with mezcal, a lime twist, and agave syrup! One of my favorite podcasts - The Speakeasy just did an episode that was pretty much 33 minutes of raving about French 75 variations... and now I'm ready to shake up another!