For ➊ cocktail 6 cl London dry gin or cognac or brandy
1 ts superfine sugar or 1.5 cl simple syrup
1.5 cl lemon juice
15 cl brut champagne or a good sparkling wine
Fill ½ a chilled shaker with cracked ice. Shake well. Then strain into a Collins glass half-full of cracked ice and top off with champagne.
Named after the 75-millimeter M1897, a light gun with a vicious rate of fire, the mainstay of the French field artillery in World War I. The drink was created in 1915 at the New York Bar in Paris, later Harry's New York Bar, by barman Harry MacElhone. The French 75, or Soixante-quinze was popularized in America at the Stork Club in New York.
(Some stories claim it was invented for the fighter pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille, made up of French and American aces. The story goes that they began toasting their fallen comrades with champagne but soon started to fortify the drink with something more potent. Lacking whiskey, the Americans opted for the more readily accessible Cognac. Others argue the drink was instead invented by the British who during World War I received a daily gin ration and began adding it to the locally available Champagne. This gin version is the recipe that first appeared in print, and is the best known French 75 recipe.)
The version with cognac with brandy or cognac yields a King's Peg, although often recipes for these omit the lemon and sugar.
You can use a champagne flute for esthetics.
Drawing by Jacques Tardi in 'Putain de guerre'.
