Kir Royale and Champagne Cocktails: Which Bubbles Should You Use?
We will be honest: most of the time, we drink our champagne straight. When a grower has spent three years or more waiting for a wine to be ready, it feels a little rude to drown it in juice.
But we are not purists. A well-made champagne cocktail is a joy, especially as an aperitif with friends or at the start of a long evening. The trick is choosing the right bubbles for the job, and keeping the recipes simple. Here are the four classics we come back to, and the bottles we actually reach for.
First, the Golden Rule: Not Every Bottle Belongs in a Cocktail
A cocktail adds sugar, fruit, spirit or bitterness. Those flavours cover up the subtle things that make a great champagne special: the chalk, the brioche notes from long ageing, the texture of oak. So save your vintage, your prestige cuvées and your oak-aged bottles for the glass on their own.
What you want for cocktails is a sparkling wine that is:
Dry, ideally Brut or even Brut Nature, because the other ingredients bring the sweetness. Our guide to champagne sweetness levels explains the labels.
Fresh, with bright acidity, so the drink stays lively.
Fruity and open, rather than complex and austere.
Fairly priced, because you will pour a few.
That description fits a young non-vintage champagne. It fits a good crémant even better.
Why We Often Choose Crémant
Crémant d'Alsace is made with the same method as champagne: a second fermentation in the bottle, ageing on the lees, fine and persistent bubbles. It is fresh, fruity and usually costs a lot less. In a cocktail, the difference between a fine crémant and a fine champagne mostly disappears, while the difference in your wallet does not. Our guide to Crémant d'Alsace tells the full story.
Our go-to is the Crémant Brut from Domaine Michel Fonné, from the village of Bennwihr: green apple, citrus, twelve months on the lees and a clean finish that loves a splash of cassis. For a rosé twist, the crémants from François Schwach in Hunawihr are lovely too.
The Kir Royale
The most famous champagne cocktail has its roots in Burgundy. The original Kir is white wine with crème de cassis, named after Félix Kir, a priest and mayor of Dijon who served it at receptions. Swap the still wine for bubbles and it becomes a Kir Royale.
What you need:
1 cl to 1.5 cl crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)
10 to 12 cl chilled dry sparkling wine, champagne or crémant
Pour the cassis into the glass first, then top slowly with the cold sparkling wine. No stirring needed. The secret is restraint: too much cassis and it tastes like syrup. Start with a teaspoon and adjust. Swap the cassis for crème de mûre (blackberry) or crème de pêche (peach) for a variation.
The French 75
A drink with a bit of backbone, named after a French artillery gun. It is gin, lemon and sugar, topped with champagne.
What you need:
3 cl gin
1.5 cl fresh lemon juice
1 cl sugar syrup
Chilled champagne or crémant to top
Shake the gin, lemon and syrup with ice, strain into a tulip or flute, top with bubbles. A Brut Nature works beautifully here, because the lemon and syrup bring their own balance.
The Classic Champagne Cocktail
This one is old-fashioned in the best sense, and dates back to the nineteenth century.
What you need:
1 sugar cube
2 to 3 dashes Angostura bitters
1 to 2 cl cognac (optional)
Chilled champagne
Put the sugar cube in the glass, soak it with the bitters, add the cognac if you like, then top with champagne. The sugar cube keeps releasing small streams of bubbles as it dissolves. It is a beautiful drink to watch.
The Mimosa
Fresh orange juice and sparkling wine, half and half, or one third juice for a drier version. Use freshly squeezed juice, and pour the wine first so it does not foam over. Perfect for a long weekend brunch, and the best excuse we know for opening a bottle before noon.
A Few Tips for Better Champagne Cocktails
Chill everything: the bubbles, the liqueur and even the glasses.
Pour the sparkling wine last and slowly, down the side of the glass.
Never shake the sparkling wine itself.
Use a tulip glass or a small white wine glass rather than a wide coupe, so the bubbles last.
If you prefer your bubbles without anything added, which we secretly do, our guide to champagne as an aperitif shows which styles shine before dinner. And for the bigger picture, our champagne food pairing guide covers the rest of the meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best champagne for a Kir Royale?
A dry, fresh Brut champagne or a good crémant. Avoid vintage or oak-aged champagne, whose complexity disappears under the cassis.
What is the ratio for a Kir Royale?
About one part crème de cassis to eight or ten parts sparkling wine. Start with 1 cl of cassis and adjust to taste.
Can I use crémant instead of champagne in cocktails?
Yes, and we often prefer it. Crémant is made the same way as champagne, has fine bubbles and fresh fruit, and costs less.
What is the difference between a Kir and a Kir Royale?
A Kir is made with still white wine, traditionally Aligoté from Burgundy. A Kir Royale uses champagne or another sparkling wine.
