Better than flowers, not effective on foreign policy
French president Emmanuel Macron is, in the broadest sense, a weird cat, a peculiar man by any account. Although, after founding his own political party - varsity level whacko in the US – he was president, and you can’t take that away from him. He’s the only one talking about offering real resistance to Russia (some historical guilt, perhaps?), carrying on some strange colonial war in the Pacific you don’t care about (it’s over nickel) and has just called a snap election after his Renaissance party got trounced in the European elections. Which is not the same as the French National Assembly elections. Bold moves, we didn’t think the clever weirdo had it in him. To wit, the French 75.
Created in Harry’s New York bar in Paris – sometime before Hemingway showed up to make himself obvious – and named after a rapid-fire French field gun, the French 72 straddles a strange place in that it’s a cocktail that your wife will like and still packs a hell of a wallop. The original Harry’s recipe calls for gin, but at some point, after landing in the US, those Bourbon creoles in New Orleans switched it out with Cognac and tweaked it to be a little drier that the original.
__
The French 75
1 ¼ oz Cognac
1/3 oz lemon juice
1/3 oz simple syrup
2 ¼ oz of brut (dry) Champagne
Lemon peel
--
Don’t feel the need to splash out on top notch Cognac when mixing up cocktails, at this point a decent brandy will do. Combine the brandy, lemon juice and simple syrup over ice in a shaker and do your worst. Strain into a fluted glass or coupé, top off with the Champagne and garnish with a lemon peel.
We don’t know what the French president is thinking this week, but if you are reading this we can make an educated guess about you: these will work better than flowers if the Mrs. is making a snap decision about her choice of husband.