Shake, strain over crushed ice, then lace with liqueur
Bramble
A bright gin sour laced with blackberry over crushed ice.
Shake the citrus base, strain, top with Champagne, and stir gently
French 75
A sparkling citrus classic that rewards a sharp shake, a clean strain, and a gentle final stir.
Edited by CocktailSteps Editorial Team
- Time
- 5 minutes
- Level
- Intermediate
- Glass
- Champagne flute
- Approx. ABV
- 16% · Medium
- Tradition
- French–American
- Profile
- Sweet · Sour · Citrus
Ingredient totals
Ingredients
Amounts below make one drink. The method, Quick Check, and guided Make use these one-glass amounts.
1 ozLondon dry ginRecommended brandBeefeater London Dry Gin
0.5 ozFresh lemon juiceRecommended brandSunkist Lemon
0.5 ozSimple syrupRecipe specification1:1 white sugar to water, by weight
Stir 100 g white sugar with 100 g warm water until no crystals remain, then cool before measuring into the drink. Use a scale: equal cups of sugar and water give a different concentration. A richer 2:1 syrup or a concentrated bottled cane syrup needs a smaller measure, not an equal-volume swap; check the bottle’s specification.
2 ozBrut ChampagneRecommended brandNicolas Feuillatte Réserve Exclusive Brut
Measured method · one drink
How to make French 75
These steps make one glass. For more drinks, use the ingredient totals above to set up, then repeat this method for each serving.
- 01
Measure the citrus base
1 oz gin · ½ oz lemon · ½ oz syrup
Add 1 oz London dry gin, ½ oz fresh lemon juice, and ½ oz simple syrup to an ice-filled shaker.
Measure the citrus base visual check - 02
Shake until cold
Shake with ice · 10 sec
Seal the shaker and shake hard for 10 seconds until the citrus base is thoroughly chilled.
Shake until cold visual check - 03
Strain into the flute
Fine-strain into a chilled flute
Fine-strain the cold gin-and-lemon base into a chilled Champagne flute.
Strain into the flute visual check - 04
Top with Champagne
2 oz brut Champagne
Slowly top the chilled citrus base with 2 oz brut Champagne, preserving the bubbles.
Top with Champagne visual check - 05
Stir once, gently
Stir gently · 3 sec
Give the French 75 one gentle 3-second stir to combine without flattening the Champagne.
Stir once, gently visual check
Seal the shaker and shake hard for 10 seconds until the citrus base is thoroughly chilled.
AI-assisted illustration of one step. Follow the measured method above; sound is optional.Key move
Add the Champagne last and keep the final stir delicate
Technique note
Why this build works
This recipe makes a small gin sour first, then adds twice the gin's volume in Champagne. Shaking only the gin, lemon, and syrup cools and dilutes the still base before it meets the wine. The Champagne supplies more acidity as well as bubbles, so a dry bottle and measured 1:1 simple syrup matter. A chilled flute helps a drink served without ice retain the cold reached during shaking.
Common failure points
- The drink foams over and loses its bubbles.
- Keep Champagne out of the shaker. Fine strain the still base first, add cold wine slowly, and pause if foam climbs toward the rim.
- The French 75 tastes like sweet sparkling lemonade.
- Check both the wine's sweetness and the syrup concentration. The ½-ounce syrup measure assumes 1:1 sugar to water by weight, not a rich 2:1 syrup.
Measure or substitute
A dry traditional-method sparkling wine can replace Champagne at 2 ounces. Prosecco makes a fruitier variation whose sweetness depends on the bottle; keep the gin and lemon measures unchanged for the first comparison.
Recipe references
These references describe the drink or its ingredients. Our measured build and teaching notes are CocktailSteps adaptations; proportions and methods may differ from the reference.
Set the station
Tools
JiggerRecommended brandCocktail Kingdom Japanese Style Jigger
Cocktail shakerRecommended brandCocktail Kingdom KORIKO Shaking Tins
Fine strainerRecommended brandCocktail Kingdom COCO Mesh Cone
Bar spoonRecommended brandCocktail Kingdom Teardrop Barspoon
Champagne fluteRecommended brandRIEDEL Vinum Champagne Glass
Choose your bottle
Bottle buying guide
Best fit is our default. Spend less with Smart buy, or choose Upgrade when you want more character.
London dry gin
Brut Champagne
Know the pour
Medium
A gin sour lengthened with two ounces of Champagne and softened by shaking dilution.
Contains alcohol. Serve only to adults of legal drinking age and enjoy responsibly.
