Erin Elizabeth
Whether you’re ordering cocktails at a bar or making them at home for your friends, you want to know a variety of drinks to keep things interesting.
In this article, you’ll find some of the best French cocktails, their main ingredients, and a little history behind the names.
The French 75 cocktail is a wonderful combination of gin topped with Champagne, making it a strong drink that’s pleasantly bubbly.
The drink’s name comes from the French 75-mm field gun, used in World War I amid the trenches.
The ingredients are simple syrup, gin, lemon juice, and Champagne. You can garnish it with a lemon peel if you wish.
For a more modern and playful twist, add a bit of caramelized lemon fruit or lemon candy instead of the peel.
Check out our favorite gins to use in a French 75.
A French Connection combines cognac and amaretto and first appeared in the early 1970s.
The cocktail got its name from the Gene Hackman film “French Connection.” No one knows who originally created the cocktail, but we’re certainly grateful they did!
The ingredients are so easy it’s hard to talk yourself out of making a second glass.
You pour 1.5oz of cognac and 1oz of amaretto over ice, give it a quick stir, and you’ve made the drink!
The Kir Royale is a Champagne cocktail that uses French berry liqueur for flavor.
You only need a chilled bottle of Champagne and Chambord or Creme de Cassis liqueur.
The drink is a light pink, and you can garnish it with fresh raspberries or strawberries.
You can also caramelize the fruits before garnishing for a more playful spin on this classic.
The Black Rose cocktail is served in an Old-fashioned glass and garnished with a lemon twist.
You’ll need bourbon whiskey, cognac, grenadine, Creole-style bitters, and Angostura aromatic bitters.
After stirring the ingredients with ice, you strain it into an empty glass. The drink’s color is a beautiful dark amber.
Unlike most martini drinks, the French Martini is fruit focused and has numerous variations.
People traditionally make the drink with Chambord, a raspberry liqueur from France (hence where the drink got its name).
You make it with vodka, Chambord, and pineapple juice (but any tart fruit juice will work).
The Kir drink is a cocktail made with two simple ingredients: Creme de Cassis and dry white wine.
It can be the cheapest cocktail on the list because it doesn’t matter what type of dry white wine you use. Even a $6 goes a long way in a cocktail!
The sweetness of the Creme de Cassis balances out any white wine you can purchase.
French Mimosas are incredibly similar to traditional mimosas - the only difference is that a French Mimosa uses Chambord in combination with Champagne.
Thanks to the Chambord, the mimosa comes out a dark red color that you can garnish with fresh raspberries.
The French Rose cocktail is similar to the French 75 but uses sparkling rose wine instead of Champagne.
All the other ingredients are the same, but you have a cocktail with a light pink color that you can garnish with a lemon peel or fresh raspberries.
The Sidecar was invented around World War I and has over a century of history.
All you need is cognac, orange liqueur, fresh lemon juice, and sugar for the rim.
No one is sure who created the drink, but the story goes that a customer ordered it and had arrived at the bar in the sidecar of a motorcycle.
Between the sheets is served in a coupe glass and garnished with lemon peel.
To make it, you have to shake ice, rum, cognac, triple sec, and lemon juice together before straining it into a chilled glass.
This cocktail has three full shots of liquor, making it the start of any great story.
As the name suggests, you make the Black Raspberry Chambord with Chambord, dry white wine, soda water, and ice.
It’s a beautiful orange/red color, and you serve it in a wine glass.
The black raspberry liquor that gives the drink its name offers a light and fruity flavor.
The Boulevardier is a hearty, warm Campari drink with a deep amber color that’s great for cold winter days.
It’s a spin on the Negroni and can be more expensive, as you don’t want to buy the cheapest ingredients you can.
You make it with bourbon or rye, Campari, and sweet vermouth, and you can garnish it with an orange twist.
The Suze and Tonic is a bright yellow cocktail that’s light and refreshing in flavor.
It has the lowest alcohol content of any cocktail on this list, so it’s excellent for daytime summer parties and get-togethers with friends.
All you need is Suze (a French Aperitif) and Tonic water!
Final Thoughts
Thirteen of the best French cocktails later, you now have a wide variety of drinks to add to your mixing repertoire.
From Champagne to dry white wines to Chambord, there are plenty of ways to customize these traditional drinks into something everyone will love.
So what are you waiting for? Grab your mixer and your favorite berry liqueur, and let’s get to bartending!
Check out famous French wines to enjoy as well!
