Kir Royal Cocktail

Kir Royal Recipe

Kir Royal cocktail – authentic recipe Preparation time5 min Number of people: 8

Ingredients:

• Champagne
• 10 ml of Crème de Assis or currant liqueur for every 90 ml of champagne.
• Blackberries or raspberries.

Utensils:

• flute cups

Kir Royal or Kir Royale is a traditional French cocktail, very simple to prepare, based on a mixture of champagne and Crème de Assis, which is nothing more than a type of blackcurrant liqueur.

Although it is one of the most drunk champagne recipes in the world, the original cocktail is made with dry white wine, typical of the Bordeaux area, mixed with liqueur and fruit cream. In this sense, the most used fruit liqueur for this type of preparation is currant liqueur. However, there are many variations of Kir, which are made with melon, pomegranate, blackberry, peach or apple liqueurs. In fact, the most sophisticated are made with violet flower liqueur.

The original recipe, called Blanc Cassis, was eaten in the French area of ​​Dijon as an aperitif before lunch or dinner. This drink became popular at the end of World War II, when Félix Kir, a Burgundian priest who lived and practiced in Dijon, had to take the place of the mayor of the city when he fled pursued by Hitler’s troops. Priest Kir used to serve these mixed drinks at his municipal receptions. 

When the allies liberated France and the high command met with the priest of Dijon, he served them the Blanc Cassis. The American and British military took with them that sweet and pleasant-tasting drink, which became popular in their countries. As a result, in 1951 the brand of blackcurrant liqueur Lejay-Lagoute asked the priest to be able to use his name for an advertising campaign aimed at popularizing the combination.

In this way, the Kir was born, which was prepared with white wine and which, over time, evolved into the Kir Royal, in which the wine was replaced by champagne. It is a very simple cocktail to prepare and with a sweet taste, making it a great option for parties and gatherings with friends, as well as to end a long day of work.

Crème de Cassis can be somewhat difficult to find in Spain, however there are many fruit liqueurs that have a similar taste. For this reason, if you can’t find it, you can change it for blackberry or raspberry liqueur.

To prepare the Kir Royal, a proportion of 90 ml of champagne and 10 of currant liqueur must be mixed in the glass itself. In this sense, each brand of liquor has a particular sweetness, so you will have to experiment to find the right flavor, which is not too sweet or too bitter. For mixing, the champagne must be very cold, otherwise the taste could be too dry.