French 75 (cocktail)

French 75 (cocktail)

French 75 is a cocktail made from gin, Champagne, lemon juice, and sugar.

The drink was created in 1915 at the New York Bar in Paris---later Harry's New York Bar---by barman Harry MacElhone. The combination was said to have such a kick that it felt like being shelled with the powerful French 75mm field gun, also called a "75 Cocktail", or "Soixante Quinze" in French. The French 75 was popularized in America at the Stork Club in New York.

The drink's recipe was first recorded in The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930. The recipe in the Savoy Cocktail Book uses gin. A later cocktail book, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David Embury, claims that the French 75 is a Cognac-based drink.