Last Updated on October 21, 2022 by laurenpacek
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The French 76 is a fun riff on the classic French 75 cocktail. Swap vodka for gin, and you're in (delicious) business!
Though these cocktails certainly look elegant (and they are!), they're very easy to make. If you can pour some liquid into a champagne flute and pop the cork on a bottle of bubbly, you can totally make your own at home.
They're really nice for toasting during a celebratory achievement or on New Year's Eve, as well as for sipping at an elegant dinner party. Or heck, make one any old time that you want to feel fancy!
Table of contents
What is a French 76?
The French 76 is a riff on the classic French 75 cocktail. The French 76 is made up of vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup, and of course, bubbles. We'll walk through each of the ingredients in more detail below.
This cocktail is typically served in a champagne flute (stemless or otherwise) and garnished with a maraschino cherry.
French 76 vs. French 75
I said that the French 76 is a riff on the French 75. But, what is a French 75? Well, the French 75 is made with gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and bubbly. Whereas the French 76 substitutes vodka for the gin.
French 76 vs. French 77
If the French 76 is made with vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup, and bubbly... the French 77 is made with elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, and bubbly.
So, as you can see, the French 75, 76, and 77 are all related drinks. Think of them as being cousins.
Ingredients
- Vodka: Use an unflavored vodka to make a classic French 76.
- Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed, please!
- Simple syrup: This drink requires the use of a rich simple syrup. You'll make it just like you would a normal simple syrup that requires equal parts sugar and water, but you'll use two parts sugar to one part water, instead. This is what's known as a rich simple syrup.
- Bubbly: Use whatever bubbly you like! If you want to spend the money on champagne, do it. I prefer prosecco.
- Garnish: Drop a single maraschino cherry into the bottom of each champagne flute, if desired. Remove the stem first.
How do you make a French 76?
Even though these drinks look quite elegant (and they are, really), they're very easy to make.
You'll start by adding the vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until very cold before straining the contents into the bottom of your champagne flute.
Top all of that off with some chilled bubbly! Watch out for the fizz. If you aren't careful, the bubbly can fizz up quite a bit and overflow.
After that, drop a single maraschino cherry into each of the champagne flutes.
Recommended tools
Other drinks made with bubbly
Need more bubbly cocktails? Check out the links below. Some are from this blog, some are from other fabulous bloggers.
- Limoncello Spritz from A Nerd Cooks
- Elderflower Thyme 75 from The Gourmet Bon Vivant
- Rossini Cocktail (Strawberry Bellinis) from A Nerd Cooks
- Grapefruit Mimosas from Jaylynn Little
- Poinsettia Cocktails (Cranberry Mimosas) from A Nerd Cooks
- Aperol Spritz from High Proof Preacher
- French 77 from A Nerd Cooks
FAQs/Tips and tricks
Yes! You can shake up a few of these at a time. Just scale up the vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup according to the number of drinks that you want to make, add it to your cocktail shaker, shake with ice, and pour it out into your champagne flutes. Then top the glasses off with champagne, prosecco, cava, etc.
The former users vodka, the latter uses gin.
The former is made with vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup, and bubbly. The latter is made with elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, and bubbly.
In short: whatever vodka you like to drink. I'd recommend something decent to good, though. No need to buy super top shelf vodka, but also please don't use well vodka, either.
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The Recipe
French 76
The French 76 is a fun riff on the classic French 75 cocktail. Swap vodka for gin, and you're in (delicious) business!
Ingredients
- 1 ounce vodka
- ½ ounce lemon juice
- ¼ ounce rich simple syrup (see notes)
- 4 ounces champagne, prosecco, or cava
- maraschino cherry, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Pour the vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup into a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until very cold.
- Strain into a champagne flute and top with champagne, prosecco, or cava.
- Drop a maraschino cherry into the bottom of each flute, if desired.
Notes
Rich simple syrup is made just like regular simple syrup, but you use 2 parts sugar to 1 part water.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 417Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 25mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 0gSugar: 7gProtein: 0g
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