Easy Holiday French 75 Champagne Cocktail Recipes

Editor’s Note: This post features recipes created in collaboration with Root 23, who provided the simple syrups and compensated me for the time and resources involved in developing the content. All opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced or reviewed by Root 23 or any other external party.

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Well, it’s that time of year….are anxiously anticipating the holiday season or it’s the holiday flavors you’re loving the most?  Either way, we have the perfect cocktail to welcome in the fall/winter season.    

If you have been around here a while, you know that any special occasion calls for a bottle of brut champagne or some champagne cocktails.  And we certainly don’t need it to be an “official holiday” for us to pop some sparkling wine and use it to top the perfect drink.

As the cooler weather rolls in, we decided now was as good of a time as any to create fall and winter versions of one of the easiest and classiest cocktails to make, the French 75.

French 75

We decided to take a festive twist on the classic cocktail the French 75.  French 75s are truly a very easy cocktail to make.  And all you need are a few key ingredients. 

Simply take a dry gin, add simple syrup, fresh lemon juice, give it a good shake in your cocktail shaker then pour it into your favorite champagne flute and top with sparkling wine. And  you have yourself the perfect bubbly cocktail.  

Why do we love this cocktail so much?  

• They’re the easiest cocktails and won’t have you trapped behind the bar all night long.  
• It requires just a few simple ingredients.
• There are so many variations you can create especially if you’re not a fan of gin.
• At holiday parties, you can set out the ingredients as your signature cocktail or set out the ingredients and allow other to make it themselves relieving you of all bartending duties.

Holiday French 75 Recipes

We loved creating several versions of the French 75 with a holiday twist for all your holiday parties.  

To capture the fall/winter cozy flavors, you’ll experience the nostalgic fall apple and cranberry flavor with added bonus cinnamon sticks as a garnish to really lean into it.  

And you’ll also find some bourbon and whiskey versions which just automatically scream cold weather months to me.  

Apple Cinnamon

• 2 oz Apple Vodka 
• 1/2 oz Root 23 Maple Cinnamon Simple Syrup
• 1/2 oz Fresh lemon juice
• 3 oz Sparkling wine 
• Garnish with an apple slice and a cinnamon stick.

1. In a cocktail shaker full of ice, add vodka, Root 23 Simple Syrup,  and fresh lemon juice.
2. Shake well.
3. Pour into your favorite champagne glass. 
4. Top with bubbly.
5. Garnish with a apple slice and cinnamon stick.  

Cranberry Apple Spice

• 1 1/2 oz Gin or Cranberry Vodka (We used Deep Eddy’s Cranberry Vodka in the photos.)
• 1/2 oz Root 23 Cranberry Apple Spice Syrup
• 1/2 oz Fresh lemon juice
• 3 oz Sparkling wine 
• Garnish with and apple (for fall) and a cinnamon stick or frozen cranberries (for winter)

1. In a cocktail shaker full of ice, add vodka, Root 23 Simple Syrup,  and fresh lemon juice.
2. Shake well.
3. Pour into your favorite champagne glass. 
4. Top with bubbly.
5. Garnish with a frozen cranberries slice and cinnamon stick

Maple Bourbon

• 1 1/2 oz Bourbon 
• 1/2 oz Root 23 Maple Cinnamon Simple Syrup
• 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice 
• 3 oz Sparkling wine 
• Garnish with lemon twist and cinnamon stick

1. In a cocktail shaker full of ice, add bourbon, Root 23 Simple Syrup,  and fresh lemon juice.
2. Shake well.
3. Pour into your favorite champagne glass. 
4. Top with bubbly.
5. Garnish with a apple slice and cinnamon stick.  

Gingerbread 

• 1 1/2-2 oz Gingerbread Whiskey
• 1/2 oz Root 23 Vanilla Ginger Syrup
• 1/2 oz Fresh lemon juice
• 3 oz Sparkling wine 
• Garnish with a mini gingerbread cookie

1. In a cocktail shaker full of ice, add whiskey, Root 23 Simple Syrup,  and fresh lemon juice.
2. Shake well.
3. Pour into your favorite champagne glass. We liked the coupe glass for this one.
4. Top with bubbly.
5. Garnish with a cookie.  

Which holiday French 75 will you be making first?  

Tips for Choose a Sparkling Wine

When choosing your sparkling wine to top these French 75’s, you want to choose a dry champagne.  That means the label will say: brut, extra brut or brut nature.  And you know me, I never use a champagne to top these cocktail, I lean toward sparkling wine because of the price point.  But you’re looking for the same words on the label. 

And the simple syrup adds the perfect touch of sweetness to the cocktail, but if you like it even sweeter, either add more simple syrup or choose a bubbly that says dry or extra dry on the label.  

Create a French 75 DIY Bar

A perfect way to get you out from behind the bar at any holiday party whether it’s Thanksgiving, Friends/Neighbors Holiday Gathering or New Year’s Eve is to create a DIY bar with your favorite cocktail.  

Set out a few key ingredients with a simple set of directions for those who don’t play mixologist at home and see what everyone creates.  Not only is it fun for the guests, it keeps the conversation going and all you have to do is set up and clean up!  Doesn’t get easier than that.

• Set out champagne glasses.  And no, they don’t have to match.  Which actually will make it easier to tell drinks apart.
• A combination of gin, vodka, bourbon or whiskey to match the theme of the recipes you’re creating.
• Variety of simple syrup flavors.  We love Root 23 and they ship directly to you.  And there’s more flavors than what we played with in these recipes. 
• Fresh squeezed lemon juice or you could use bottled if that makes life easier.
• Bubbly, of course.  Here’s where I typically put out a several bottles of different sweetness levels so that people can make their drink as sweet as they like.
• Garnishes:  cinnamon sticks, lemon slices or lemon peel, gingerbread cookies, cocktail cherries, etc.

TIPS:

• To avoid having to manage a bunch of cocktail shakers, I put the sparkling wine on ice and the liquor comes straight out of the freezer.  I also have an ice bucket because some of my friends will add an ice cube or two to their drinks.  
• If you want to take the ice cube game one step further, freeze sparkling water or juice in the flavors of your cocktail creations. (And if want to go even further, check out the blog.  We love a good boozy ice cube moment for our bubbly cocktails.)

Want more? 

Check out Root 23 not only to purchase their simple syrups, but for other cocktail and mocktail inspiration. That Cherry Almond would go great in another bourbon inspired French 75.

For an inside look with some fun behind the scenes content, join us on Instagram. And if you want to see 2 other bubbly cocktail recipes, a cranberry cocktail and a sparkling apple cider bourbon recipe featuring Root 23, follow us here!

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