The Right Holiday Cocktail
Every year on Christmas Eve I introduce my family to a new cocktail We gather at my in-laws house, visit before heading to dinner and church, then return to exchange gifts. Throughout the evening we all sip on the cocktail I’ve brought to the celebration.
This year we sipped on one of my favorite: The Kir Royal.
The Beauty of the Kir Royal is the combination of simplicity and deliciousness.
1 part Creme de Cassis
4 parts Sparkling Wine
That’s it.
I prefer as dry a sparkling wine as can possibly be found. The cassis brings the sweetness to the party. If your sparkling wine is too sweet then the entire drink is out of balance. If the two ingredients are proper you end up with a refreshing, fruit driven sparkling concoction with a lovely light violet color.
Of course you can choose to use nearly any fruit cordial in place of the creme de cassis. Creme de Framboise (strawberry) is an excellent substitute as is Creme de Mure (blackberry).
It is said that the original Kir Royal was created in Dijon, France for Father Kir, a priest, resistance fighter during World War Two and mayor of Dijon for many years. Actually the original drink is simply the "Kir". The sparkling wine is replaced by white wine. Since it was developed in Dijon I suspect the first mix was made with either Chablis or some other white wine from the Burgundy region. However, the drink is far better when offered in its "Royal" version.
The family loved this cocktail. It is not overpowering, it is refreshing and it works wonderfully with both savory appetizers as well as sweet nibbles.
I love the Kir Royal(e)! I’ve been really pleased with Edmond Briottet’s Creme de Cassis de Dijon. I serve it with a dry Prosecco. In France cassis is a very common flavor. Here in the US we seem to rarely see it. The quality of the Creme de Cassis really matters – it’s the star.
Magnetic Field Blend, or, Crushed by the Wheels of Industry
I am always saving links to items that catch my fancy, in the hope that they will eventually find their way into a post. As the year runs down, I want to clear out my aging 2005 link inventory to