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French cocktail with crème de cassis and white wine From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kir is a French cocktail made with a measure of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) topped up with white wine.
| IBA official cocktail | |
|---|---|
| |
| Type | Wine cocktail |
| Base spirit | |
| Served | Straight up: chilled, without ice |
| Standard drinkware | .svg) |
| IBA specified ingredients† |
|
| Preparation | Add the crème de cassis to the bottom of the glass, then top up with wine. |
| Commonly served | Before Dinner |
| Notes | A recipe can be found at the International Bartenders Association website. |
| † Kir recipe at International Bartenders Association | |
In France it is usually drunk as an apéritif before a meal or snack. It was originally made with Bourgogne Aligoté,[1] a white wine of Burgundy, but today various white wines are used throughout France, according to the region and the barkeeper. Many prefer a white Chardonnay-based Burgundy, such as Chablis.
It used to be called blanc-cassis, but it is now named after Félix Kir (1876–1968), mayor of Dijon in Burgundy. Kir was a pioneer of the twinning movement in the aftermath of the Second World War, and popularized the drink by offering it at receptions to visiting delegations. Besides treating his international guests well, he was also promoting two economic products of the region. Kir allowed one of Dijon's producers of crème de cassis to use his name, then extended the right to their competitors as well. According to Rolland (2004),[2] the reinvention of blanc-cassis (post-1945) was necessitated by the German Army's confiscation of all the local red Burgundy during the war. Faced with an excess of white wine, Kir renovated a drink that used to be made primarily with the red.
Following the commercial development of crème de cassis in 1841, the cocktail became a popular regional café drink, but has since become inextricably linked internationally with the name of Mayor Kir. When ordering a Kir, waiters in France sometimes ask whether the customer wants it made with crème de cassis, de mûre (blackberry), de pêche (peach), or framboise (raspberry).
The International Bartenders Association gives a recipe using 1/10 crème de cassis, but French sources typically specify more; 19th-century recipes for blanc-cassis recommended 1/3 crème de cassis, which modern tastes find cloyingly sweet, and modern sources typically say about 1/5. Replacing the crème de cassis with blackcurrant syrup is discouraged.[3]
Besides the basic Kir, a number of variations exist:[4]
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