Grapefruit French 75 Ingredients
If you haven’t tried a Grapefruit French 75, you’re in for a treat! The combination of gin and champagne, citrus, and simple syrup makes the sparkling beverage perfect for celebrations and more! The cocktail is also easily adaptable, pairing well with many different flavors and add-ins.
Grapefruit Simple Syrup Instructions
The first step is to make the concentrated grapefruit simple syrup. Reducing the grapefruit will deepen the color and flavor of the final syrup. It will also make this simple syrup slightly more viscous than regular simple syrup.
Pour the grapefruit juice into a small saucepan. Over medium-high heat, bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook until reduced to 1 cup.
Once the grapefruit juice has been reduced, add the sugar. Stir and cook until the sugar has completely dissolved. Take off the heat and allow to cool completely. Store in a mason jar or other airtight container in the fridge.
How to Decorate a Grapefruit French 75
Top with equal parts of prosecco & Fever-Tree Sparkling Pink Grapefruit. Garnish with thin grapefruit slices or a twist and a sprig of rosemary. (optional)
What makes the French 75 work
The French 75 uses a standard Gin Sour as its base. It’s similar in build to the Tom Collins, with the key distinction being that the Collins category uses plain seltzer to lengthen the drink, while the French 75 opts for sparkling wine for a bit of extra power.
Grapefruit Juice and sugar, used here, are the classic modifiers that form the base of the sour category of cocktails. In flavor profile, what you get is the base of a concentrated lemonade, spiked, then diluted with a mixer. Here, Champagne is often used, in part due to the French association with the drink, but also because its yeasty, brioche-like notes help to tame the acid of the lemon juice and gin. You can use any sparkling wine you prefer, but one that’s heavier on citrus notes, like a prosecco, will yield a tarter drink.
Looking for more festive, French 75-adjacent cocktails? Try this
- Included - Eight (8) 32 fl oz juice bottles of Ocean Spray Pure Unsweetened White Grapefruit Juice
- Pure goodness - Unsweetened juice from concentrate, each bottle made from over 2 lbs of white grapefruits with no artificial colors or preservatives, for a beverage that's closest to eating the whole fruit
- Quarter Gin 2 Oz
- Grapefruit Juice 3 Oz
- Sugar Syrup ½ Cup
- Champagne Taittinger 10 ml
- Grapefruit peel to garnish
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Pour in 2 oz of Gin, 3 oz of grapefruit juice, and 1 oz prepared simple syrup and shake well.
- Evenly pour blended grapefruit and gin mixture into two coupes.
- Balance/fill the glasses with quality sparkling wine.
- Garnish with sliced grapefruit.
To make simple syrup, combine 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Cool before using. Simple syrup will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
There was a restaurant/bar at Penn State that served French 75s. Because it was my first, I regard theirs as the quintessential French 75 as God meant it to be. It was champagne, gin, and lime juice. I have tried to find it elsewhere, but no one has made it like LA Bistro. The Playboy Club in Ocean City, NJ, served it with brandy. Not delicious.Thank you for this. I think I will try it with a bit less simple syrup and substitute lime for lemon, and give it a try.