Vermouth-Cassis , with dry vermouth, crème de cassis, and sparkling water, is the most popular wine-based cocktail in France. It dates back to at least the early 1880s, as it is mentioned in French newspapers as early as 1882. It reached the United States in the 1930s, enjoying a brief vogue there, and remained very popular in France until the late 1960s.
The Vermouth-Cassis is also the progenitor of two important variations, the Blanc-Cassis and Kir Royal. The Blanc-Cassis was invented in 1904, at the Café Georges in the Burgundian city of Beaunes; it is obtained by replacing the dry vermouth with local white wine, generally Bourgogne-aligoté and omitting the sparkling water. It has been a classic in Burgundy since the 1920s, particularly since the crème de cassis, like the aligoté, is a local product.
In the 1950s, Canon Félix Kir (1876–1968), who was mayor of the city of Dijon and also a member of the French National Assembly, was often in Paris, and to promote the Blanc-Cassis while there he made a habit of only drinking that, to the point that the press renamed the drink Kir, as a tribute to him. In the 1970s, the bubbles made their appearance, and the Kir Royal, with champagne or other sparkling wine replacing the aligoté, became a big hit in France and then worldwide. There was even a German television show named after it during the 1980s.
Recipe: Combine in tall glass with ice 60 ml French dry vermouth (Noilly Prat recommended), 22 ml crème de cassis, and 30 ml sparkling water. Garnish with a lemon peel twisted over the drink.See also Kir.
Courrier des États-Unis, July 11, 1882.
Le Cri des Terriens, April 28, 1925.
Douarche, Léon. En Marge de la Troisième. Paris: Éditions Brunier, 1957.
By: Fernando Castellon