ETHANOL

KIR ROYALE

Dijon, France, 1945.

FLUTE
ETHANOL 13 G91 KCAL FROM ETHANOL4.58 OZ SERVED

SPEC

½ oz · 15 mlCRÈME DE CASSIS16 %
4 oz · 120 mlCHAMPAGNE12 %

1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.

METHOD

  1. 01POUR CRÈME DE CASSIS INTO A FLUTE
  2. 02TOP SLOWLY WITH CHAMPAGNE
  3. 03NO GARNISH

1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.

STRENGTH // WORKED

Pre-batch0.5 oz mixed with ice, 0.08 oz of it pure alcohol
MeltStirred: +15 % of the pre-batch, +0.07 oz of water
ToppedPoured after the melt, kept whole: champagne 4 oz, +0.48 oz of alcohol
Served0.5 + 0.07 + 4 = 4.58 oz in the glass, 0.56 oz of it alcohol
Strength0.56 ÷ 4.58 = 12.2 % ABV as served
Ethanol0.56 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 13 g · about 91 kcal from the alcohol alone

IN THE GLASS

MALIC ACID

FROM CASSIS · the apple acid

Formula
C₄H₆O₅
Mass
134.09 g/mol
IUPAC
(2S)-2-hydroxybutanedioic acid

The acid that puts the bite in green apples, unripe stone fruit, and rhubarb. Wine carries it from the grape, but most reds lose it during malolactic fermentation, where bacteria convert the sharp malic into the rounder lactic, swapping "tart" for "creamy." Whites that skip MLF (most Sauvignon Blanc, most Riesling) keep the malic edge as part of their crisp identity.

PUBCHEM ↗

ALSO IN Vodka Cranberry · Sea Breeze · Cape Codder · El Diablo · Kir · French Martini

TARTARIC ACID

FROM CHAMPAGNE · the dominant grape acid

Formula
C₄H₆O₆
Mass
150.09 g/mol
IUPAC
(2R,3R)-2,3-dihydroxybutanedioic acid

The dominant acid in grapes and the reason wine tastes sharp instead of flat. Forms crystals ("wine diamonds") when bottled wine gets cold; harmless, sometimes filtered out, sometimes left in as a mark of authenticity. Without acid, wine is sugar water.

PUBCHEM ↗

ALSO IN Mimosa · Champagne Cocktail · French 76 · Negroni Sbagliato · Kir · Black Velvet · Death in the Afternoon · Old Cuban

CHEMISTRY

Crème de cassis and Champagne. It is the Kir (cassis and white wine) upgraded with Champagne. Anthocyanins from blackcurrant are the color, and beta-damascenone and 1,8-cineole the aromatic signature, and the CO₂ does the rest. ABV is about 11%.

PROVENANCE

Named after Félix Kir, mayor of Dijon and Resistance hero who promoted the cassis-and-white-wine drink as a way to support Burgundian crème de cassis producers in the post-war economic recovery. The 'Royale' upgrade, substituting champagne for white wine, surfaced in the 1950s among French restaurant bartenders. The cassis must be Crème de Cassis de Dijon (PGI-protected) for the canonical drink; supermarket blackcurrant liqueurs miss the proper viscosity and color depth.

WINE & SPARKLING // NEARBY

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