British 75

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Cocktail History

The British 75 is a variation of the classic French 75 from Highclere Castle Gin that uses their London Dry Gin, an award-winning spirit they produce in one of the oldest copper gin stills from the 1800s at England’s oldest gin distillery. The original 75 cocktail’s combination of gin, sugar, lemon, and sparkling wine was named for the 75mm French artillery gun used in World War I and was made famous by the Stork Club in New York City when American soldiers brought the recipe home from Europe.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Highclere Castle Gin: This is one of the base spirit. The recipe specifically calls for Highclere Castle’s London Dry Gin because the recipe is theirs and the gin is made in England.

Sparkling Wine: This is the other spirit. It’s poured on top at the end to make the drink boozier and add bubbly’s sparkling wine flavor and effervescence. We prefer Villa Bellezza Winery’s Brillante because it was our wedding wine and we love its light and airy taste.

Lemon Juice: This adds sour citrus flavors for more complexity and balance. We prefer to use fresh citrus juice because it’s less bitter than the bottled stuff and tastes better.

Simple Syrup: This is a sweetener made with sugar and water. You can buy bottled simple syrup in a store, but we made ours at home using Alex’s recipe because it tastes better fresh and is very easy to make.

Lemon Wedge: This is the garnish. It adds more fresh lemon aroma and flavor.

Tasting Notes

The British 75 features lemony sweet aromas floating above, a distinct tartness from the citrus, and dryness from the sparkling wine, all complemented by the botanicals and peppery aftertaste of the gin.

Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: With history dating back to 749 AD, the Highclere Castle estate famously had a starring role as Downton Abbey itself and now distills their world famous gin from botanicals grown on their own grounds. And wow, is it worth every drop. A great spirit like this one really is what makes the drink special, and we can see why Highclere Castle Gin themselves included this recipe in the gift box we received. We both thought it was delicious and a great way to spotlight the gin’s flavors.

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from Highclere Castle Gin‘s cocktail guide featuring recipes from their Head Butler.

Tools & Glassware We Recommend

More Sparkling Wine Cocktails

If you like this sparkling wine cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:

• Nucleus Mimosa: A sparkling wine cocktail made with orange juice, cranberry juice, and a lime slice

• Mountaintop Meadow: A vodka cocktail made with elderflower liqueur, simple syrup, lavender bitters, dry sparkling wine, a pineapple wedge, and mint

• Pomegranate Gin Fizz: A gin cocktail made with grenadine, sparkling wine, pomegranate seeds, and a Demerara sugar cube

• Minute To Midnight: A brandy cocktail made with pear liqueur, Angostura aromatic bitters, dry sparkling wine, and a lemon twist