While still a cocktail with a long and illustrious history, alongside a simple recipe, in contemporary cocktail age it is arguable that the French 75 has been somewhat overshadowed by more popular drinks. It's far more common for the average punter to request a Tom Collins, despite the 75 being theoretically originally a riff on the Collins. It's rumoured to have first been prepared at the New York Bar in Paris by bartender Harry MacElhone during the First World War, whose original recipe printed in his own cocktail book Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails under the name of 'the 75', differs wildly from the known recipe, the original version containing calvados (apple or pear brandy), gin, grenadine, and absinthe. At the time, the Champagne Cup was a popular cocktail of champagne, lemon and sugar, which occasionally Gin was added to, likely creating the cocktail we know as the French 75 today - immortalised in the tome, The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930. 

Traditionally the cocktail was likely served long in a Collins glass, but it's most common serving is in a champagne flute, with a garnish of a twist of lemon. Curiously enough, we don't have any champagne flutes at the Applewood Bar in Gumeracha, but we do have plenty of coupes, so that has been our glassware of choice here, likely a popular serving style of a champagne cup at the New York Bar back in the 1910s. If you love a Tom Collins, and like us, you love champagne, this your new favourite cocktail. 

the french 75

45ml applewood gin

15ml lemon juice

7.5ml simple syrup

75ml champagne

add all ingredients except the champagne to a cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake and double strain into a chilled champagne flute/coupe/collins glass (personal preference) and top with champagne. garnish with a twist of lemon.