classic · shaken
French 75 recipe
Gin, lemon, sugar, topped with Champagne. Artillery-strength.
A French 75 is 45 ml (42.3 g) Gin, 22 ml (22.7 g) Fresh Lemon Juice, 15 ml (16.7 g) Simple Syrup and 90 ml (90 g) Champagne, shaken and served in a coupe. It pours to about 172 ml before ice, at roughly 10.5% ABV. Weighing the ingredients instead of measuring them is what keeps the balance identical from one round to the next.
- Glasscoupe
- Methodshaken
- Pour volume172 ml
- Strength (est.)10.5% ABV
- Time4 min
French 75 ingredients — in millilitres and grams
Grams are what the PourPilot coaster actually targets. They are not the same as the millilitres: a spirit is lighter than water, a syrup is heavier, so 30 ml of one is never 30 g. The right-hand column is the density we use, in grams per millilitre.
| Ingredient | Volume | Weight | g/ml | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gin | 45 ml | 42.3 g | 0.94 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Fresh Lemon Juice | 22 ml | 22.7 g | 1.03 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Simple Syrup (1:1) | 15 ml | 16.7 g | 1.11 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Champagne | 90 ml | — | 1.00 | Top with champagne or prosecco |
How to make a French 75
- Set your coupe on the scale (or on the PourPilot coaster) and zero it. Every measurement below is given in millilitres and in grams, so you can use either.
- Add Gin, Fresh Lemon Juice and Simple Syrup to a shaker, weighing each ingredient rather than eyeballing a jigger.
- Fill with ice and shake hard for 12–15 seconds.
- Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
- Top with Champagne and give it one gentle lift with a bar spoon — never stir the bubbles out.
French 75: the questions people actually ask
How strong is a French 75?
Roughly 10.5% ABV as poured, before the ice dilutes it — typically another 15–25% water by the time you finish stirring or shaking. Sessionable. Comparable to a glass of wine by volume.
What glass should a French 75 be served in?
A coupe. Chill it first — a room-temperature stemmed glass will undo half the work you just did in the mixing tin.
Can I make a French 75 without a jigger?
Yes — that is what the gram column is for. Put the glass or tin on a kitchen scale, zero it, and pour to the weight. It is more accurate than a jigger because nothing is left clinging to the inside of the measure. The PourPilot coaster does the same thing without you having to watch a display: it lights up as you approach the target and tells you when to stop.
Why are some ingredients not weighed?
Dashes of bitters and rinses are too small to weigh reliably — a dash is roughly 0.8 ml, well inside the noise of any bar scale. Count them instead. Everything else in this French 75 is weighed.
If you like the French 75
Gin Fizz
Gin, lemon and sugar shaken hard and topped with soda.
Ramos Gin Fizz
Gin, citrus, cream and egg white whipped to a cloud, topped with soda.
Tom Collins
Gin, lemon, sugar — topped with soda. The definitive highball.
Bramble
Dick Bradsell's London gin sour with blackberry drizzle.
Gin Basil Smash
Gin, lemon and sugar smashed with a fistful of fresh basil.
South Side
A gin sour with mint — a Mojito's uptown cousin, straight up.