It’s been a long time since we patted ourselves on the back for the novel idea of pouring a little Chambord into a bottle of Zima. We don’t even know if you can still buy Zima anymore, but that seemed like a good idea at the time. Of course, it wasn’t such a unique concept—adding liqueur to sparkling beverages. In fact, it doesn’t even have to be bubbly at all.

Named after Félix Kir (1876–1968), mayor of Dijon in Burgundy, the Kir was a drink that was originally made by pouring a measure of  crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) into a wine glass and then topping it up with wine. After World War II, there was an abundance of white wine in Burgundy, so Kir renovated the drink and used the surplus white wine in place of his original red. Today, we also have the Kir Royale which is essentially the same drink made with champagne.

It’s as simple as it is elegant, but in France this is typically a café drink where they might ask you if you want it with blackcurrant, blackberry or peach. But why stop there? With all of the liqueurs available, your options are wide open. The only danger is that you end up with something too sweet, so the exact proportions are yours to adjust. Your choice probably depends on the wine, sparkling or otherwise. If you start with a dry variety, it might be able to stand a bit more liqueur, but you run the risk of completely masking the wine’s flavor, and that’s no good either. And yet, if you take it a bit too far, it is unlikely you’d be pouring anything down the drain, so it’s hard to mess this up. It can be very tasty even if you are still working toward the right proportions.

Kir Royale
.5 oz creme de cassis
top with dry, sparkling wine

Add the liqueur to a wine glass and top up with cold, sparkling wine.

One of the things we love about this cocktail is how easy it is to make. There’s no stirring or shaking if you can get a nice mix while you pour, and provided your wine is chilled, you don’t even have to open the icebox. It’s also great for parties when you want to add a bit of whimsy to an otherwise unremarkable white wine. You could even line up several choices for guests to dose their own glass. D’Amico Kitchen on the main floor of Le Meridien Chambers Hotel in Minneapolis even had a version on their cocktail menu made with Aperol and Prosecco (an Aperol Spritz). Taking this into the bitter realm is a fantastic interpretation of this template and worthy of further exploration.

There isn’t much “mixology” going on in this cocktail, but don’t knock the drink. As we have stated before, it’s never a bad time to open a bottle of champagne, and we still believe that. There’s so much flexibility here after you commit to popping the cork that you can probably find a combination that’s appealing. You could also switch gears and make the French 75, the Seelbach, or just drink the wine! If you haven’t had the pleasure of adding some extra flavor to your bubbly, give it a shot. If you don’t have any sparkling, just use a dry white wine—that was the original idea anyway. Now, if we could just lay our hands on some Zima. . .