Imperial Kir

Now that I'm on the subject of Kirs, let me introduce you to this baddie! It is a Kir on steroids (or Kirsh, actually) and it combines two fruit spirits with bubbles and a lot of crushed ice. The Kirshwasser--not a small portion, here--is probably what promotes the Kir Royale to an emperor. If not that, though, it must be the massive size of this drink. It's like it is designed to wipe out any drinker in one cocktail.

Kirschwasser--the traditional stuff from Germany, like this Kammer Kirsch--is very high proof. It tastes like dry fruit brandy, and I love how that dryness and fruit comes through what is normally a sweet black current pie of a cocktail. Crushed ice makes the whole think unbelievably cold compared to the often improperly-served warm Kir (when you don't chill the cassis and just put it in the warm glass and top with champagne and hope for the best.) It turns out that the Imperial Kir is a drink that is enjoyable when you take your time with it and let it dilute a little. At this strength and size, you almost have to!

• 2 oz. creme de cassis (G. E Massenez used)
• 1 oz. kirschwasser (Kammer Kirsch used)
• champagne or sparkling wine

Combine creme de cassis ingredients with crushed ice in a shaker or blender. Shake or blend briefly to combine evenly and pour into a large wine goblet. Top with champagne or sparkling wine and stir gently.

Bubbling Passion

This sparkling wine cocktail is the passionfruit edition of of a Kir Royale! It uses the now extinct la Grande Passion liqueur that Grand Marnier used to make. In this resurected drink, the passionfruit comes through the bubbles even better than cassis, and you can even taste the chocolate notes--not bad for an easy bubbles cocktail.

• 1 1/2 oz. la Grande Passion liqueur
• sparkling wine or champagne
• lemon twist

Pour la Grande Passion into a chilled champagne flute and top with sparkling wine or Champagne. Twist lemon peel over the glass and drop it in.

Faux Kir / Faux Kir Royale (Non-Alcoholic)

This mocktail can be done in two ways: the Faux Kir with grape juice and raspberry syrup, and the Faux Kir Royale with sparkling cider and raspberry syrup. Both are good if you make your own raspberry syrup from fresh raspberries cooked in water and sugar and mashed. You get this brilliant color and the taste of real raspberries on top of whatever juice you pick.

• 1 1/2 oz. raspberry syrup
•  sparkling cider (Faux Kir Royale or white grape juice (Faux Kir)
• lemon twist

Pour syrup into a chilled wine glass. Add a half glass of juice of choice and stir gently. Twist lemon peel over the glass and drop it in. 

Brandy Cassis

This is a sweet brandy cocktail that finds an interesting use for creme de cassis, that black currant liqueur. A good creme de cassis is key to making this taste at all elegant. Otherwise it will be syrupy and sort of cheap tasting.

When it comes to choice of brandy, use cognac please. You need a dry but also somewhat complex brandy to stand up to the sweetness of the cassis.

For glassware, the recommendation is a cocktail glass, but I don't find the proportions sufficient to warrant such a big glass. A sour glass will do well, and is much closer to the glass recommendation of the Kir and Byrrh Cassis cocktails, which are the major creme de cassis drinks.

• 2 oz. brandy (Courvoisier VS used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. creme de cassis (G. E. Massenez used)
• lemon twist

Combine all ingredients except lemon twist in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass (sour glass pictured) and garnish with twist.

Kir

I've always thought that the Kir was a bad idea looking for good wine to ruin. Adding sugary sweetness to a white wine could only result in a warm, overly sweet fiasco. But with G. E Massenez creme de cassis, you can transform a soft white wine into a dessert drink that's palatable like a ruby port with lots of real black currant flavor. I think I liked it more than the Kir Royale.

I still think its a good idea to reduce the amount of creme de cassis a little and use plenty of white wine. This will keep the drink from warming up too quickly. Even better, you might want to chill the creme de cassis, especially if you want to use the full portion of creme de cassis in the recipe.

For this one I used a nice sauvignon blanc that was a little sweet to begin with. I squeezed the twist over the wine, which imparted a really pleasant lemon oil that lasted through the entire drink.

• 2 oz. creme de cassis
• white wine
• lemon twist

Combine creme de cassis and wine in a chilled wine glass. Twist lemon peel into drink and drop in.

St. Germain Kir Blanc

This isn't real St. Germain. This is elderflower cordial and vodka in a St. Germain bottle. Even so, I find that this cordial is so similar to the liqueur that most St. Germain drinkers would have a hard time finding the impostor if it were next to the real deal.

Kirs are wine and liqueur drinks that are probably the easiest of all cocktails to make. No ice needed. No shaking. You don't even have to stir.

• 1 oz. St Germain
• 3 oz. dry white wine

Combine both ingredients in a white wine glass.