Indeed not the simplest tiki classic (pictured with ingredients at left); this is one of a handful of tiki classics with its namesake glassware. I haven’t picked up any Fogg Cutter mugs yet (we don’t have room for much more glassware!), but it sure is lovely.
Add a half handful of crushed ice, shaking until ice is mostly dissolved, then strain into a tiki mug over fresh crushed ice, then fill with fresh crushed ice.
According to some sources, the French 75 is described as the only American classic cocktail born during Prohibition. But dig deeper, and that provenance becomes cloudy; in the mid-1800s Charles Dickens wrote about enjoying a gin and champagne cocktail that sounds suspiciously similar to what we now know as the French 75. Origins aside, the very makeup of this legendary drink is contested; the earliest versions are based on cognac, while gin only entered the picture later. But both are great! As cocktail historian David Wondrich explains, it’s not about who invented the drink but when the name was applied and stuck. When the formula combining gin or cognac, Champagne, lemon, and sugar took on the name of a World War I French army field gun, known for firing as many as 15 rounds a minute, the French 75 took on a life of its own.
This is a riff on the French Martini using French berry liqueur alongside the unaged funk of Jamaican overproof rum and grassy notes from French-style rhum agricole. It’s a flavor bomb.
For the Freydis, I used a liberated bottle of 1960s-era Scandinavian aquavit from my in-laws house. It adds a decidedly sharp caraway/rye undertone to the flavor party.
