On 29/12/06 18:49, in article 1hr3y8z.19ac04ggd39zpN%d4g4hd@yahoo.co.uk,
"David Horne, _the_ chancellor *" wrote:
> I'm more of a gin martini man
> though.
I decided to give up hangovers about 15 years ago. Living in
France promotes the drinking of wine, with dinners or having
a single glass at a café in the late afternoon. We do have
a kir before dinner in a restaurant, which is fortunately mostly
white wine or champagne (kir royale). It can be prepared with
any of a number of sweat liquors.
from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kir
Kir is a cocktail made with a measure of crème de cassis (blackcurrant
liquor) topped up with white wine.
In France it is usually drunk as an apéritif before a meal or snack.
Originally the wine used was Bourgogne Aligoté, a lesser white wine of
Burgundy. Nowadays, various white wines are used throughout France,
according to the region and the whim of the barkeeper. Many prefer a white
chardonnay-based Burgundy, such as Chablis.
It is named after Félix Kir (1876 - 1968), mayor of Dijon in Burgundy, who
as a pioneer of the twinning movement in the aftermath of the Second World
War popularized the drink by offering it at receptions to visiting
delegations. Besides treating his international guests well, he was also
promoting two vital economic products of the region.
Following the commercial development of crème de cassis in 1841 the cocktail
became a popular regional café drink under the name of blanc-cass, but has
since become inextricably linked internationally with the name of Mayor Kir.
When ordering a kir, waiters in France now normally ask whether you want it
made with cassis (blackcurrant), mûre (blackberry) or pèche (peach).
Besides the basic kir, a number of variations exist:
Kir Royale - made with champagne
Kir Pétillant made with sparkling wine
Cardinal - made with red wine instead of white
Kir Imperial - made with raspberry liqueur instead of cassis, and champagne
Kir Normand - made with Normandy cider instead of wine.
Kir Breton - made with cider from Brittany instead of wine.
Cidre Royal - made with cider instead of wine, with a measure of calvados
added.
Young American bartenders are increasingly (and mistakenly) using Chambord
when one orders a Kir Royale, so it is important to specify that you want it
with crème de cassis.
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