If you visit France and spend any time at all with French people, you will notice their tradition of drinking an apéritif before dinner.  Since the French value their food so much, each big meal is savored and eaten slowly over a long period of time.  As a slow start to the meal, and a way to tantalize a diner's taste buds in anticipation of a great feast, an apéritif is served with a small alcoholic beverage.  One of the most popular apéritif drinks in France is called a kir.  This drink is served all over France and the popularity has reached to many other countries in the world.  Consider this article an apéritif to whet your appetite for experiencing a real French kir.

 

The kir cocktail is named after Cannon Félix Kir, who was a hero of the French resistance in World War II.  After the war was over, Kir focused his attention on politics.  He became the mayor of Dijon in 1945 and remained at his post until 1968.  During that time he developed this cocktail, made of crème de cassis liquor and white wine, to serve to his guests.  Crème de cassis is a unique flavor, as the liquor is made from black currant berries.  The kir cocktail was served at town hall receptions and almost every event where Mayor Kir was involved.  It is thought that part of Kir's motivation for drinking this cocktail was that he wanted to promote the local products of France and increase their popularity.  It is probably equally true that the mayor intensely enjoyed the pleasant contrast between the acidic white wine and the smooth crème de cassis liquor.

 

Traditionally, the kir cocktail is mixed with one-third-part crème de cassis and two-third-parts white wine.  However, to many kir drinkers this ratio contains far too strong a flavor and too high an alcohol content.  Many prefer to concoct the drink with just one-fifth part crème de cassis.  The kir is served in a common wine glass and when making the drink it is important to the flavor to add the crème de cassis to the glass first.  Then the wine can be added on top, which infuses the flavor of the liquor throughout the cocktail.  If the drink is made the other way around, with white wine first and crème de cassis on top, it has a pretty appearance as the purple liquor floats on top of the wine, but the taste of drinking straight liquor off the top of the cocktail is much too strong.

 

The original wine that was used to make kir was a dry white wine from the Burgundy region of France.  Now that the drink has spread in popularity, there are many variations that have been created through the country.  A kir royal is champagne that is mixed with crème de cassis.  This is considered a much more elegant version of the cocktail and is served in a champagne flute rather than a plain wine glass.  The champagne gives a nice flavor with a bubbly texture that makes the drink very distinct from a traditional kir. 

           

Kir Bourgogne is a variation on the kir that is served in the Burgundy region of France.  It is made by mixing red wine with crème de cassis.  As you can imagine, it has a very unique taste and flavor when compared to your standard kir cocktail.  In Normandy, they mix a special kir cocktail called kir Normand.  This drink combines crème de cassis, cider, and a splash of Calvados, Normandy's famous apple brandy.  The kir cocktail has become so popular, that it is also served with different kinds of liquor.  If you travel to France and order a kir at a restaurant you may be questioned if you would like the standard kir with crème de cassis, or a kir made with crème de mûre (blackberry) or with crème de pèche.