Sip This Cocktail And Step Into Paris
A Kir Royale makes any day a celebration.
I fell in love with Paris the first time I traveled there. The Eiffel Tower, the cheese crepes, the beauty of the Seine River, the architecture and museums and the people swept me off my feet.
And then many years later I fell in love again — with a simple cocktail called a Kir Royale (KEER ROY-EL). More on that delight in a minute.
My husband and I hired a guide for a walking tour of Paris. She was a Canadian who had sold her business and moved to Paris after only visiting it once. This woman was living the dreams of millions of people. We told her we loved the food and culture of France and the beautiful architecture.
She said, “ I have a secret place to take you. Many tourists don’t know about it.”
And she took us to The Galeries Lafayette with the ornate neo-Byzantine dome that was conceived by glass artist, Jacques Gruber. It is an upmarket French department and gourmet food store that opened in October 1912.
Our guide smiled and said,
“The Galeries Lafayette is the second most visited monument in Paris but there is a secret here that most tourists don’t know about — the champagne and caviar bar. Champagne is all they serve. I want you to try a Kir Royale.”
We went to the first floor and sat down at the balcony where you can look up at the artistic glass dome or below to see the shoppers. She ordered three Kir Royales — champagne with creme de cassis which is a liqueur made from black currants.
The tall champagne flutes arrived filled with light purple bubbles and we took a sip. My husband and I both raised our eyebrows and looked at her.
She laughed and said, “I told you it was Magnifique!”
Since that fateful day, I’ve made hundreds of glasses of Kir Royale for guests as well as for my husband and me — because — hey, maybe it was a Tuesday and something good was on Netflix.
I’ve tried many fruit and berry liqueurs, and the creme de cassis is lovely, however, the liqueur I love to use is Chambord which is made with raspberries. The elegant ruby red cocktail suits every occasion — even movie night — and the raspberry flavor is heavenly. Kir Royale is a perfect year-round cocktail and mulled wine is not. And Chambord is easy to find at your local liquor store.
Here’s the best part. A bottle of Chambord lasts for a long time as you just use a teaspoon per glass and you don’t have to just use French champagne.
Most of the time, I make it with an affordable $10–15 bottle of prosecco.
Kir Royale
1 bottle of champagne or prosecco
Chambord (a raspberry liqueur made in France)
Put 1–2 teaspoons of Chambord in each glass. You want the drink to not be overly sweet so make one for yourself and try it first. I know — tough job.
Pour the champagne or prosecco over the liqueur so it blends well.
Add a raspberry to each glass if you’re in a fancy kind of mood.
Author’s note: If you’re not into champagne and bubbles — you can make this cocktail with a bottle of dry white wine and use the same steps. You have now made a Kir (instead of a Kir Royale.)
Thanks for reading! I have loads of food essays (delicious recipes too) and thoughtful and quirky simpler living essays waiting for you. (Well over 100 of them!) And this story caught the attention of NBC News in New York!
Kim Duke writes about simpler living for complicated people. She’s especially fond of writing about the quirks of ordinary life (and her cast iron breakfast recipe for lazy people is the best you’ve ever seen. Really.) Kim’s written for The Globe and Mail; she’s been featured on NBC News; and her non-fiction book, A Fine Mess, comes out in Summer 2020.