French 77
Build ∙ 2 min ∙ 11.9% ABV ∙
The French 77 is a Champagne cocktail built with elderflower liqueur, fresh lemon juice, and dry sparkling wine, topped and served in a flute. Delicate floral elderflower rides a crisp, dry fizz, with a clean lemon edge keeping the finish light rather than sweet.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Pour into the chilled glass: Elderflower liqueur 25 ml and Lemon juice 10 ml
- Top with Dry sparkling wine
- Garnish with a lemon twist
Tips
- Pre-chill the flute before building — a warm glass knocks the bubbles down before the sparkling wine even hits the lemon and elderflower.
- Use a dry (brut) sparkling wine — anything sweeter will clash with the elderflower liqueur and tip the drink cloying.
- Pour the elderflower liqueur and lemon juice first, then top with sparkling wine last to preserve as much carbonation as possible.
History
The French 77 is a modern variation on the French 75 that swaps the base spirit's traditional sugar for elderflower liqueur, giving the drink a floral sweetness in place of the plain simple syrup. Some accounts credit the twist to a London cocktail writer around 2006, not long after elderflower liqueur reached a wider market, though the attribution is not universally repeated and the drink is more often described simply as a latter-day spin on its parent.
The French 75 itself is generally traced to Paris around 1915, with Harry MacElhone of Harry's New York Bar often credited, though the drink's exact creator and earliest recipe are disputed among competing accounts. It took its name from the French 75-millimeter field gun of World War I, a nod to the cocktail's reputed kick. The French 77 keeps that gin-and-Champagne framework but replaces the sugar component with elderflower liqueur.
FAQ
What is the difference between a French 75 and a French 77?
A French 75 is built with gin (or sometimes cognac), lemon juice, sugar, and Champagne, while a French 77 replaces the gin and sugar with elderflower liqueur, which brings its own sweetness and a floral note. The French 77 is lighter and less spirit-forward, since the base becomes the sparkling wine itself rather than a shot of gin.
Why is it called a French 77?
It is named as a riff on the French 75, swapping that drink's gin for elderflower liqueur; the name keeps the numbering to signal it is a variation on the same Champagne-cocktail family rather than an unrelated drink.
What is in a French 77?
Elderflower liqueur, fresh lemon juice, and dry sparkling wine, built directly in a chilled flute and finished with a lemon twist. It is a light, low-ABV drink at around 11.9%, closer in strength to the sparkling wine itself than to a spirit-forward cocktail.
