French Cocktail
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 18.8% ABV ∙
The French Cocktail is a shaken brandy drink of Cognac, pineapple juice, and raspberry liqueur, served up in a Martini glass. Silky and cold, with a plush fruit sweetness giving way to a warm, lingering spirit finish beneath the frothy shaken surface.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Cognac 60 mlPineapple juice 45 mlRaspberry liqueur 15 ml
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Garnish with a pineapple wedge
Tips
- Pre-chill the Martini glass before straining so the drink stays cold without added dilution.
- Fine-strain to catch any pineapple pulp, keeping the texture silky rather than fibrous.
- Measure the raspberry liqueur precisely — a small excess over-sweetens and hides the Cognac.
History
The French Cocktail is a brandy-based relative of the French Martini, swapping cognac for the vodka in that drink while keeping the same pairing of pineapple juice and raspberry liqueur. The French Martini itself was created in the 1980s by bartender Keith McNally for his New York restaurant, credited with popularizing the combination of vodka, raspberry liqueur, and pineapple juice that later cocktails, including this cognac-based version, adapted. No separate creator or date is documented for the French Cocktail itself; it appears in modern bar references simply as a cognac riff on that pairing, with "French" reflecting the use of French brandy in place of the original spirit.
FAQ
What is a famous French cocktail?
One well-known example is the French Cocktail, a Cognac-based drink shaken with pineapple juice for aeration and fine-strained into a Martini glass.
How is a French Cocktail different from a French 75?
A French 75 is built from gin or Cognac, lemon juice, sugar, and Champagne into a tall, fizzy drink, while the French Cocktail is a shaken Cognac drink with pineapple juice and raspberry liqueur, served up with no sparkling wine at all.
