Kir

Kir is undoubtedly one of the most popular Before dinner cocktails. Its composition has been wrongly accepted, many people believe that it consists of a simple white wine accompanied by crème de cassis. No, the Kir is not made with just any white wine but with Burgundy Aligoté.

However, the Kir cocktail was once called “Blancs Cassis” (white cassis) until Felix Kir gave his name to the cocktail. Felix Kir was born in 1876, was ordained a priest in 1901 and received the Legion of Honor in 1946, in the same year he became mayor of Dijon.

He popularized the cocktail. The Kir was a drink known for a long time in Dijon. Some argue that it dates from the beginning of the 20th century when, to save money, a mayor decided to replace the traditional Champagne for official receptions with white wine with the addition of crème de cassis. Canon Kir when he was mayor kept this tradition and his charismatic personality led to his name being associated with this cocktail.

Later, the Lejay-Lagoute liqueur house had the authorization of the mayor to market the blanc-cassis under the name “Kir”. Shortly after authorizing it, the canon wanted to give the same possibility to other Dijon liquorists. However, it was too late. A lawsuit ensued which, 12 years later, resulted in the exclusive ownership of the Kir brand to this one liquorist

The Kir cocktail recipe 

The original kir recipe was made with 1 cl Crème de Cassis and 9 cl Bourgogne aligoté. The presence of so much cream was made to disguise the then acidic taste of Bourgogne aligoté.

The Kir cocktail variations
There are several variations of the cocktail:
Kir Lorrain (with Mirabelle liqueur) or Ardéchoise with chestnut cream);
Kir Royal (with sparkling wine instead of white wine);
Communard or Cardinal (with red wine);
Breton Kir (with cider and a fruit cream).
Even more sophisticated: Marcassin (registered name) which combines crème de cassis and marc de Bourgogne.

Kir included in the list of IBA official cocktails and classed as an Before Dinner Cocktail.