April 24, 2004
Sunshine in a Glass
Today the sun is shining and the flowers are all flourishing and Paris is as beautiful as can be. In celebration of this fact, I went to the store and bought some Tavel rosé wine, to make the quintissential summer cocktail. (Yes, I know it's April, but that first really warm day makes you want to start early, doesn't it?) It's a very simple concotion and very tasty, with only three ingredients. 1) Good rosé wine. 2) Lemon zest. 3) Peach liqueur. My friend Grant introduced me to this variation on the kir, and he says it's a speciality of the Loire valley. The peach sweetness balances out the tartness of the zest and the wine and when it's nicely chilled it's my favourite summer drink. A perfect way to salute a beautiful sunny day!
Posted by Meg in Sussex at April 24, 2004 12:33 PM
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Back when I lived in Oberlin we had neighbors across the street who had a mixed marriage - she was French, and he was Irish. Solange (her name) used to make a pretty yummy summer drink by mixing cassis, a black currant liqueur, with chilled wine. I think it was a white wine. But after a while it didn't matter.
Posted by Kurt on April 25, 2004 at 12:38 AM
Anne, it's anywhere from a teaspoon to a tablespoon of liqueur per wineglass, depending on how sweet your wine is and how sweet you like your drinks. I absolutely love the flavour of peaches, so I tend to be more on the tablespoon side. For the zest, one long trail looks pretty in the glass and is about the right amount. (Although in all honesty I have to admit that I'm not very handy with a zester myself, and end up with a lot of "crumbs"!)
Kurt, what you had is a classic kir - it's usually made with cassis and white whine. If you use champagne, it's called a kir royal!
Posted by Meg in Paris on April 25, 2004 at 2:00 AM
Cassis with red wine, called a cardinal or a communard depending on which way you lean politically, is also quite refreshing.
I'll have to give this peach drink a try!
Posted by Frolic on April 25, 2004 at 9:28 PM
Thanks for the comment, Frolic! I had heard of the red wine version being called a Cardinal, but wasn't familiar with the "Commundard" - very funny! Peach liqueur also goes very well with white wine, although I guess you are getting dangerously close to those wine coolers that were so popular in the eighties. All you need to add is fizzy water!
Anne, how did it turn out? We are going to lose the sunny weather here in a couple of days, sadly...just in time for unpacking the garden furniture we bought this weekend!
Posted by Meg in Paris on April 26, 2004 at 5:17 AM
My first exposure to Kir and Kir royals was in a hotel bar in San Francisco off Geary where we stayed during MacWorld each year back in the mid-80's (yes, I am just that old).
It never became my drink, but they are great pick me ups.
Posted by Barrett on April 26, 2004 at 9:43 AM
Meg: When I lived in France, I spent time among some Marxist economists for the Ministry of Finance who first served me this drink. They would, of course, never drink anything with a name associated with the Church.
Posted by Frolic on April 28, 2004 at 7:41 AM
Only in France would you find Marxists in the Ministry of Finance! Well, okay, maybe in revolutionary Spain too...
Posted by Meg in Paris on April 28, 2004 at 8:39 AM
Gracis
Posted by SarahSterling on November 6, 2004 at 7:37 PM
Today the sun is shining and the flowers are all flourishing and Paris is as beautiful as can be. In celebration of this fact, I went to the store and bought some Tavel rosé wine, to make the quintissential summer cocktail. (Yes, I know it's April, but that first really warm day makes you want to start early, doesn't it?) It's a very simple concotion and very tasty, with only three ingredients. 1) Good rosé wine. 2) Lemon zest. 3) Peach liqueur. My friend Grant introduced me to this variation on the kir, and he says it's a speciality of the Loire valley. The peach sweetness balances out the tartness of the zest and the wine and when it's nicely chilled it's my favourite summer drink. A perfect way to salute a beautiful sunny day!
Back when I lived in Oberlin we had neighbors across the street who had a mixed marriage - she was French, and he was Irish. Solange (her name) used to make a pretty yummy summer drink by mixing cassis, a black currant liqueur, with chilled wine. I think it was a white wine. But after a while it didn't matter.
Anne, it's anywhere from a teaspoon to a tablespoon of liqueur per wineglass, depending on how sweet your wine is and how sweet you like your drinks. I absolutely love the flavour of peaches, so I tend to be more on the tablespoon side. For the zest, one long trail looks pretty in the glass and is about the right amount. (Although in all honesty I have to admit that I'm not very handy with a zester myself, and end up with a lot of "crumbs"!)
Kurt, what you had is a classic kir - it's usually made with cassis and white whine. If you use champagne, it's called a kir royal!
Cassis with red wine, called a cardinal or a communard depending on which way you lean politically, is also quite refreshing.
I'll have to give this peach drink a try!
Thanks for the comment, Frolic! I had heard of the red wine version being called a Cardinal, but wasn't familiar with the "Commundard" - very funny! Peach liqueur also goes very well with white wine, although I guess you are getting dangerously close to those wine coolers that were so popular in the eighties. All you need to add is fizzy water!
Anne, how did it turn out? We are going to lose the sunny weather here in a couple of days, sadly...just in time for unpacking the garden furniture we bought this weekend!
My first exposure to Kir and Kir royals was in a hotel bar in San Francisco off Geary where we stayed during MacWorld each year back in the mid-80's (yes, I am just that old).
It never became my drink, but they are great pick me ups.
Meg: When I lived in France, I spent time among some Marxist economists for the Ministry of Finance who first served me this drink. They would, of course, never drink anything with a name associated with the Church.
Only in France would you find Marxists in the Ministry of Finance! Well, okay, maybe in revolutionary Spain too...
Gracis
Hi Meg,
It is also going to be a warm day on the West Coast of Canada tomorrow, and your rose wine/peach schnapps (liqueur)/lemon zest sounds great to start the spring/summer. Can you tell me, how much rose wine to peach liqueur is best?
Love your site.
Anne