Kir – We Love the Aperitif as much as its Fascinating History

Read my story in French »

A Kir apéritif or a Kir Royal is perfect if you want to enjoy a traditional French apéritif. The  difference is found in the alcohol used. A Kir has a base of dry white wine, served in a wine glass while a Kir Royal is made with champagne and served in a champagne flute.

The recipe is short and sweet but keep reading for the entertaining history behind the name!

Ingredients

White Wine or Sparkling wine
Crème de cassis (black currant liquor)

Directions

Kir:  Place 1 – 2 tablespoons of cassis in the wine glass and add 6 – 8 ounces of a dry white wine.

Kir Royal: Place 1 – 2 tablespoons of cassis in the flute and add 6 – 8 ounces of sparkling wine, preferable Crémant de Bourgogne.

Enjoy!!

Now for a not so funny story:

Upon returning from France, I visited a local establishment with one of our French exchange students. I asked for a Kir as I had seen the bottle of cassis behind the bar. What arrived at the table was beyond disappointment!

I discovered that the bar tender had filled the LARGE wine glass half full of cassis (4 – 6 ounces at my estimate) and the remaining half with seven-up, a lemon flavored carbonated non-alcoholic beverage. Oh dear! The only time I drink 7-UP is when I have an upset stomach. It was such a disappointment and such a waste of expensive cassis.

Do you know the history behind the drink?

According to an article in the France Today magazine (2016), the story is part truth and part legend. The original apéritif, called blanc-cassis, was a mixture of vermouth and crème de cassis liqueur.

Crème de cassis is made from black currants. The story goes that a bartender made an error and added white wine, Aligoté, instead of Vermouth to the cassis apéritif. Others claim that the cassis was added to the Aligoté to mask the taste of the wine – popular opinion implying it was a less that quality wine.

But, where did the name originate?

Never-the-less, what is most important, I think, is how the name Kir became associated with the drink. The history involves Canon Félix Kir, 1876-1968. He worked in various parts of the Burgundy region as a parish priest which resulted in his wide range of influence.

During the second World War, Canon Kir served in the Resistance. He assisted in the liberation of 5000 prisoners from the Longvic internment camp near Dijon. After the war, he returned to Dijon, becoming the mayor from 1945 until his death in 1968.

The Canon actually preferred the Aligoté white wine.

So, he frequently served blanc-cassis made with the Aligoté and cassis to his friends and associates. An already popular drink, people began to associate the drink with the Canon. Thus, the drink earned its name Kir.

The aperitif, traditionally made with the Aligoté, eventually included an additional apéritif named a Kir Royal, made with the sparkling wine crémant de Bourgogne. An interesting conclusion to the article pointed out that fourteen versions of the aperitif now make the list of apéritifs.

In addition to the two traditional apéritifs, they list a Kir médocain (Medoc) created from crème de cassis and a rosé wine, and a Kir normande (Normandy) created from the cassis, cider and calvados. Regardless of the other alcohols, this drink always includes crème de cassis.

(I have recently discovered Priests de la Résistance!: The loose canons who fought Fascism in the twentieth century [affiliate link].  I have included it on my list of books to read. )

Mon histoire du Kir (en bref) en français…

Connaissez-vous l’histoire du Kir comme apéritif ? Par hasard, j’ai découvert un article dans le magazine « France » qui raconte l’histoire de l’apéritif qui est moitié vérité moitié légende. Certains gens croient que l’apéritif blanc-cassis a été créé par erreur lorsqu’on a ajouté du vin blanc à la crème de cassis au lieu du vermouth. Mais, les autres pensent qu’il a été créé pour masquer le goût du vin Bourgogne Aligoté.

Néanmoins, cette histoire est consacrée au nom Kir. On trouve l’origine du nom en Chanoine Félix Kir, né en 1876, qui a servi comme un prêtre dans des différentes localités de Bourgogne. Pendant la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, ce prêtre a servi dans la Résistance, aidant 5000 prisonniers à fuir le camp d’internement de Longvic près de Dijon. Après la guerre, le chanoine est retourné à Dijon et il est devenu le maire en 1945 jusqu’à sa mort en 1968.

Chanoine Kir aimait le vin Aligoté

… et il le servait avec la crème de cassis à ses amis et aux autres associés. La boisson blanc-cassis était déjà populaire mais peu à peu le nom Kir devenait associé à la boisson.

Traditionnellement, l’apéritif est fait avec de la crème de cassis et du vin Aligoté. Si vous voulez un Kir Royal, alors vous le feriez avec la crème de cassis et du Crémant de Bourgogne. Cependant, cet article souligne qu’il y a encore quatorze recettes parmi les autres régions françaises. Par exemple, le Kir de Médocain est fait avec du cassis et du rosé, tandis que le Kir de Normande est fait avec du cassis, du cidre et du calvados. Mais, l’ingrédient en commun entre tous les types de Kir est la crème de cassis.

The French version above has been shared on Learn Parisian French ! Llyane has been instrumental in guiding me to a confident level of French.