Paris Magique: recipes for two great Cassis cocktails

Today you get two great cocktail recipes, similar but different, for the price of one. On Father’s Day I received a bottle of Cartron Crème de Cassis and mentioned it on Twitter. I soon received a tweet from @kingvonelk (Kelvin Kong) with an interesting recipe to try: 1/3 each of Gin, Dry Vermouth, and Crème de Cassis. It sounded like something definitely worth trying, so I gave it a go. It was delicious (a trifle on the sweet side) with the Cassis dominating the flavors. After requesting the name of this delectable cocktail from Kelvin via Twitter, I started doing some research on the web and discovered a cocktail with similar ingredients: the Magique. Kelvin soon messaged me with the name of his cocktail: the Paris. The Paris cocktail has been around a while: it shows up in the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) under the name “Parisian Cocktail”.

In the Magique, the flavor of the Vermouth comes out more as that ingredient predominates, resulting in a dryer cocktailthat still delivers that great Cassis flavor. So if you’re looking for a good Cassis-based cocktail, these two should be high on your list. Try the Magique if you want something on the dry side; the Paris if you want something a little sweeter. The two dominant ingredients in these cocktails are the Crème de Cassis and the Dry Vermouth. When buying Crème de Cassis, you should avoid the really cheap stuff that my wife says tastes like cough syrup, and stay in the $20 or higher price range. Having a bottle of Crème de Cassis around the house is also your gateway to great apertifs like Kir and Kir Royale. As for the Vermouth, Noilly Prat is a good, dry French Vermouth that will improve your Martinis as well provide a nice boost to these cocktails, so pick some up if you don’t already stock it.

Paris Cocktail

1 oz Bombay Sapphire® Gin

1 oz Cartron Crème de Cassis

1 oz Noilly Prat® Vermouth

Combine ingredients in a shaker half full of ice. Shake enthusiastically while remembering your last romantic night in Paris (use your imagination if necessary). Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with a twist of lemon. Salut!

Magique

1 oz Bombay Sapphire® Gin

½ oz Cartron Crème de Cassis

1 ½ oz Noilly Prat® Vermouth

Combine ingredients in a shaker half full of ice. Shake enthusiastically while imaging a magique night in Paris. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with a twist of lemon. Santé!