Champagne Wishes: A Kir Royale Tasting

1. Just playing..., 2. kir royale toast, 3. the kiss, 4. Kir royale, 5. Alexia & Nils #16, 6. Kir Royale!, 7. Kir Royale, 8. Strawberry Kir Royale, 9. Kir Royale and Pantheon
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Before our fabulous anniversary dinner in New York, Pete and I decided to stop for a cocktail at a Flûte, a cozy spot in Gramercy. Everything on the menu looked delightful, but our best choice was the Kir Royale tasting flight. A Kir is made with crème de cassis (blackcurrant liquor) and white wine. The Kir Royale, substitutes champagne for the white wine. Yum.

First a little history (from Wikipedia of course). The Kir is named after Félix Kir, mayor of Dijon in Burgundy, who after World War II popularized the drink by offering it at receptions to visiting delegations. Besides being a wonderful host to his international guests, Felix was also brilliantly promoting two key economic products of the region, white wine and crème de cassis.

There are many varieties offered for the flight at Flûte, but we decided to go unconventional with Violet, Ginger, and Blackberry versions. They were all delicious. The violet perfectly perfumed the cocktail, but didn't overpower the champagne taste. The ginger was a refreshing palate cleanser, and the blackberry was smooth and sweet.

The colors of the drinks were lovely. A Violet Kir Royale would be a great signature cocktail for a wedding where lavender or sage green were the colors of choice. A Lemon Kir Royale would add some hip and colorful sparkle for an event using everyone's favorite neutral these days...gray. We had so much fun tasting and talking, that it got me thinking. A Kir Royale tasting would be a fun offering a New Year's Eve party. After all, there's always bubbly conversation and high spirits, when champagne is around! Clink! Clink!