Kir and Kir Royale Chambord (French apéritifs)

This Recipe includes:

	Crème de Cassis liquor (Black current) – Alternatives: Crème de frambroise (raspberry), crème de pêches (peach)
	White wine served cold – Alternatives: Champagne, Crémant sparkling wine, or Proscecco

Walk into any restaurant or brasserie in France and you will see it on the menu: Kir. It is usually under apéritifs, and is a recipe mix of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) topped up with a white wine from Burgundy, such as Chablis or Aligoté. And there is the luxuriously sounding Kir Royale, with champagne. Yum!

Served chilled, a kir is usually a bit sweet and wonderfully refreshing. In France, where the main meal is usually only accompanied by wine and water, a kir is the quintessential drink, meant to be indulged in along with an appetizer or starter. A typical French meal can be quite long so strap on a seatbelt, the kir is just the start.

It originally used to be called blanc-cassis (meaning white-cassis) but it is now named after a man named Félix Kir, who was the mayor of Dijon in Burgundy.

The story goes that after WWII and the German Army’s confiscation of all the local red wines, Mr. Kir decided to substitute white wines into another drink to make use of the excessive amounts of white wine available.

The Burgundy region is more famous for its red wines than its whites, so it is also possible that Mr. Kir decided to combine the local white wines with crème de cassis to disguise the harvest inferiority.

Whatever his motivation, kir has now become an apéro mainstay in France, along with the southern inspired Pastis de Marseille.

Kir Royale with Champagne

Now white wine may be for the peasants, and so we have a Kir Royale. With champagne instead of white wine. These days sparkling wine or proscecco are just as likely to be used, as no one wants to open a full bottle of expensive champagne just to make a kir.

(In case you were wondering, the bellini cocktail combining orange juice and champagne is quite sacrilegious in France.)

Kir Royale Chambord

If you have ever heard of Chambord Royale and wondering what that is, it is a variation of the classic Kir Royale. Instead of crème de cassis and champagne, the Kir Royale Chambord uses Chambord black raspberry Liqueur in place of creme de cassis.

Chambord is a liqueur developed in the Loire Valley during the late 17th century. It is said to have been introduced to the Sun King Louis XIV (of Palais de Versailles fame) during one of his visits to one of his many country houses, the incredible Château de Chambord near Blois in the Loire valley. 

Because of its royal roots, the Kir Royale Chambord is sometimes called the Kir Impérial and mixed with champagne. The liquor itself is made with a cognac base, raspberries, blackberries, Madagascan vanilla, honey and citrus.

King Louis was, of course, never served a Kir Royale Chambord (as far as I can tell anyway) since that was invented later, but I presume he had some version of a French Martini or Raspberry Diaquiri which also uses Chambord.

These days Kir Royale Chambord is mixed with champagne or a type of crémant sparkling wine from the Loire Valley. You can read more about champagnes and crémants here.

Other Kir Apéritif and Cocktail Variations

There are a lot of other variations of kir as well, using different liquers. The most common flavors you will find across France are:

• Kir Framboise – made with crème de framboise (raspberries liqueur)
• Kir Pêche – made with crème de pêches (peach liqueur)
• Kir Pétillant – made with crémant de Loire sparkling wine

However, there are more “exotic” ones that are not widely available and are usually only served locally such as:

• Cidre Royal – made with cider instead of wine, with a measure of calvados added
• Communard (or Cardinal) – made with red wine instead of white wine
• Hibiscus Royale – made with sparkling wine, peach liqueur, raspberry liqueur, and an edible hibiscus flower
• Kir Berrichon – Made with red wine and crème de mûres (blackberry liqueur)
• Kir Bianco – made with sweet white Vermouth instead of wine.
• Kir Breton – made with Breton (Brittany) cider instead of wine.
• Kir Normand – made with Normandy cider instead of wine.
• Kir Pamplemousse – made with red grapefruit liqueur and sparkling white wine
• Pink Russian – made with milk instead of wine
• Tarantino – made with lager or light ale. Also sometimes called “kir-beer”.

So for example, if you are Brittany, you may find Kir Breton on the menu. But don’t expect to find it in Provence!

Other kirs like the tarantino will only be found in cocktail bars and other high-end restaurants, rather than your local French brasserie.

How to serve it?

What to serve with it?