Kir Royale co*cktail Recipe (French Champagne co*cktail) (2024)

There is truly nothing quite as classic or simple as the Kir Royale co*cktail! A French champagne co*cktail infused with berry liqueur. It’s stunning, it’s delicious, and it’s always in season.

What is a Kir Royale?

The Kir Royale is a French sparkling wine co*cktail flavored with a black currant liqueur known as Crème de Cassis. This classic co*cktail is a variation of the Kir co*cktail, which features dry white wine (instead of sparkling) and Crème de Cassis.

What is Creme de Cassis?

Crème de Cassis is a black currant-flavored liqueur. It hails from France, is deeply colored, and is sweet. You can find cheap bottles of Crème de Cassis for around $10/bottle but it’s best to buy a product that comes from France, which will usually run you about $30.

If you end up buying a bottle of Crème de Cassis, you can use it as a substitute for Chambord in the French Martini or make a spritz with it like you would in the Aperol Spritz.

Best Liqueuer for a Kir Royale

In my opinion, Crème de Cassis is good (and classic), but not the best liqueur option for this co*cktail.

Here are two other liqueur options to make the best Kir Royale:

• Chambord: which you might already have on hand for the French Martini, is a classic French black raspberry liqueur dating back to 1685.
• Crème de Mûre: is a flavor-packed blackberry liqueur most known for its use in the Bramble, a classic gin co*cktail.

Looking for something wintery? Check out this Pomegranate Kir Royale which uses Pama, a pomegranate liqueur.

Best Sparkling Wine to Use

The kir royale, with it’s French roots, traditionally uses Champagne. It’s certainly delicious with champagne, but if you’re looking for a more economical option I recommend using a brut cava.

Prosecco is another option, but with the liqueur being fairly sweet, a drier, more savory sparkling wine balances the drink well. Here are the differences between the three types of sparkling wine, then use whichever based on your preferences.

Champagne: the traditional sparkling wine used in a Kir Royale. This French sparkling wine is often the most expensive and offers light fruit and almond flavors to the drink.

Cava: is a Spanish sparkling wine and tends to be more citrusy, minerally and savory than either champagne or prosecco.

Prosecco: hails from Italy and is sweeter than Champagne or cava. It’s fruity and floral.

How to Make a Kir Royale

There are two steps to this kir royale recipe.

1. Add the liqueur to a champagne flute.
2. Pop the sparkling wine and pour into the champagne flute with liqueur.
3. The optional third step—garnish with a lemon twist and blackberries or raspberries.

Serving

Serve a Kir Royale in a classic champagne flute and garnish with a blackberry or raspberry and a lemon twist. Here’s everything you need to know about Champagne Coups vs Flutes.

Other Sparkling co*cktail Recipes to Try

• The classic Champagne co*cktail is always a hit.
• Try our Pomegranate Kir Royale for a holiday take on this classic champagne co*cktail.
• We also love this Ginger Blood Orange Mimosa—stunning and perfect for the winter!