Kir Royale

The Kir Royale is a Champagne based cocktail that mixed Champagne and Creme de Cassis to create a slightly dry, slightly sweet cocktail with the complex flavours of a good Champagne and Blackcurrant elements of the Creme de Cassis. For Champagne cocktails, you're probably more familiar with Aperol Spritz, but if you like an Aperol Spritz but want something a little different, perhaps the Kir Royale is the right drink for you. In fact, perhaps you just so happened to have a bottle of Creme de Cassis lying around, plugged your ingredients into our cocktail generator, and asked what cocktail can I make?

Regardless of why you're here, you won't be disapointed by the Kir Royale. It's an easy to drink and slightly elegant cocktail with a striking colour and interesting flavour. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Total Time 3

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

15 mL Creme de Cassis
Champagne (or any Dry Sparkling Wine) to top up
Garnish with a twist of Lemon

Instructions

Pour the Creme de Cassis into a Champagne Flute.
Fill the rest of the Flute with Champagne.
Add garnish and serve.

Notes

The Kir Royale isn't the only Kir cocktail out there. There's also the original Kir cocktail which is made with White Wine and Creme de Cassis; it's similar to the Royale but obviously swaps the White Wine for Champagne (making it a little more fancy!). There's also the Kir Imperial is Champagne mixed the Raspberry Liqueur; similar, but obviously different flavours thanks to the use of Raspberry rather than Blackcurrant.

With the Kir Royale (or any Kir variation for that matter), while you're welcome to adjust the amount of Creme de Cassis to suit your taste, don't get too heavy handed. Blackcurrant in general and, by that token, Creme de Cassis can be quite bold and overpowering in flavour. This recipe purposefully calls for only 15 mL of Creme de Cassis for a reason!

We Have a Bit More to Say About the Kir Royale

We here at What Cocktail Can I Make love Champagne based cocktails. Sure, they’re not necessarily the first thing you think of when you think “cocktail” but they’re just as tasty and just as elegant as more “stereotypical” cocktails like the classic Gin Martini, the Manhattan, or even a classic Daiquiri. And perhaps it’s not quite as extravagant as some other classics like the Fog Cutter, but it’s still a great cocktail.

But sometimes simple is best. Simple cocktails are easy to make and still taste extremely good. It just goes to show that you don’t necessarily need a lot to make something great.

Can I increase this recipe to make more cocktails?

Yes, especially since this is such a simple cocktail. If you want to mix together a jug or decanter of Kir Royale, it’s easy enough to do. Then it’s easy enough to pour out a cocktail to your guests.

Will this cocktail keep if I make it ahead of time?

This isn’t a cocktail to make ahead of time because of the Sparkling Wine; it will lose carbonation. Thankfully it’s pretty quick to make so it shouldn’t be too much trouble.

What’s the perfect time for a Kir Royale?

Being a Champagne based cocktail, the Kir Royale is the perfect cocktail for Champagne time! There’s not a lot of modification to the Champagne base but the recipe still does a lot to improve upon what’s already considered a wonderful celebration drink. So perhaps you’re having some Champagne with people and you’d prefer something a little bit different: it’s time for a Kir Royale. Perhaps you’re after something a little bit sweeter than your standard glass of Brut Champagne: it’s time for a Kir Royale.

Beyond that, Champagne is a lovely drink just before dinner. Despite being a little sweeter than Champagne on its own, the Kir Royale is still appropriate here. However, the sweetness also makes it a little more versatile, so that makes the Kir Royale a nice after dinner drink as well.

How strong is the Kir Royale?

The Kir Royale is a lovely little low alcohol cocktail. Creme de Cassis usually only has an alcohol by volume of around 15% while Champagne usually comes in around 12%, so the Creme de Cassis isn’t adding too much extra alcohol to the standard glass of bubbles. So, roughly, the Kir Royale is only as strong as a normal glass of Champagne. So enjoy without too much fear! But, like anything, it’s possible to drink to many of these, even if they aren’t too strong.

What’s the best kind of music to put with a Kir Royale?

As mentioned, the Kir Royale is a great cocktail for any time that Champagne is called for, so we think the type of music that goes well with this cocktail recipe will change depending on the Champagne occasion. Perhaps it’s New Year’s Eve and you’re at a party; you’ll likely be listening to whatever popular music you and your friends listen to at a party. Perhaps you’re celebrating something, more upbeat music may be in place here. Or, if you’re celebrating something at a restaurant, the background music appropriate to a given restaurant will be the music to go with this cocktail. So, rather than adapt the music to fit the cocktail, in this case, adapt the cocktail to fit the music. And remember to have fun!

And up next on the menu is…

We have plenty of cocktail recipes on this website, so, while you’re welcome to make another Kir Royale, you’re also welcome to take a look at other recipes we have here. Below are some areas of the site we think you’ll be interested in.

All low alcohol cocktail recipes: one of the great things about the Kir Royale is that it’s lower in alcohol than a lot of other cocktail recipes. Check out our other low alcohol cocktails.

All easy cocktail recipes: the Kir Royale is also super easy to make. We have a section of this website filled with easier cocktails for you to enjoy.

Top 15 easy cocktail recipes: if it’s too much to browse through tons (and tons) of cocktail recipes, make your life easier by just checking out our top 15.