Classic French aperitif named after the priest, chief editor and politician Félix-Adrien Kir (1876-1968). The latter was an exceptional personality. During the German occupation of France in the Second World War, he was part of the Resistance and facilitated the escape of 5,000 French prisoners of war. He was arrested and sentenced to death, but released. In 1945, he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour. His primary concern was to secure peace through reconciliation. As a member of the French National Assembly, he was a co-founder of Franco-German friendship, together with the German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (1876-1967) and Ludwig Erhard (1897-1977), for which he was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit. From 1945 to 1968 he was Lord Mayor of the Burgundian city of Dijon and was held in the highest esteem by the population.
Kir made the drink "Blanc-Cassis", popular among the winegrowers, the official drink of the region, which was served at receptions in the town hall. Eventually, it was even named after him. In 1952, he initially only granted the house of Lejay-Lagoute the exclusivity of the name. In order not to disadvantage other merchants, he also gave them permission. The Kir is traditionally mixed on the Côte d'Or from dry wine of the white grape variety Aligoté and Crème de Cassis in a ratio of 9:1. First, the liqueur is poured into a chilled champagne glass, infused with the wine and then stirred gently. The drink was very popular and quickly spread all over the world via Paris in the 1980s, especially in the chic scene. The "Kir Royal" variant uses sparkling wine or champagne instead of wine. The mixture of red wine with cassis is called "Cardinal". If a crème de framboise (raspberry liqueur) is used instead of cassis, it is called "Kir Imperial". Meanwhile, there are many similar cocktails based on sparkling wines and fruit liqueurs.
Picture left: By Stuart Webster England - Kir, CC BY 2.0, Link
Picture middle: By Nadine Doerlé on Pixabay
Picture right: By Ralf Roletschek - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
