The method
How to make it
Juice two lemons fresh, about 1 oz total, and strain out the pulp; the bright acid is the whole spine of this drink, and it plays off the toasty, slightly bready character of the sparkling wine in a way bottled lemon simply cannot fake.
Chill the flute in the freezer for at least 10 minutes while you work, because a warm glass kills the bubbles faster than anything else you can do wrong.
Shake 1 oz gin, 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice and 0.5 oz simple syrup with ice hard for 10 to 12 seconds, until the tin frosts over and your hand is uncomfortable.
Double strain the shaken base into the cold flute; stray ice chips and pulp will make the sparkling wine foam over the rim the second it hits.
Top slowly with 3 oz chilled prosecco, pouring down the inside wall of the glass in two pours and letting the foam settle between them, otherwise you will lose half the drink to the bar mat.
Taste before garnishing; if it reads sharp, another quarter ounce of syrup rounds it out, and if it reads flat, you shorted the lemon.
The serve
How to present it
Serve in a tall, thin champagne flute straight from the freezer, filled to about an inch below the rim so the bubbles have somewhere to go. Cut a lemon wedge from the same fruit you juiced, notch it, and perch it on the rim at an angle where the drinker's nose passes it on the way to the first sip. This one goes out immediately, no waiting for a second drink to catch up, ideally outside in late afternoon light while the glass is still fogged. If you are pouring for a table, build all the bases first and top each glass at the table so everyone hears the fizz at once.
Make it yours
Swaps & variations
Swap the gin for bourbon and you get a French 95, which drinks warmer and takes well to a heavier sparkling wine. Vodka makes the French 76, lighter and easier for people who claim gin tastes like a hedge. For a zero-proof version, use a nonalcoholic gin or just 1 oz strong chilled chamomile tea with the lemon and syrup, then top with sparkling white grape juice cut with club soda so it does not turn cloying. Frozen, blend the gin, lemon, syrup and a cup of ice until slushy, spoon it into the flute and pour the prosecco over the top so it fizzes up through the ice.
Keep pouring
