Monday, April 13, 2015

K = Kir, A French Creation, French Faves - A to Z Challenge

A French cocktail. . .



KIR - crème de cassis and wine, S. Webster

K = Kir, a fruity apéritif

KIR is a popular French alcoholic drink made with a measure of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) and topped with white wine. It can be consumed before or after a meal.

This concoction was originally called blanc-cassis, but has since been named after a previous mayor in Dijon, Burgundy, Felix Kir. He popularized the drink by offering it at receptions to visiting delegations as part of the twinning* movement after WWII. (a sister or twin sister relationship between cities to promote cultural ties). His purpose - to promote economic products of his region to increase its appeal.

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Crème de cassis was developed in 1841, but since the cocktail became a café drink, it has become linked internationally with the name Kir. In France, waiters will ask whether you want one of three choices for your Kir: crème de cassis (blackcurrant), de mûre (blackberry) or de pêche (peach). 

I would likely have to try them all to decide which I liked best, but I'd likely prefer the original version with blackcurrant liqueur. At another time in my life, I made my own liqueurs and dandelion wine, and researching this post has reminded me of that.

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Have you had a Kir? Sound interesting? Or do you prefer beer, ale or plain wine? (Distilled spirits are not included in the choices for the purposes of this post, although they are used to make liqueurs. . .)


Please leave a comment to let me know you stopped by, and if you are part of the A to Z Challenge. I'll be sure to check your blog, and reciprocate. If you're not in the challenge, thanks for stopping by to visit! I try to reply to all comments.

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The A to Z Blog Challenge is brainchild of Lee, at Tossing It Out.  Please visit the A to Z blog site to find out more information and the participant list.  There are also Twitter and Facebook presences if you want to check those!


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References:

KIR
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kir_(cocktail) 

*Twinning:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_towns_and_sister_cities 'Twinning' between towns/cities

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Cocktail in a wine glass image:

By Stuart Webster from Southampton, England
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic, license.

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