French Blonde — jlkm.net

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OriginFrench-inspired, modern gin classic

Active5 min

Total5 min

EquipmentCocktail shaker, jigger, fine strainer, chilled coupe or Nick & Nora glass

Method

SHAKEN

Juice and wine both need the aeration

Ice

STANDARD

Full shaker of cubes

Dilution

~20%

15-20 sec shake

Glass

COUPE

Up, chilled

	1 · SHAKE	2 · FINE STRAIN	3 · GARNISH
1 oz ≈ 30 mL dry gin	Into the shaker. Fill with ice, shake 15-20 sec until the tin frosts.	Fine strain into the chilled coupe.
2 oz ≈ 59 mL Lillet Blanc	Into the shaker with the gin.
2 oz ≈ 59 mL fresh grapefruit juice	Juice it fresh, straight into the shaker.
1/2 oz ≈ 15 mL St-Germain (elderflower liqueur)	Into the shaker with the gin.
3 dashes lemon bitters	Into the shaker with the gin.
to fill ice, cubed	Fill the shaker.
1 strip grapefruit or lemon twist			Express over the top, drop it in.

1 · SHAKE

2 · FINE STRAIN

3 · GARNISH

1 oz ≈ 30 mL dry gin

Into the shaker. Fill with ice, shake 15-20 sec until the tin frosts.

Fine strain into the chilled coupe.

2 oz ≈ 59 mL Lillet Blanc

Into the shaker with the gin.

2 oz ≈ 59 mL fresh grapefruit juice

Juice it fresh, straight into the shaker.

1/2 oz ≈ 15 mL St-Germain (elderflower liqueur)

Into the shaker with the gin.

3 dashes lemon bitters

Into the shaker with the gin.

to fill ice, cubed

Fill the shaker.

1 strip grapefruit or lemon twist

Express over the top, drop it in.

Protein

Produce

Dairy & Egg

Pantry & Grain

Spice & Seasoning

Liquid & Fat

Notes

Chill the coupe, juice the grapefruit fresh. Both are prep, not steps -- bottled grapefruit juice reads flat here and a warm glass undoes the shake.

The ratio is the published one, not a house version. "French Blonde" is the widely published bar name for this build, and no single bar owns it. If a version you had somewhere ran different ratios, that is worth adjusting to rather than guessing at.

Lillet Blanc does double duty. It supplies both sweetness and a wine-like backbone, which is why this needs less added sugar than a typical sour -- there is no simple syrup in the build at all.

Grapefruit juice must be fresh. Bottled grapefruit juice is usually sweetened or from concentrate, and it mutes the bittersweet edge that makes the drink work.

St-Germain is effectively date-stamped. It was released in 2007, which is why every account of this drink calls it modern rather than Prohibition-era.

Sourcing. St-Germain is the same elderflower liqueur Hedgerow Fizz calls for -- Global Foods Market in Kirkwood carries it, and most liquor stores stock at least one brand.

Adapted Classic. Gin, Lillet Blanc, grapefruit juice, St-Germain, and lemon bitters, in the commonly published ratio -- no single bar owns the recipe. https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/The-French-Blonde