Enjoy these brilliant French cocktail recipes for a bit of festive flair – a mix of tall and short cocktails made with the finest French liqueurs, recommended by the expert team at Calais Vins, one of the best wine, beer and spirit stores in France.
A little bit of French cocktail history
France’s love affair with liqueurs dates back to the Middle Ages when monks and apothecaries distilled herbal elixirs for medicinal purposes. But it was the 19th century that marked the golden age of liqueur making. Railways connected regions, glassmaking advanced, and several iconic French liqueurs emerged, born in abbeys or small distilleries, and created by a diverse range of people from chemists to confectioners. These concoctions were so good that many are popular to this day, with bartenders around the world shaking up vintage recipes, and mixes that are easy to recreate at home to bring a little je ne sais quoi to your glass.
Jérôme Pont, manager at Calais Vins shares his 10 favourite cocktails:
Lillet Blanc Spritz
“Refreshing, bright and slightly bitter – it’s perfect for aperitifs. Lillet Blanc is made from a blend of white Bordeaux wines and citrus liqueurs. It was invented in by brothers Paul and Raymond Lillet, and is delicately floral with a honeyed finish. It’s best served chilled with a twist of orange, or mixed into a crisp Vesper, James Bond’s favourite! Or try this cocktail that’s a French classic:
6cl Lillet Blanc
6cl sparkling water or tonic
Slice of orange or cucumber
Ice
Mix: Pour all ingredients over ice in a large wine glass. Stir gently and garnish. For extra sparkle, use Crémant instead of tonic!
The Royal French Dubonnet
“This is a modernised version of the Queen Mother’s favourite — with French flair!” Commissioned by the French government to make quinine palatable for soldiers in malaria-prone regions, Joseph Dubonnet crafted this fortified wine laced with herbs and spices in 1846.
4cl Dubonnet Rouge
3cl Generous Gin (or other French craft gin)
Orange peel or lemon slice
Ice
Mix: Stir with ice, strain into a coupe or serve over a large cube. Garnish with zest.
Clacquesin Collins
“Clacquesin is one of France’s most unique liqueurs – pine-based, with spices and a hint of mystery” says Jerome, “and this twist on the Classic Collins, with its French pine flavour, is excellent. One of our loyal customers, Eric – a self-described ‘old-school bistro regular’ swears by a nip of this unusual liqueur with hot water on cold evenings!”
4cl Clacquesin
2cl Generous Gin
1cl lemon juice
Sparkling water
Ice & lemon slice
Mix: Shake Clacquesin, gin and lemon with ice. Strain into a tall glass, top with sparkling water, garnish.
Verveine Martini Verte
“A botanical, fresh and alpine flavour – perfect for cocktail lovers seeking something different. Invented in 1859, this vivid green liqueur is made with lemon verbena, and a secret blend of spices, and 32 botanicals. Herbal and slightly sweet, it’s still produced by the Pagès distillery in the heart of Auvergne, and often sipped as a digestif.”
5cl Verveine du Velay Verte
2cl vodka or gin (try Generous Gin!)
Dash of orange bitters
Lemon twist
Mix: Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a chilled martini glass, garnish with lemon.
La Belle Époque Cocktail
“A rich and nostalgic, smooth and velvety apéritif for cold evenings which also features Vervaine du Velay.”
3cl Dubonnet
3cl Verveine du Velay
1cl lemon juice
1cl honey syrup
Orange peel
Mix: Shake all with ice and strain into a short tumbler over a large cube. Garnish with orange peel.
White Negroni à la Française
“I like to make this with Suze instead of Campari. Generous Gin, made in Cognac, is bitter, citrusy, clean — it works perfectly in this modern Negroni mix.”
3cl French gin (try Generous Gin)
3cl Suze
3cl Lillet Blanc
Grapefruit twist
Mix: Shake all with ice and garnish with grapefruit.
Herbal Old Fashioned with Bénédictine
“A slow-sipper for cosy evenings.”
5cl French whisky (from Alsace or Brittany)
1cl Bénédictine
Dash of Angostura bitters
Orange peel
Mix: Shake all with ice and garnish with orange peel.
The Riviera Margarita (à la française)
“You can’t beat a classic – and Cointreau is the original triple sec.”
5cl Tequila
2cl Cointreau
2cl lime juice
Salt rim
Mix: Dip the rim of the glass in salt, pour in the liquids over ice, and mix.
Chartreuse Espresso Martini (yes!)
“A bold twist on a modern classic this one, and an ideal after dinner drink. Chartreuse Verte is one of France’s most iconic liqueurs, crafted since 1737 by the Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse monastery. It’s made from a secret blend of over 130 plants and herbs, macerated in grape alcohol and aged in oak casks.”
3cl Chartreuse verte
3cl coffee liqueur
3cl espresso
Mix: Shake with ice. Enjoy.
The Imperial Mandarin Spritz
“Ok, this is a liqueur from our neighbour, Belgium – but this cocktail is really too good not to include. The original recipe was attributed to the Emperor Napoleon itself, Mandarine Napoléon, also known as Grande Liqueur Impérial, is a rich citrus liqueur crafted from aged cognac, mandarin peel, and a secret blend of 27 spices.”
5cl Mandarine Impériale
5cl tonic water
1 slice of orange
Ice
Mix: Shake over ice.
You’ll find all these ingredients — and over 100 gins including French craft ones — at Calais Vins, just a quick hop across the Channel. British travellers can even claim VAT refunds and travel for free with a pre-order.
Visit Calais Vins
Calais Vins are open 7 days a week from 09h to 19h except Sundays and bank holidays: 10h to 18h. Free parking is available at each store, both of which are a few minutes from the port of Calais and the Eurotunnel terminal.
