Hi T,

I believe that the French are more likely to have a glass of wine than a cocktail.

PS,

Have you considered asking her what she would like and then ordering two?

Thanks Ira, I'm not going on a date! just need the info for a short story. Thankyou for the input...

Sorry, virtually none of the French men we know in the country would have a glass of wine. Either a whisky, a 'vin cuit' like port, or vermouth, something local like vin de noix. Or pastis, especially in the summer.

But then they are all too old to be taking a girl out for drinks (aperitif, or more commonly, apero) This is what they would drink before dinner.

My hubby and our friends like to have a glass of a good wine as aperitif. They keep whisky (or Cognac or good Rhum) for after dinner. Girls either drink wine or vin cuit or fruit juice.

There could be all sorts of generational variations.

You could try http://www.askafrenchman.net/, but don't expect an immediate reply.

The pre-dinner drinks I most often see my French friends drink include pastis, port, and kir.

Going out for cocktails sounds very non-French to me.

I think, and correct me if I am wrong, that taking a girl out for cocktails before dinner is a bit more ritualized affair than having an aperitif in France.

Especially as OP wants to use it as a scene in his short story, I would say that asking out a girl for dinner and cocktails before dinner has a slightly different connotation in the US than the same dinner and aperitif combo has in France.

In the US it could be seen as an effort by the man to make the evening more special than "just" asking her out for dinner. While the aperitif before the French dinner is a much more normal, do it or don't do it affair.

Almost any (mostly alcoholic) beverage will qualify, from a pastis to a small beer. Or a cocktail, by the way. In summer, most of my male French friends usually have a small beer, and ladies as well or bitter-based drink like the Aperol Spritz.

"what French men drink if they take a girl out for 'cocktails' before dinner or isn't this done?"

As Padraig said, it is not really done. If a man takes a girl out it is for dinner. They may have a drink (apéritif) before the meal but it will be at the restaurant.

As others said, it isn't done. It's a very American concept. The apéritif will be at the restaurant.

Almost no French man in Paris would order a glass of wine. Just about anyone I know would order a pastis or a beer, often a speciality brew like Hoegaarden or Leffe or a "blanche". If the women wants a glass of champagne, often the man will order one for himself as well.

Many men will just order a Perrier or a Coke.

Now if they are going out to a real cocktail bar during happy hour, the current fad in Paris is the mojito.

Pastis, Suze(Tastes like a Campari)

French men drink very different things depending on where in France they live, their age, their style, the season/weather and just personal tastes. And since it is a work of fiction, as long as you don't choose a drink that isn't found in France it could be anything really.

Indeed, as coco said, French men do tend to drink wine in the wine regions. Since Paris is not a wine region, it is probably the principal reason that Parisian men do not tend to drink wine as a cocktail or apéritif.

And since there is no typically "Parisian" drink, it would tend to imply that Parisian men have by far the largest diversity in the sort of things they might drink. I do know that kir has gone out of fashion in Paris although it is still drunk quite a bit by some people, and of course pastis is very seasonal (drunk mostly in warm weather). "Ginto" (gin & tonic) has a certain number of followers -- frankly, I could not cite a single beverage that stands above the others in Paris.

She's not French, but this Parisian has a great blog about cocktails - if info on the cocktail "scene" in Paris might help with the story.

http://www.52martinis.com/

I remember posting on 52 martinis.
and that day they mention having mojitos
and caipis (a Brazilian muddled drink, I think)

Something I am not used to has occurred in last few visits to France.. when ordering a Kir,, I have on occaison been asked with what I would like it made, ie: kir/cassis,kir / peche etc,, now whats up with that,, I have always always thought kir was made with white wine and cassis,, period,, but now apparently it is offered with other liquers?? This happened the last time in Chantilly , in a hole in the wall type place , it caught me off guard.. I said cassis of course,, but changed my mind and tryed the peach one,, it was very yummy, but I have not been able to duplicate it here as our peach liquers are too sweet.

Kir as branched out from "white wine-cassis". Now you are given 3 other choices in most cases: peach, blackberry or raspberry. And of course some places have even more variations.

as = has

My Frenchman takes me out for drinks often. Like an American, or any other human, what he orders depends on his mood, the weather and the bar. At a trendy bar, he'll have a cocktail, something like the Green Hornet at Candelaria. A corner café, it will often be a beer (esp summer) or a Monoco (esp after skiing), or a flute of champagne. Wine he generally prefers with a meal and kirs are very unfashionable with the boys right now. When we go to pre-match cocktails at the rugby stadium (can't think if a more manly crowd) the host generally serves champagne.

ps... in my circle, instead of an apéro, they now invite you to "prendre un pot".

"they now invite you to "prendre un pot".

Not very new. They've be saying it for the last 50 years.

Hi Thomo,

>Thanks Ira, I'm not going on a date! just need the info for a short story. <

In which case, you cannot go wrong by having both of them order a Kir. If it's a heavy date, she can have a Kir Royale.
...........................................
>Almost no French man in Paris would order a glass of wine.<

Dang. All them guys pretending to be French certainly fooled me.
................................................
>Pastis ... Tastes like a Campari<

?

Hi Jus,

>...but now apparently it is offered with other liquers?<

Another example of the general lessening of standards.

It is similar to the US fad for calling anything in a cone-shaped glass a Martini, even if it doesn't have any Gin or Vermouth in it.

ira you missed out a word when quoting cigalechanta: Suze. That's what, to her mind, "tastes like a Campari."

Deliberately disingenuous? You cad, you!

Dr D.

Since it for a story, why go coventional. Make it interesting, have him seek out Slivovitz.

Or take it even further. Maybe he could ask for one of these;

http://www.sourtoecocktailclub.com/sourtoe.html

Ira, SUZE is a French apero, yellow in color and gentian based like CAMPARI.

"Make it interesting, have him seek out Slivovitz."

If he does that basingstoke, I'll buy the book to see if his head explodes before dinner.

This definitely sounds like a topic I will have to do extensive research on during our September/October trip!

maitai gets it.

a man never forgets his first one...shot of Slivovitz, that is.

maitai and others - MARK your calendars - BUY your tickets - MAKE your reservation - FOR THE *Annual Slivovitz Festival* held this year, September 8th, at the Northeastern Hotel, Cloquet, Minnesota. Sponsored by the US Slivovits Drinkers Association (bet you didn't know there was one) which recently published a warning from the Serbian Monistry of Agriculture that half of all Serbian Slivovitz sold is fake - not Slivovits at all.