CREME DE CASSIS SUGGESTIONS
 

I brought a bottle of creme de cassis from Paris. How does one drink it? Straight? On the rocks? Mixed with ??? Any suggestions or recipes will be very much appreciated...

combined with white wine, it makes a light refreshing apertif known as a kir.<BR>And as it is made with black currents, I like it over vanilla ice cream.

Mixed with champagne, kir royale. Never mind the fact it tastes good, it sounds fabulous.

Cigale and Indy are right on. Pour about two tablespoons creme de cassis into the bottom of your wine or champagne glass, and then pour the wine in gently. Don't stir. As you tilt the glass to drink, the liqueur will mix with the wine. Instant France!<BR>

Am I crazy? I thought kirs and kir Royales were made with cassis, not creme de cassis. Isn't that a whole different &quot;animal&quot;?

OK. Don't answer my last question. I just googled and now I guess what I always called Cassis is in fact &quot;creme de cassis&quot;. I thought it must be different.

It's OK, Patrick, just take a good long draft of that kir and r-e-l-a-x.. :-)

Actually it was my Dewar's Dry Robroy I just finished. And now to bed. I'll do the Kir another time.

I vote for the kir royal with a very good champagne. They are yummy! How about for dessert over breyer's vanilla bean ice cream? .......maybe mixed in a mocha....or would that be weird?

Champagne (or white wine) with cr&egrave;me de m&ucirc;re (blackberry) is even better. When mixed with champagne, a friend called it Kir Imperial jokingly. Cr&egrave;me de m&ucirc;re seems more difficult to find but if you do, try this kir imperial.

Please remember that the real Cr&egrave;me de Cassis is a liquor (20% volume). You may also find in shops &quot;cassis syrup&quot;, alcohol free, which is used to flavour water for kids.<BR>Please check which one you've bought as the taste won't be the same for a Kir !!!

Hi Treesa,<BR><BR>Here are some other suggestions, if you want them:<BR><BR>Desiree:<BR>5 oz c de c<BR>1 oz vodka<BR><BR>Baltic Murder Mystery:<BR>1 oz c de c<BR>1 oz vodka<BR>Fill with 7 up<BR><BR>Executive Sunrise:<BR>1 1/2 oz gold tequila<BR>1/2 oz c de c<BR>4 oz OJ<BR><BR>Don't remember the name, but:<BR>1 1/2 oz dark rum<BR>1/2 oz c de c<BR>2 oz pineapple juice<BR><BR>You can drink all of these on the rocks, although the last one I would chill in a shaker and then strain into a glass. Enjoy!<BR><BR>Karen

How do you pronounce &quot;kir&quot;? I always say it wrong in Paris....I do love the drink though.

For a Kir Royale--Depending on the quality of champagne, just a splash of the cassis to color (I wouldn't suggest 2 Tablespoons, maybe a teaspoon or 2) . Otherwise, way to sweet! Tasty! (Also great with Chambord!)

My favorite is a Kir Framboise--red wine with raspberry liquor--yum!

<BR>I am with you, MelJ ;o)

aj- I believe that Kir rhymes with &quot;ear&quot;. I'm sure that if I'm wrong, I'll know in just a moment....

Sandy is right. Kir sounds like &quot;keer&quot;.

The correct white wine, here in the US, would be sauvignon blanc or a similar dry almost sour wine. The French like their Kir mixed rather sweet; most Americans prefer to us less Cassis. There is a statue dedicated to the Kir inventor, I believe it is in Dijon, who combined two previously hard to sell wines into what is today's standard aperetif. JP

As far as I can remember, kir was named after a mayor of Dijon Monsieur Kir who could possibly be the inventor of the drink. I usually ask the waiter- bartender to put 2/1 or 1/3 of cr&egrave;me which is normally used.

My sister makes a kir variation with creme de peche (peach) which is yummy.

I'm afraid that all Kir's variations are yummy...

Greetings and thanks to one and all...<BR>I definitely did not buy syrup. The bottle says 15% volume.<BR><BR>I'll have a party tonight..

Dear Oakglen:<BR><BR>How would a Chenin Blanc be with kir? Such as Dry Creek's dry CB or Vinum Cellar's Chard-no-way Chenin(a little sweeter)?<BR><BR>Thanks,Michelle

Hi Teesa and all: In Paris a couple of years ago, we had a kir with sautern - they actually brought the bottle out to show us as they mixed it. So yummy! Sautern is expensive, as I found out when I got home. But if you're willing to splurge, it's great.

You can make a wonderful dessert with creme de cassis and pears. <BR><BR>Choose pears that are not too ripe.<BR><BR>Peel and core the pears keeping the pears whole and the stalks on. Put the pears in a pan and cover with red wine and some sugar. Also zest and juice of an orange if desired. Simmer until pears are soft but not falling apart. Remove pears and cool. Reduce cooking liquor by about a half, then add cassis to taste (a small wineglass at least). Pour over the pears, and refrigerate a few hours or overnight, turning the pears so that they take on the rich red colour. Serve cold with whipped cream.

Hi Michelle Y: I think Chenin Blanc would do well if you tend to use a small amount of Cassis. We drink our Kir on the sweet side, like the French do. So I am always looking for super- dry &amp; sour wines! So far the Italian whites seem the best. I can't remember the name of the Burgundy white that was originally used; it was said to be so sour and dry that they had a hard time selling it. And I believe it was not Chardonay based. FYI: we find the Marie Brizzard Cassis de Bordeaux readily available here, priced reasonably and of good quality.

The varietal that is &quot;traditionally&quot; used for Kir is Aligote, which in most cases makes a wine pretty much as oakglen has described.

Actually, Aligote is quite pleasant, not too dry. <BR>It's a white wine we buy here on occasion.

I happened to see a recipe tonight that called for strawberries (cut in half, and sugared slightly to bring out the juice), put them in a wine glass or glass dessert dish and pour over some creme de cassis and some champagne. sounds yummy to me!

One thing I wouldn't try is mixing it with milk. I thought it might make a rather nice milkshake and, ok, the taste wasn't too bad, but I had to close my eyes to drink it because it immediately curdled the milk and turned it a vibrant Barbie-doll pink.

Kir Royales are usually made with champagne or sparkling wine and Chambourd, the raspberry liqueur. Kir is a traditional french apertif made with indifferent white wine and creme de cassis or any other fruit liqueur. I once gave a &quot;blue&quot; dinner as a fund raiser and we served kirs made with Myrtle, a long gone blueberry liqueur from Bonny Doon. They looked cool but blecch..you try to do a dinner with blue food. (G) <BR><BR>There is also a drink called Vermouth Cassis. A french bistro in Detroit (the long gone and lamented Ponchatrain Wine Cellars) used to serve them as they didn't have a liquor license. Dry vermouth and Cassis. It tasted like hell but I thought I was very sophisticated ordering them when I was young. Not much different the scary kiddie martinis that restaurants and &quot;martini&quot; bars offer now. I shudder at the thought of a &quot;sour apple martini&quot; Give me a kir anyday........LMF

I tell you, the people on this thread have a wealth of information...I have never heard of so many good ideas! Is kir a common after dinner drink in France?

I've always drunk it as a pre-meal apperitif when I've been in France. (But anytime in England!)

Aperitif &gt; Appetizer &gt; so naturally that's for before meal. Usually not after meal. After-meal would be digestif which is stronger alcohol like cognac or grappa.

Hike, I'm aware of the difference between an aperitif (sorry for the spelling error!) and a digestif. The apparent tautology was aimed at those who might not be. Thanks for clearing that up.

It is an apertif, something you drink before the meal like maybe a Campari but I often will have a kir as a drink stopping at a cafe when it's not too hot, otherwise, I would prefer a pastis on a hot day.

Xenos, you are welcome. And thank you for the term tautology (or tautologie in French.). Am happy to have learned a new word. did not know it either in English nor in French.