Sunday, September 18, 2022

Kir

 


Last week, in my post about a disappointing book on French culinary history, I included the photo above, showing the start of a meal we enjoyed several years ago in Avignon. The drink was Kir, a combination of white wine and Crème de Cassis. While I have had this delicious drink often in France, and have from time to time made it at home, I realized that I’ve never really written about it here. I’ll start with a bit about the origin and history of this popular aperitif:

"Kir originated in Burgundy, France. It is named after the priest Canon Félix Kir, who was a hero in the French Resistance during the Second World War, and also the Mayor of the Burgundian town Dijon from 1945 to 1968. He was much revered, and history tells us that he was also a big fan of local products and hence created the drink by mixing the local white wine made from the Aligoté grape (bone dry, acidic, with fairly neutral aromas and flavors and unoaked) with the local blackcurrant liqueur ‘Crème de Cassis’." (Source: The Kitchn)

Google images of Kir— it’s been a fashionable drink on and off in the US for a couple of decades.

Here is what I wrote about Kir and other drinks in the restaurants where we ate during our year-long stay in Paris in 1989-1990 — maybe by now things have changed, as most things do! At the time, French restaurants didn’t seem to need a special license to serve alcohol — even McDonalds' outlets there sometimes offer beer. Typically French restaurants, bistros, or brasseries offered aperitifs such as Port, various sorts of sweet white wine, or Kir, a mixture of white wine or champagne and Creme de Cassis. Brasseries served special beers associated with their Alsacian cuisine, but any restaurant would serve you a beer if that's what you wanted. American-style mixed drinks or cocktails were available in larger restaurants, although Spanish sherry — an English and American favorite — seemed rare. As in an American restaurant, the proprietors offered a variety of pre-dinner drinks, including Kir, which boost the final cost of a meal. 

During our stay in Paris we went often enough to our favorite neighborhood place, La Gitane, that the propietor began to offer us a pre-dinner Kir with a little plate of crackers at no charge. Our French friends, when they invited us to dinner, usually served aperitifs, including sometimes Kir, with a few little crackers, or in some cases, a few delicious “amuse gueules.” Well, that’s the way it was! And it was before I started taking photos of my meals, so I have none of my own to show.

The corner where we lived in 1989-90, showing La Gitane, our apartment, and my favorite butcher shop!
The courtyard behind our apartment was also the back door of the restaurant kitchen.
(I can’t believe I found this photo on the web!)

I’m dedicating these memories of my French experiences and beverages to bloggers Elizabeth, Nicole, Iris, Kate, Erika, Valerie-Jael, Lisca, Chris, and all the others who share their thoughts and their beverages each week.

 Blog post © 2022 mae sander.

25 comments:

Trin Carl said...

When I was in France, I stayed in a room above a bar and it was quite wonderful to go downstairs everyday and talk to the bar owner(or attempt to) and see the locale frequent the bar. There was a small supermarket on the same block.

Terrie said...

When I checked in you a couple days ago the post was about letting your meatballs rest. Today I'm learning about a drink I've read about but never tried or really even known what it is. Thanks for the entertaining education!
Thanks for stopping by -
Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys

Iris Flavia said...

I´ve never heard about this, either (well, I was 14 when I was in Paris) but this sounds interesting!

Yvonne said...

Very interesting post. Someday I hope to visit Paris. What an exciting trip that would be.

Elza Reads said...

I have never heard of Kir, but it sounds interesting and probably an acquired taste? But still good and a drink I will enjoy.

Hope your day has been good and that you will have a good week to come!

Thanks for the visit!

Emma at Words And Peace / France Book Tours said...

Oh le kir, cool!
And it's kir royal when nixed with Champagne.
There's a good size lake in Dijon named after him as well, le lac Kir.
Actually fairly recently I watched an episode of Visites privées where they talk about it. It turns out Canon Kir didn't invent this drink, it's older than him, but he helped make it popular.
NB: I'm from Dijon, lol

Mae Travels said...

@Emma — Thanks for mentioning that the drink existed before but was renamed in honor of Kir — I thought that was what our friends told us when they introduced us to the drink many years ago. I was unable to confirm this by checking a few write-ups so it’s nice to hear it from you.

mae

Jenn Jilks said...

I have never had it! I've led a sheltered life!!!

My name is Erika. said...

I've heard of kir but knew nothing about it so I enjoyed this post very much. It does sound delicious. I am going to get some creme de cassis and give this a try. Thanks for sharing this, and it will taste even better knowing the history behind this drink. Happy T day and week ahead. Hugs-Erika

DVArtist said...

Always an informative and lovely post. Have a nice evening.

Becki said...

That drink sounds tasty! I'm way more of a homebody and too nervous to go see the world, but I don't mind sampling drinks and recipes.

Carola Bartz said...

Kir has always been one of my favorite apéritifs which I got to know in the 80s when I often spent time in Paris and other parts of France. I also like Kir Royale (with champagne instead of dry white wine), but Kir is still a little bit more to my taste. My husband and I sometimes drink it here on a Sunday afternoon or for a special occasion. The Kir in your photo looks so delicious and just about the right amount. Thank you for telling us about its history as well, I didn't know that.

Sharon Madson said...

We were in Paris in 1991. We were dying for a cold drink and wanted ice! We found a McDonalds walking on Champs-Élysées and went in a got a coke with ice. Got outside and the drink had 2 small ice chips! That is what I remember about drinks in Paris! LOL Perfect post for T Day. :)

Darla said...

I haven't had Kir in ages. I too first enjoyed it is France and had sort of forgotten about it. Thanks for the reminder. I'm putting the ingredients on my shopping list.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I'm not surprised I haven't heard of Kir since I'm not really a wine drinker. However, I was delighted to learn about Kir and to join you in Paris. This was a truly fascinating read and I was thrilled you shared this with us for T this almost Tuesday, dear Mae.

Tandy | Lavender and Lime (http://tandysinclair.com) said...

We used to have kir royale served to us at a friend of my grandfather's before the meal. I've never thought of Port as an apperetif as here is a digistif. My mom says they had one of their best meals in Avignon

Kate Yetter said...

Sounds like a lovely place to visit, especially since you had such a great experience. I have never been to Paris but of course it is on my list.
Happy Tea day,
Kate

Divers and Sundry said...

I remember Kir from back in the 70s. It was the perfect way to improve a cheap wine.

Happy T Tuesday!

Lisca said...

I've never had Kir, but it sounds like a very pleasant aperitive.
Fascinating to see where you lived in Paris! Is Gitane still there?
Happy T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca

Mae Travels said...

@Lisca — I believe that the Gitane as we knew it ceased to exist a long time ago. For a while there was a different type of restaurant, same name. And a restaurant with a different name is now at that location, but I haven’t followed the history.

best… mae

Let's Art Journal said...

Such a delicious drink 😊. Happy T Day wishes! Hugs Jo x

nwilliams6 said...

I have heard of Kir, but have never tried it. You have made me really want to try it, Mae. How fun you got to stay in Paris for a year and had a special place you visited often enough to become a "regular." Happy T-day! Hugz

CJ Kennedy said...

Kir brings back wonderful memories. A friend introduced me to it just before her wedding. Lovely especially the champagne. Happy T Day

Empire of the Cat said...

Lovely place, and the Kir looks delicious. Happy T Day! Elle/EOTC xx

Jeanie said...

I have always been fascinated by the idea of Kir or Kir Royale but have never had it. They don't seem to serve it here and I wish they did! I'd love to try.