Quick service tip before the story: the full ingredient list is right here, ready to order. Here's how this cocktail came to be.
The Kir is named after Canon Félix Kir, priest, hero of the French Resistance during the Second World War, and mayor of Dijon from 1945 to 1968. Kir, a charismatic personality and decorated war hero, served this simple combination of white Aligoté wine and crème de cassis at all official receptions, helping to promote the local products of his beloved Burgundy.
The drink existed long before him under the name "blanc-cassis", but Kir's personality and his political fame were so strong that in 1952 he obtained official permission to use his own name for the cocktail. Today the Kir, and its champagne cousin Kir Royal, are among the most recognizable aperitifs of French culture, synonymous with the rural elegance of Burgundy.
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