Kir

About

The Kir is named after Félix Kir, a French priest and politician born in 1876 in Dijon, in the Burgundy region. He is said to have popularized the drink in the 1940s, although the practice of mixing white wine and blackcurrant has a much older history. After World War II, Félix Kir became mayor of the city of Dijon. He served the cocktail at receptions and festivities to promote local products, including the crème de cassis de Dijon, a specialty of the region.

The Kir was born from a simple but clever mix of white Burgundy wine (often an Aligoté, a typical grape variety of the region) and crème de cassis, a liqueur made from blackcurrant berries macerated in alcohol and sugar. By associating this mixture with his city, Félix Kir helped make it an emblematic apéritif not only of Dijon, but of all of France.