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French · Dijon

Kir et Kir Royal

The Kir—a glass of chilled Aligoté white wine with a measure of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)—is Burgundy’s signature apéritif and one of the most replicated drinks in France, named after Canon Félix Kir, the legendary mayor of Dijon from 1945 to 1968. The drink’s origins are pragmatic: after World War II, Burgundy’s red wine stocks were depleted (requisitioned by the German occupation), and Kir promoted the local Aligoté (a secondary white grape often dismissed as too acidic) sweetened and flavoured with the region’s crème de cassis to create a drink that was simultaneously patriotic, economical, and delicious. The canonical proportions are one-fifth cassis to four-fifths Aligoté (approximately 20ml cassis to 80ml wine), though this varies by personal preference and the cassis’s sweetness. The Kir Royal substitutes Crémant de Bourgogne (or champagne for the extravagant) for the Aligoté, creating a sparkling, festive version. Beyond the glass, Kir has genuine culinary applications: the cassis-wine combination reduces beautifully into a sauce for duck breast, game birds, and pork (reduce 200ml Kir Royal to 50ml, mount with butter, season—the result is a shimmering, ruby-red sauce of exquisite fruit-acid balance). Crème de cassis itself is a Burgundian product of distinction—the best, from producers like L’Héritier-Guyot and Gabriel Boudier in Dijon, is made from the Noir de Bourgogne blackcurrant variety and contains a minimum of 400g sugar per litre with 15% ABV, producing an intensely fruity, deeply coloured liqueur.

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ServesTwo glasses (Kir) or two flutes (Kir Royal)
Sourced0of 8 in BC
Cook
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I

The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

For the Kir
40 ml
crème de cassis
Burgundian producer, minimum 15% ABV, Noir de Bourgogne variety; e.g. L'Héritier-Guyot or Gabriel Boudier
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
160 ml
Bourgogne Aligoté
well chilled
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the Kir Royal
40 ml
crème de cassis
as above
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
160 ml
Crémant de Bourgogne
well chilled; champagne may be substituted
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the Kir reduction sauce (optional)
250 ml
Crémant de Bourgogne
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
50 ml
crème de cassis
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 ml
veal demi-glace
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
40 g
unsalted butter
cold, cut into small pieces for mounting
Your own market
II

The Method

1
Refrigerate both the wine (or Crémant) and the crème de cassis until thoroughly cold. Pour 20 ml crème de cassis per glass into the base of a chilled wine glass or flute before the wine is added.
2
Pour 80 ml of chilled Aligoté (or Crémant) slowly over the cassis. The wine's fall mixes the two naturally; no stirring is required. This is where the drink lives or dies: a wine that is warm, or a cassis that is cheap syrup rather than genuine crème de cassis at 15% ABV, will produce a cloying, flat result that no adjustment can rescue. The finished glass should be ruby-tinged, cold, and bright.
3
For the Kir reduction sauce: combine 250 ml Crémant de Bourgogne with 50 ml crème de cassis in a small saucepan. Reduce over moderate heat to 60 ml. The liquid should be syrupy and ruby-red, coating the back of a spoon.
From the canon — Reduction is the technique of simmering a liquid uncovered to evaporate water and concentrate flavour, body, colour, and viscosity. Reduction — Concentrating Flavour Through Evaporation →
4
Add 30 ml veal demi-glace to the reduction and stir to combine. Remove from heat. Mount with 40 g cold butter, swirling the pan continuously until the sauce is glossy and emulsified. Taste for seasoning. The sauce is ready when it holds a shimmering, ruby glaze on the spoon with evident fruit-acid balance.
From the canon — Demi-glace is the backbone of classical French brown sauce cookery — equal parts espagnole and fond brun reduced together by half, producing a sauce base of … Demi-Glace — Half-Glaze Sauce Base →
III

Quality Hierarchy

01
Reserve — Noir de Bourgogne vintage crème de cassis (L'Héritier-Guyot or Gabriel Boudier) with a premier or grand cru Aligoté from a single domaine; Crémant de Bourgogne from a named estate for the Royal.
02
Estate — Appellation Bourgogne Aligoté from a recognised producer; quality Burgundian crème de cassis at 15% ABV, Noir de Bourgogne variety; named-producer Crémant de Bourgogne.
03
Market — Standard Bourgogne Aligoté AOC; commercially available crème de cassis from a Dijon producer meeting the 400 g sugar per litre and 15% ABV minima; generic Crémant de Bourgogne.
04
House — Any Bourgogne Aligoté AOC; the minimum acceptable crème de cassis must still be a true liqueur at 15% ABV — a cassis syrup is not a substitute and falls outside the recipe.
IV

Sensory Tests

◇Sight. The poured drink is ruby-tinged and clear, not murky; the colour is even without unmixed dark pools at the base.
◇Touch. The glass is cold to the hand throughout drinking; any warmth signals the wine was insufficiently chilled.
◇Sight. The reduction sauce coats the back of a spoon in a shimmering, unbroken ruby glaze before butter is mounted.
◇Sight. The finished sauce is glossy and emulsified, with no visible separation of butter from the reduction.
◇Where it lives or dies. The drink lives or dies on the quality of the cassis — genuine Burgundian crème de cassis at minimum 15% ABV — and the temperature of the wine: a warm Aligoté or a cheap cassis syrup cannot be corrected.
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VI

What to Pour

The pairing
Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Buffalo Trace Distillery · Kentucky Bourbon Country
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Whisky
From British Columbia

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Without alcohol

No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.

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The whole pairing
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Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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