Violet Hour 75

The History

Violet Hour 75 is a floral, color-changing riff on the French 75, a classic sparkling cocktail traditionally made with gin, lemon juice, sugar, and Champagne. The drink is commonly associated with early 20th-century cocktail culture and is known for being bright, elegant, and stronger than its delicate appearance suggests.

The French 75 gets its name from the French 75mm field gun, a reference to the drink’s lively kick. Despite the dramatic name, the cocktail itself is beautifully simple: a gin sour lengthened with sparkling wine. That structure makes it one of the best classic templates for riffs because the format is clear, balanced, and easy to adjust.

This version keeps the French 75 foundation intact while adding two modern twists: lavender syrup for a soft floral note and butterfly pea tea syrup for color. Butterfly pea flower is known for its natural color-changing quality. When it meets acid, like lemon juice, it shifts from blue toward purple or pink. That makes the drink visually dramatic without stepping too far away from the classic sour-and-sparkling format.

The French 75 Template

A French 75 is essentially a sparkling gin sour:

• Base spirit: gin
• Citrus: lemon juice
• Sweetener: sugar or syrup
• Lengthener: Champagne or sparkling wine

Violet Hour 75 follows that same structure but splits the sweetener between butterfly pea tea syrup and lavender simple syrup. The butterfly pea syrup provides color and sweetness, while the lavender syrup adds aroma and a subtle floral edge.

The lemon juice is doing two jobs. It balances the sweetness and triggers the color change. That is why fresh lemon juice matters here. Bottled lemon juice will not give the same brightness, and the drink needs that acidity to stay crisp.

Champagne gives the cocktail a drier, more structured finish. Prosecco makes it softer, rounder, and a little more fruit-forward. Either works, but the final drink should feel bright, cold, lightly floral, and sparkling.

Scaling for a Crowd

This drink can be partially batched, but it should not be fully assembled too far in advance because the sparkling wine will go flat.

For four drinks:

• 4 oz gin
• 2 oz lemon juice
• 2 oz butterfly pea tea syrup
• 4 barspoons lavender simple syrup
• 8 oz Champagne or prosecco, chilled, to top

Combine the gin, lemon juice, butterfly pea tea syrup, and lavender syrup in a small bottle and chill until ready to serve. When it is time to make the drinks, shake the batch with ice, strain into four flutes, and top each glass with about 2 oz of chilled Champagne or prosecco.

For the most dramatic color effect, you can also pour the butterfly pea tea syrup into the glass first, then shake the gin, lemon, and lavender syrup separately. Strain into the flute and top with sparkling wine. The acid will create the color shift as the drink comes together.

House Note

Use a gin with citrus or floral botanicals if you want the lavender to feel integrated. A very juniper-forward London Dry gin can still work, but softer botanical gins usually make the drink feel more elegant.

Be careful with the lavender syrup. It should be a background note, not the main event. Too much lavender can quickly make a cocktail taste perfumed or soapy. A barspoon is enough to give the drink a floral lift without overwhelming the lemon and sparkling wine.

For the garnish, a lemon twist is more useful than it looks. The citrus oil reinforces the lemon in the drink and adds aroma before the first sip. Edible glitter is optional, but it fits the visual style of the cocktail, especially if you want the color-change effect to feel more dramatic.