Russian Spring Punch
Berries, citrus and bubbles.
Vodka, lemon and crème de cassis shaken and lengthened with sparkling wine over ice. Fresh, fruity and lively, it is a kind of spiked Kir Royal made for company.
- IBA · New Era
- Long drink
- Shaken
- Glass
- Highball glass
- Method
- Shaken
- Strength
- Light
- Time
- 3 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Ice
- Cubes
Ingredients
Measures for 1 serving
-
Vodka
25 ml
-
Lemon juice
25 ml
-
Crème de cassis
15 ml
-
Simple syrup
10 ml
-
Sparkling wine
top up
Garnish
- Blackberries
- Lemon slice (optional)
Proportions
How to make
- Chill a tall glass.
- Pour the vodka into the shaker.
- Add the lemon juice.
- Add the crème de cassis.
- Add the sugar syrup.
- Fill the shaker with ice.
- Shake well.
- Fill the chilled glass with ice.
- Strain into the glass.
- Top up with sparkling wine.
- Garnish with blackberries and, if you like, a lemon slice.
The story
Origins
ProbableA plausible account, without definitive proof.
The Russian Spring Punch is credited to London bartender Dick Bradsell, a key figure in Britain's cocktail revival. By his own account he created it in the 1980s, before 1988, for a friends' party in a Kensington flat: on a tight budget, each guest brought a bottle of bubbly to pour over glasses already set with vodka, lemon, sugar, cassis and ice. Bradsell himself could not recall whether he was working at Zanzibar or Fred's at the time. The name combines 'Russian' vodka with the idea of a springtime drink from the Collins and Fizz family. A version of his recipe was published in CLASS magazine in 1998.
Taste profile
- Bubbly
- 4 out of 5
- Fruity
- 4 out of 5
- Sour
- 3 out of 5
- Fresh
- 3 out of 5
