white star imperial daisy

2 oz Cognac or Armagnac (Martell VS)
1/2 oz Kümmel (Helbing)
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 tsp Rich Simple Syrup (2:1)

Shake with ice and strain into a champagne flute. Top with 2 oz of Champagne (Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut).

On Wednesday, I decided to use the bottle of sparkling wine that we opened (and stoppered) for the Pineapple Julep to make the White Star Imperial Daisy in David Wondrich's Killer Cocktails book. Wondrich created this French 75 variation in 2004 for Manhattan's 5 Ninth Restaurant. The drink was created in honor of the White Star Line which used to dock a few hundred yards from where the restaurant stands today. Lastly, Todd Maul of Clio would support the use of brandy in a French 75 or a variation thereof, for he is in the David Embury camp which believes that gin would not have been very abundant in France when the drink was created and brandy of some sort was more likely the original base spirit.
The Daisy's nose was a combination of the lemon juice and sparkling wine aromas. The sip was crisp and full of wine and lemon flavors; meanwhile, the swallow contained the richness of the brandy followed by a hint of caraway seed from the kümmel. As the drink warmed up, the botanical notes of the kümmel became more pronounced. Overall, I was impressed at how well the kümmel complemented the sparkling wine, and was pleased at how it returned some of the botanical notes that I have grown accustomed to in the gin-based French 75.