Over the years, there has been many drinks and cocktails named after the famous city of Paris. Most of them differ wildly in taste and ingredients.This City of Light recipe is light, fruity and fresh with a slight sweetness.

I first found the original City of Light recipe in one of books by David Lebovitz. He attributes the recipe to Christiaan Rollich, the bar tender at Lucques in California. The original recipe is more of a cocktail drink served on ice as summer cooler. I have slightly modified the recipe to be served as a martini.

As you can see from the list of ingredients, there is no base spirit in this drink. The dry vermouth is the major ingredient in the recipe. Dolin Vermouth de Chambery is the preferred vermouth for this drink.

Ingredients

• 2 shots of Dry Vermouth
• 1 shot of Lillet Blanc
• 1/2 shot of Cointreau
• 1 shot of Prosecco
• Lemon Peel for garnish

Recipe/Preparation

1. Add ice cubes into a martini shaker
2. Add two shots of the dry vermouth, preferably Dolin Blanc
3. Add a shot of the Lillet Blanc into the shaker
4. Add half a shot of the Cointreau into the shaker
5. Shake the ingredients well
6. Strain the contents of the shaker into a chilled martini glass
7. Top of the martini with Prosecco
8. Garnish the drink with a lemon peel

Tips

• As I mentioned earlier, the original recipe of City of Light called for the drink to be served on ice in a big wine glass. It is possible that you might like that version better.
• You should use the best quality dry vermouth as it is the main ingredient in the drink. I have found that Dolin Blanc tastes the best in this drink. You could also try Dolin Dry.
• You could use another orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier instead of Cointreau.
• You could also use an orange peel instead of the lemon peel for garnish.