Chef Juliette
Bavaroise
Bavaroise turns the ribbon stage into a drink: yolks and sugar, boiling tea and milk, and Kirsch whisked into a light crown of foam. Keep the whisk moving, and the café comes home.
Culinary Explorer
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Claret Cup
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2951, Claret Cup, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Coupe au Claret turns Bordeaux wine, citrus, cucumber, bitters, and three measured spirits into a cool garnet cup. Infuse it covered, then strain before the ice so every glass stays vivid.
Beverages
French
Outdoor Dining
Picnic
Dinner Party
20 min
Active Time
0 min cook•2 hr 20 min total
Yield8 small drinks (about 5½ cups / 1.3 liters)
Coupe au Claret (Claret Cup) teaches the discipline of cold infusion: draw fragrance from citrus and cucumber, then stop before freshness turns bitter. The one true thing to know before you touch the pitcher is simple. Strain before the ice, because melting water passing through all that peel robs the cup of its wine-dark spine.
This recipe assumed none of the usual brigade supports, no saucier on staff, perpetual stock, or salamander. It assumed instead a crystal bowl, one-ounce liqueur glasses, a full soda bottle, and enough claret for a crowded table. A covered two-quart pitcher and a jigger are the honest home equivalents. I have scaled the formula to two thirds, from one and a half wine bottles to one, with every flavoring and the soda reduced in proportion. Each liqueur glass becomes 20 ml, the soda bottle becomes 500 ml, and superfine sugar replaces obsolete loaf sugar because it dissolves cleanly in cold liquid. The crystal and banquet quantity were scaffolding; the covered infusion, its sequence, and the straining must stay.
What arrives at the table is garnet and cold, fragrant first with citrus oil, then cucumber, cherry, orange, and the dry spice of Angostura. One cook, one pitcher, one evening. Give it two quiet hours under cover, but remember the step that decides everything: strain it before a single cube of ice enters.
Claret Cup belongs to the British cup and punch-bowl table, where wine was lengthened with soda and scented for outdoor lunches and evening gatherings; it is not a regional French drink. Its French connection is the cellar: claret is the British name for red Bordeaux, while the supporting spirits reflect the cosmopolitan repertoire carried through grand dining rooms. French classical collections kept such international beverages beside native preparations, which is how the cup entered the canon without becoming a Bordelais tradition.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
superfine white sugar
Quantity
1½ tablespoons (22 ml / 19 g)
the home equivalent of crushed loaf sugar
small unwaxed lemon
Quantity
1 (about 100 g)
remove ⅔ of the yellow peel in wide strips and cut 2 thin rounds
small unwaxed orange
Quantity
1 (about 130 g)
remove ⅔ of the orange peel in wide strips and cut 2 thin rounds
cucumber peel
Quantity
1 narrow strip, about 3 inches by ½ inch (8 by 1 cm)
remove without attached flesh
Angostura bitters
Quantity
2 teaspoons (10 ml / about 10 g)
brandy
Quantity
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (20 ml / about 19 g)
Maraschino liqueur
Quantity
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (20 ml / about 21 g)
white Curaçao
Quantity
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (20 ml / about 19 g)
dry red Bordeaux or Bordeaux-style wine
Quantity
1 bottle (about 3¼ cups / 750 ml / about 745 g)
well chilled
plain soda water
Quantity
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (500 ml / 500 g)
well chilled
large clean ice cubes
Quantity
8 (about 280 g)
fresh mint leaves
Quantity
10 leaves (about 2 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| superfine white sugarthe home equivalent of crushed loaf sugar | 1½ tablespoons (22 ml / 19 g) |
| small unwaxed lemonremove ⅔ of the yellow peel in wide strips and cut 2 thin rounds | 1 (about 100 g) |
| small unwaxed orangeremove ⅔ of the orange peel in wide strips and cut 2 thin rounds | 1 (about 130 g) |
| cucumber peelremove without attached flesh | 1 narrow strip, about 3 inches by ½ inch (8 by 1 cm) |
| Angostura bitters | 2 teaspoons (10 ml / about 10 g) |
| brandy | 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (20 ml / about 19 g) |
| Maraschino liqueur | 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (20 ml / about 21 g) |
| white Curaçao | 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (20 ml / about 19 g) |
| dry red Bordeaux or Bordeaux-style winewell chilled | 1 bottle (about 3¼ cups / 750 ml / about 745 g) |
| plain soda waterwell chilled | 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (500 ml / 500 g) |
| large clean ice cubes | 8 (about 280 g) |
| fresh mint leaves | 10 leaves (about 2 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •2-quart (2-liter) glass pitcher or covered punch bowl
- •1-ounce (30 ml) jigger
- •Y-peeler or sharp paring knife
- •Fine-mesh sieve
- •Second 2-quart (2-liter) chilled serving pitcher
Instructions
- 1
Build the infusion
Put the sugar into a clean two-quart glass pitcher or bowl. Add the lemon peel and rounds, orange peel and rounds, cucumber peel, Angostura, brandy, Maraschino, and white Curaçao. Stir only enough to wet the sugar. Don't crush the citrus or cucumber; bruising the white pith extracts bitterness, not useful fragrance.
Remove only the colored citrus peel. A little white pith won't ruin the cup, but thick strips of it will dominate a long infusion. - 2
Add wine and soda
Pour in the chilled red wine, then the chilled soda water, preserving the source's sequence. Turn everything gently with a long spoon until the sugar disappears, cover tightly, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Taste after the first hour. If the cucumber or peel has begun to bite, strain at once; ça se rattrape, and stopping the extraction early is the rescue. The carbonation will soften while covered because the soda infuses with the wine. That is the intended cup, not a mistake to correct.
- 3
Strain before ice
Set a fine-mesh sieve over a second chilled pitcher and strain the cup before a single cube of ice enters it. Let the liquid drain without pressing the fruit, since squeezing extracts the bitter edge you worked to avoid. If ice went in by mistake, lift it out immediately, strain, then restore the cup's body with additional chilled wine and soda mixed three parts to two. Ça se rattrape.
- 4
Add ice and mint
Add the large clean ice cubes and whole mint leaves to the strained cup. Give it one gentle turn with the spoon so the mint travels through the garnet liquid. Don't muddle the leaves; their perfume should remain fresh and cool, not turn vegetal.
- 5
Pour and serve
Pour or ladle the Coupe au Claret into eight chilled small wineglasses or tumblers, distributing a few mint leaves among them but none of the exhausted citrus or cucumber. Serve immediately, while the drink is properly cold and the ice has barely begun its work. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose a dry, medium-bodied red Bordeaux or Bordeaux-style blend with fresh fruit and modest oak. A heavy, tannic bottle becomes stern when chilled; a sweet red turns the liqueurs cloying.
- •Maraschino means the clear, dry cherry liqueur, not cocktail-cherry syrup. White Curaçao means a clear orange liqueur, never the blue bottle. These three measured spirits are small, but together they give the cup its architecture.
- •The source adds soda before the covered infusion, so its sparkle deliberately relaxes. Begin with everything thoroughly chilled, then use large ice cubes after straining to keep further dilution slow.
- •Serve the cup within half an hour of adding its ice and mint. Refrigerated leftovers remain drinkable for a day, but the bubbles fade and the mint loses its clean edge.
Advance Preparation
- •Measure the sugar, bitters, and spirits several hours ahead. Wash the citrus and cucumber, but cut their peel close to mixing so the fragrant oils stay vivid.
- •Begin the covered infusion 2 hours before serving. It may be strained up to 30 minutes ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator, but add the ice and mint only when the glasses are ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 200g)
Calories
115 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
20 mg
Total Carbohydrates
7 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
0 g
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