The weather has been super gray and rainy for the past three weeks, so I definitely needed something light and bright for this week's happy hour. Enter the French 75! This is one of my all time favorite cocktails. I could honestly drink one every day of my life. This cocktail uses two of my favorite things–gin and champagne. The flavors of these combined with the citrus from the lemon is just amazing. I dare you to drink just one.

When purchasing the ingredients for our Mother's Day mimosas, I found these small champagne bottles that were too cute to buy just one of. I still had a couple left, so I already had everything for today's happy hour–it was just meant to be.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz gin
• 3/4 oz lemon juice
• 3/4 oz simple syrup (recipe below)
• champagne

To Make:

For the simple syrup:

• Combine equal parts sugar and water in a small saucepan. I used 1 cup of each and had a ton leftover–it also makes a great sweetener for coffee, tea, or any other drinks you might like!
• Bring it to a boil and simmer until all the sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool.

For the cocktail:

• Combine the gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously.
• Strain into a champagne flute and fill it the rest of the way with champagne.
• Garnish with a lemon twist–and a blackberry, if you wish!

The best thing about this cocktail is that it's stupidly easy. You can make these quickly and with very little effort, and you'll still feel fancy holding your champagne flute. This is the perfect cocktail for celebrating, because it dresses up a normal glass of champagne without being too difficult. Cheers!

What will you toast to with a French 75?