In the early eighties I worked at a restaurant called La Tulipe on west 13th Street in New York City. It was a fine dining establishment, awarded 3 stars by the New York Times. Every part of the menu was well thought out including the house cocktail called the Negresco. I had forgotten all about it until I decided to throw a dinner party to raise money for the Jacques Pepin Foundation (something you can do too – here are the details: https://www.celebratejacques.org/host-an-event/in-home/ ) and I thought a special cocktail would be in order. I did not have the recipe so I reached out to one of the chefs who had worked there, Guy Reuge. He didn’t have it either but he did a little homework and found out that our boss, Sally Darr, the chef owner of La Tulipe, had actually borrowed it right from the Hotel Negresco in Nice, France.

Here is the (rough) recipe:

Put 2 tablespoons Chambord (raspberry liqueur) in the bottom of a champagne flute. Top it with a capful of Kirsch (cherry brandy). Peel a long strip of orange peel and squeeze it before plopping it in the glass. Top with bubbly of your choice (Champagne would be appropriate but I used the more affordable prosecco). It is a very refreshing summertime cocktail. The orange peel is key.