vous prendrez ?

Un Monaco, s’il vous plaît !

You may have heard of the sovereign city-state Monaco, located on the French Riviera, but have you ever heard of the Monaco cocktail?

Created by George Booth, the Monaco cocktail is pretty popular in France, especially in summer. Derived from the Snakebite cocktail, the Monaco owes its name to its colours, which are reminiscent of the flag of Monaco.

What do you need to make a Monaco?

It’s fairly easy to prepare a Monaco at home. You will need:

-          1 or 2 cl grenadine syrup. It may not be available in every country (my Korean and Spanish friends always ask me to send them grenadine syrup, for instance)

-          15 cl draught beer (preferably a Pale Lager) or 15 cl panaché (a mix of beer and lemonade usually sold in France under the brand name Panach’)

-          5 cl lemonade

Make sure the beer and the lemonade are cold.

First pour the grenadine syrup into the glass. Then, add the lemonade and, finally, slowly pour in the beer or the panaché.

What if you don’t drink alcohol?

In that case, you can order a diabolo grenadine or a diabolo menthe, which are lemon sodas mixed with grenadine or mint syrup.

French expressions :

• Une bière blonde : a lager

• Une pression : a draught beer

• Une limonade  : a lemonade/lemon soda

• Boire un coup : to have a drink

• Je paie ma tournée : Drinks are on me/It’s my round.

• Tu me remets la petit sœur ? (could be translated as  “Can you give me the little sister?”) : Give me another one! (To ask the bartender for another beer, it’s very informal; don’t use it if you don’t know the bartender!)

• Tu ne vas pas repartir sur une jambe ? : You’ll have another one, won’t you? People usually use this expression to encourage you to have another drink with them (for alcoholic drinks only).

• Comme d’habitude ? : The usual? (When you’re a regular at a restaurant or a café, the waiter may ask you if you want to have the usual drink or meal).

A la vôtre ! (Cheers!)