Everyday luxury? Try a French 75
Ben Franks, Co-Founder of Canned Wine Group in Bath and formerly Novel Wines, is the new wine columnist for TBE. Enjoy stories from the trade and a few tips of what you could drink next.
Bandook, the Indian street food-inspired restaurant in Bath, is an indulgence I try to treat myself to regularly. This bustling establishment in the newly branded Shire’s Yard (previously Milsom Place) has the look, sounds and smells that are immediately inviting. The menu, perhaps daunting on your first visit, offers a melody of fried small plates packed with spice, fresh garnishes and tangy sauces. Those are matched with rich, fuller dishes of masala and butter curries. The breadbasket has that warm aroma of garlic oil. If you love the theatre of eating out, few places match the show Bandook puts on.
It might be strange to boot off a wine column with an ode to Indian cuisine, but my love for wine comes from the way it celebrates everything around you; the people you share it with, the view you sip it against, and the food you drink it alongside. Wine has given me a life rich with travel, culture and history. It turned me from a student bored of geography lessons to someone who can wax lyrical about soils, trade routes and geopolitics. Wine is the Oscar-winning support act.
At Bandook, I enjoy a moment of bliss every time I crunch into a plate of kale pakora chaat and sip a cold French 75. In Bandook’s hands, this lemon juice-based cocktail is topped with Hendricks Gin and Champagne. It gets its name from the kick it delivers, given after the powerful 75mm French rifle used in the Great War. The drink gained its following in the 1920s, finding its home in the secret class and heady days before the Great Depression. Back then you had to get into a Speakeasy to drink one, dancing away your blues from the realities of Prohibition.
There are few things that can lift your spirits, especially in the winter months, like a Champagne-based cocktail. The French 75’s sweet bite of citrus with the kick drum of potent gin, softened by juniper, is only enhanced by the golden bubbles its topped with.
It’s also ridiculously easy to make: Fill a cocktail shaker with ice (a cold cocktail is always a better cocktail), add 30ml of good gin (Smeaton’s Bristol Method Dry Gin is my pick), the juice of half a lemon, a glug of sugar syrup, and stir well. Strain it into a flute, wine glass, or any glass really, and top with Champagne. Serve it as an aperitif or with anything fried.
If you’re serving French 75 at an office party, or hosting friends at home, make sure you use good sparkling wine. Graham Beck Brut NV from South Africa (£16.50, Waitrose) is a good budget alternative that still delivers those delicious brioche notes you only get from authentic second fermentation. For Champagne enthusiasts, my pick is always Louis Roederer Collection (£54.00 from Tanners or £60.00 from Majestic) but you might gawk at using that in a cocktail. Believe it or not, Aldi’s own label Champagne is very good and unbelievably priced (£13.99); it was named World’s Best Champagne at the World Champagne Awards 2025. I’m not sure about that, but you can’t go wrong for the money.
For the non-party occasions, I find a weekday treat of a French 75, rather than a glass of wine, can raise the spirits. For those occasions you don’t want to open a whole bottle, so our Canned Wine Co. Sparkling Chardonnay (£18.00 for 3x200ml cans, cannedwine.co) is a way to add a little luxury to your everyday. Or you could always book a table at Bandook.
To find out more about Canned Wine visit: cannedwine.co
