Bright and effervescent, it drinks like a French 75 with vodka in place of the gin and a measure of blackcurrant crème de cassis shaken into the lemon, landing somewhere between a sharp sour and a Kir Royale. The cassis brings a deep berry sweetness and a rosy blush that the prosecco's bubbles cut clean, leaving a tall, ice-cold, deceptively easy-drinking glass with blackberries on top.
Garnish: Blackberry, Lemon Wheel
shaken · Highball · On the Rocks
add
Combine the vodka, lemon juice, crème de cassis, and simple syrup in a shaker over ice — withhold the sparkling wine.
shake
Shake well until thoroughly chilled.
strain
Strain into a chilled tall tumbler (highball) filled with fresh ice.
top
Top up with sparkling wine.
garnish
Garnish with blackberries, and optionally a lemon slice.
London barman Dick Bradsell, who lived from 1959 to 2016, devised the Russian Spring Punch in the 1980s. It belongs to a body of his modern classics in which the Wibble, Treacle and Carol Channing sit alongside his Bramble and Espresso Martini. Decades on, the International Bartenders Association adopted it as an official cocktail, placing it among its New Era Drinks in the 2020 update.