It’s Friday arvo, staff have just clocked in and I can already hear the ice smashing. The bottle of cassis on the back shelf? It’s been lurking there for a month, used exactly twice — both times for a Kir. But here’s the secret every keen buyer and switched‑on home host should know: Vedrenne Crème de Cassis is made for so much more.
If you want the bottle with “I actually know what I’m doing” energy, here’s the move: get Vedrenne Crème de Cassis 16% 700ml. It’s strong enough for proper cocktails, versatile for spritzes, and easy to batch if you need to. I’ll give you the serves, the bottle recs, and exactly how to use them — no faff, no hard-to-find ingredients, just specs that work in Queensland bars and actual home kitchens.
Here’s the Quick Answer (What bottle? What to make?)
- Buy: Vedrenne Crème de Cassis 16% 700ml (main all-rounder for spritzes, sours, highballs, dessert pours)
- If you want to dial up the punch — try Vedrenne Supercassis 20% 700ml instead for darker, more intense blackcurrant
- Run a smaller or low-alc bar? There’s also Vedrenne Crème de Cassis 15% 500ml
Alright. Let’s Get Those Bottles Pouring: 5 Real-World Ways
1. The Cassis Spritz (Low-Effort Crowd-Pleaser)
This is your front-deck, BBQ, ‘help I’m in the weeds’ go-to. Quick to build, margins to like, and suits everything from poolside to brunch.
- 30 ml Vedrenne Crème de Cassis 16% 700ml
- 90 ml dry sparkling wine
- 60 ml chilled soda water
- Glassware: Wine glass or balloon goblet
- Method: Build over full ice
- Garnish: Lemon wheel or fresh berries
- Sub out sparkling wine for light lager (hello cassis radler!)
Just fill your glass with ice, cassis first, then bubbles, then soda. One gentle stir. If you’re batching, pre-mix cassis and water 1:1 in a speed bottle, pour 40 ml batch then sparkling, top soda. Boring bars miss this one — don’t be that bar.
2. Cassis Gin Sour (A Proper Cocktail That Sells Itself)
Cassis plays like a high-tone fruity sugar here. Shaken up, it cuts through citrus and makes gin feel lush not sharp.
- 50 ml London Dry Gin
- 20 ml Vedrenne Crème de Cassis 16%
- 25 ml fresh lemon juice
- 5–10 ml 1:1 simple syrup (to taste; taste it!)
- (Optional: 10 ml egg white or aquafaba for foam)
- Glassware: Coupe or Nick & Nora
- Method: Shake hard, fine strain, up
- Garnish: Lemon twist or 2-3 drops aromatic bitters on foam
- Substitute: Swap gin for tequila blanco (makes a blackberry-ish marg variation)
Pro tip for staff: Cassis is not quite sweet enough by itself, always tweak sugar up or down after a quick taste. And don’t be shy with the lemon if the drink feels flat. Own the balance!
3. Blackcurrant Highball (Long, Easy, Smashes All Ages)
This is your after-work, easy-to-make, responsible ABV serve. Pushes way better than standard lemonade or juice, costs less than you think.
- 30 ml Vedrenne Crème de Cassis 15% or 16%
- 40 ml vodka or white rum (optional)
- 90–120 ml soda water or lemon soda
- 10 ml fresh lime juice
- Glassware: Highball
- Method: Build, full of ice, quick stir
- Garnish: Lime wedge, mint sprig
- Sub: No spirit or citrus? Just cassis (40ml) and ginger beer over ice. Zero-fuss option for busy nights
People will drink two and come back for a third. Suits group jugs and happy hour boards as well. More on batch drinks? See this batching cheat code from Bouchon.
4. Cassis Diablo (Agave, Ginger, and Blackcurrant Twist)
If El Diablo and a Blackcurrant Mule had a session together: you’d get this. Mezcal gives smoke, tequila is all pepper and lift — both work. Ginger beer keeps it sessionable.
- 45 ml tequila blanco or mezcal
- 20 ml Vedrenne Supercassis 20% (or 25 ml 16%)
- 20 ml fresh lime
- 80–100 ml ginger beer
- Glassware: Collins or highball
- Method: Quick 5 sec shake cassis, lime, spirit, pour over ice, top ginger beer, gentle stir
- Garnish: Lime wedge + crystallised ginger
- Sub: Swap ginger beer for ginger ale + 5 ml sugar syrup + dash bitters if you’re out
Easy to upsell for folks wavering between Margarita and Mule. Menu it as “Smoky Cassis Highball” and you’ll move it.
5. Zero-Waste Dessert Pour (Turns Scraps Into Money)
This is straight-up hospitality sorcery. Got open Pinot or GSM lingering? Strawberries starting to go? Out-of-date soft fruit? Cassis turns it into a posh dessert drizzle or a makeshift digestif.
Cassis & Red Wine Dessert Pour
- 30 ml Vedrenne Crème de Cassis (any)
- 60 ml leftover red wine
- Glassware: Small wine stem or sherry copita
- Method: Build in glass, slight stir, optional orange peel twist
- Sub: Use leftover rosé or any sound dry wine
Cassis “Fruit Rescue” for Dessert Topping
- 80 ml Vedrenne Crème de Cassis
- 20–40 ml white/rosé wine (or water)
- 150–200g soft fruit (berries, stone fruit, pears, etc)
- Method: Macerate 15 min to 24 hrs in fridge, serve over ice cream, pavlova, yoghurt
- Sub: Use frozen berries if no fresh — just thaw in cassis
If you’re writing a dessert section, see our proven dessert upsell ideas.
Cassis Flavour Quick Sheet
| Flavour in Cassis | Best Mixer | Best Cocktail/Serve |
|---|---|---|
| Rich blackcurrant, jam | Dry sparkling wine | Spritz/Royale |
| Sweet-tart berry, cordial | Soda, ginger beer | Highballs/Long drinks |
| Dark fruit, citrus snap | Lemon/Lime + neutral spirit | Sours/Collins |
| Berry depth | Leftover wine | Dessert pour/Macerated |
Tips That’ll Save You At Service (and at Home)
- Fridge it. Open cassis goes in the fridge — keeps it bright and pourable.
- Label bottle strength. Keep 15% and 20% away from each other. Sweetness and colour will be different. Run a taste test with staff.
- Treat cassis like sugar. Your sours and Collins specs will thank you. Taste before sending out.
- Menu for the punter. Use “Blackcurrant Spritz” and “Cassis Sour” so the guest knows what they’re getting.
What To Add To Cart (Bundle)
- Vedrenne Crème de Cassis 16% 700ml — main all-rounder
- Vedrenne Supercassis 20% 700ml — for bigger berry punch in Diablos or strong sours
- Vedrenne Crème de Cassis 15% 500ml — if you want smaller bottle, lighter drinks, or to trial specials
Final Call: Let’s Stop Letting Good Cassis Go Dusty
Don't make cassis the ‘Kir only’ bottle on your backbar. Set up a spritz, a Gin Sour, try a Blackcurrant Diablo, or save your fruit scraps for the zero-waste dessert pour.
Want deeper context for getting staff up to speed? Have a look at our 3-minute Vedrenne build guide for bar teams. If sparkling is your jam, there’s also our cheat sheet for Kir vs Kir Royale.
Ready to actually make cassis work for you? Log in to your Bouchon trade account and shop the Vedrenne Crème de Cassis range here.