The easiest way to have a French-themed night in with gin!

Inspired by the Provençal delights of our April 2021 Gin of the Month, QVT Dry Gin Édition CGC, and some of the delicious snacks in our April 2021 Gin of the Month box, we have put together this guide to creating the perfect French-themed night in.

Using only the unique ability of food, drink and music to transport you across the English Channel, this is the easiest way to go on an indulgent trip to France from your living room.

So don your beret and take a look at this fun three-step guide!

First, we must talk about food - it’s always one of our favourite things to do!

As this particular night in is all about style and ease, we aren’t going to be doing any cooking and we will be keeping the washing up to a minimum. We just want the perfect picky bits to graze on luxuriously through the evening.

There are lots of snacks that we could choose here, but one snack that really covers so much of what we are looking for is Joe & Seph’s Camembert & Herbs de Provence Gourmet Popcorn. Mouthwateringly herbaceous and rich with divine camembert cheese flavours, this savoury craft popcorn has a heavenly French flair - and if you like these, you should definitely check out the rest of their range here.

And, of course, no French-themed night in would be complete without crisps from The French Kitchen, especially if you choose their remarkable Snail & Garlic crisps - don’t worry, there are no snails in the packet, they are completely vegetarian. Once you have tried these delectably rich and deliciously earthy crisps you will not be able to put them down. It’s probably best to make sure that you have a couple of packets at the ready.

As this is a French night in, bread will be needed and what could be more French than a baguette. We recommend warming it through in a low oven and serving it with some charcuterie and crudites. Some nice, high-quality olive oil is a very Provençal addition to the board you create but good butter will also always be the best of friends with good bread. And the more French cheese the merrier, of course!

Which French cheeses are best to enjoy with gin:

Camembert is already covered by the popcorn, but there are so many more delicious French cheeses to be enjoyed during your ginny night in. We’ve picked a blue cheese, a soft cheese and a hard cheese for you to include on your French-themed snack board.

For the blue cheese, it has to be Roquefort. Made in Aveyron using ewes milk, it’s a moist, crumbling, rich blue cheese that packs a mouth-wateringly pungent hit of umami. Delicious with a dribble of honey and a tasty cracker, we love nibbling on this cheese as we enjoy a G&T or two.

For the soft cheese, we choose Brie. Hailing from Ile de France, this melting delight works famously well in a toasty with cranberry sauce and is just as good enjoyed on a cracker. Scooping a mouthful of that oozy, creamy, cheese into your mouth is one of the great pleasures in the world.

For the hard cheese, we choose Comté. This gorgeous, smooth cheese from France’s Alpine regions is buttery and nutty and delectably complex in all the right places. Whether served in delicate shaving or robust blocks, you can never have enough Comté.

Now that the food is sorted, it’s time to organise the drink. There are more than few gin-based cocktails that will do nicely:

The classic French 75 is a must. A mix of gin, champagne, simple syrup and lemon juice, this simple yet elegant gin cocktail is thought to have been invented in the early 20th century at the New York Bar in Paris. It’s fizzy and fabulous and completely divine. You can find our recipe for this beautiful cocktail right here.

If a Martini is more to your taste, then there is also our ginny version of a French Martini. Originally invented in New York and made with vodka, our recipe changes things up to mix those complex juniper notes of gin with Chambord liqueur and pineapple juice. Discover the full recipe by clicking this link.

A third option, and one of our favourites because it can be made ahead of time and left in the fridge, is our Gin & Red Wine Punch, which you can find here. This sumptuous punch is a combination of gin, red wine, grapefruit juice and Maraschino cherry liqueur. It works perfectly with French red wines.

The last piece in this puzzle is the music!

Your choice of music will help you set the tone for the whole night.

If you are looking for a jolly and light-hearted night in then it has to be La Mer sung by Charles Trenet. The jovial tune, sunny subject matter and warm, dulcet tones of Trenet’s voice have us dreaming of France’s inviting coastline.

For something a little more heartfelt, we recommend Le Vie en Rose by Édith Piaf. Full of old-world romance, this could be our soundtrack to a sojourn in Paris, meandering through the streets and stopping to sit at this Bistro and then another, lost in a world of easy sophistication and warm nostalgia for a time that France will always embody in our hearts and minds - Did you see, was that Picasso in that last cafe? Did Hemmingway just walk past with Dali and the Fitzgeralds?

Perhaps you want something a little more upbeat and modern. For that, it must be Ça Plane Pour Moi by Plastic Bertrand. Chances are you have heard it on TV, it’s joyously fast-paced symphony is so exciting and engaging that it is often used for adverts. We simply love it because it’s brimming with glorious joie de vivre.