These easy and elegant Chambord cocktails prove that a drink doesn’t need to be complicated to be absolutely delicious! All of these cocktails highlight Chambord black raspberry liqueur as a main ingredient, require four ingredients or less, and always please a crowd.
What Is Chambord?
Chambord is a black raspberry liqueur from the Loire Valley region in France that was developed in 1982. It’s a cognac-based liqueur, but it’s only 16.5% ABV so it’s fairly light in alcohol content!
Chambord is by far the most popular black raspberry liqueur on the market, and you can always spot it thanks to its iconic spherical bottle that’s modeled after an orb and cross (aka a globus cruciger — I’ll give $5 to whoever can pronounce this correctly 😂).
As for price, you can expect Chambord to cost you $20-$23 for a 350ml bottle or $35-$38 for a 750ml bottle.
While Chambord is a modern liqueur, the recipe is actually based on a French raspberry liqueur recipe from all the way back in the 1680s! So it’s a fun mix of tradition and innovation, and it contains the following ingredients:
- Berries (raspberries, blackberries, & blackcurrants)
- Cognac
- Madagascan vanilla
- Moroccan citrus peel
- Honey
- Warm spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, & cloves)
What Does Chambord Taste Like?
Chambord pours a vibrant, clear burgundy color and immediately hits you with aromas of raspberry, blackcurrant, and vanilla. On the palate, it has a velvety texture and strong flavors of sweet berries, warm honey, spiced vanilla, and citrus. So it’s truly a perfect balance between sweet, tart, rich, and fruity!
What to Mix With Chambord
Chambord is delicious on its own, but it’s also a super versatile mixer that’s used in a wide range of cocktails. The following are some popular mixers to use with Chambord, but it’s by no means an exhaustive list!
- Sparkling wine
- Club soda
- Citrus juice
- Pineapple juice
- Lemonade
- Berry juice
- Grape juice
- Muddled berries
- Peanut butter whiskey
Keep in mind that for the most part these mixers shouldn’t be used alone with Chambord, but rather are flavors that work well with the liqueur in cocktails.
Substitutes for Chambord
The closest alternative to Chambord is crème de cassis, which is a French blackcurrant liqueur. Other good options are crème de mûre blackberry liqueur or a raspberry liqueur such as Di Amore Raspberry.
Now with that covered, let’s check out some deliciously easy Chambord cocktails!
21 Easy & Elegant Chambord Cocktails
Kir Royale
To start off, we have one of the most famous and simple Chambord cocktails! The Kir Royale is made with only Chambord and sparkling wine. You can use any sparkling wine: Prosecco, Champagne, Cava... whatever your favorite is!
Technically a traditional Kir Royale is made with crème de cassis instead of Chambord, and this recipe is more appropriately called a Kir Impérial. Buuuuut I'm not here to split hairs and I greatly prefer the version with Chambord!
French Martini
Here's another classic Chambord cocktail that you need to try! Ingredients are vodka, Chambord, and pineapple juice. It's sweet, tart, and super refreshing.
French Vanilla Martini
This version of the French Martini adds vanilla vodka to the original recipe for a fun twist! The vanilla vodka complements the vanilla notes in the Chambord wonderfully and adds extra nuance to the drink.
Chambord Raspberry Margarita
France meets Mexico in this creative and incredibly tasty marg! It follows a pretty classic margarita recipe of tequila, lime juice, and Cointreau, but adds in Chambord to give it a nice raspberry flavor and subtle sweetness.
Chambord Bramble Cocktail
This recipe is a riff on a classic bramble cocktail, which is made with lemon juice, gin, crème de mûre, and simple syrup. This version simply replaces the crème de mûre with Chambord to give it a vibrant bright red color and raspberry flavor.
Chambord Sour Cocktail
Nothing beats a good sour, and this is one couldn't be easier! All you need is Chambord, lemon juice, and egg white. Most sours include a spirit like gin or whiskey, but this recipe chooses to highlight Chambord as the base for a lighter, fruitier take on a sour.
Pink Lemonade Cocktail
If you need a simple big batch cocktail for a summer or spring party, this one is absolutely perfect! Chambord, pink or raspberry lemonade, and vodka are all you need to make this tasty drink.
Raspberry Bellini
This is one of my favorite riffs on a Bellini, which is typically made with peach purée and sparkling wine. This version keeps the sparking wine but adds in puréed raspberries instead of peaches, along with Chambord and Cointreau. Serve it at your next brunch and thank me later!
Lychee Martini
This is a fun tropical take on a martini made with lychee liqueur, Chambord, vodka, and lime juice. Given the ingredients, it's not really a martini, but it IS delicious. Be careful with this one, because even though it's pretty much 100% booze, it is SO dangerously drinkable.
Chambord Spritz
Chambord is the perfect addition to a spritz since it adds great fruit flavors, tartness, and a bit of sweetness. Other than Chambord, you just need dry white wine (like a pinot grigio) and soda water. It's bubbly, beyond easy, and beautiful in a wine glass with ice!
Raspberry Chambord Gin Fizz
A fizz is a type of mixed drink that includes an acid (like citrus juice), carbonated water, and a spirit. This take on a fizz uses gin, lemon juice, club soda, and Chambord for a super refreshing cocktail that's sure to cool you off on a hot day!
Blushing Meyer Lemon Drop Martini
The Lemon Drop is best known as a delicious shot made with lemon juice, vodka, and sugar. In this larger format version of the shot, ingredients are lemon juice, vodka, agave syrup, and Chambord. It tastes super similar to the shot, but with a nice berry flavor!
PB&J Cocktail
That's right -- your favorite sandwich as a child was made into a cocktail that's 100% booze and 100% delicious! The only two ingredients in this drink are Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey and Chambord. If you love PB&Js, you have to make this one STAT!
PS: if the idea of peanut butter whiskey interests you, check out these unique and super tasty cocktails made with Skrewball!
Skrewball’s Peanut Butter & Jealous Cocktail
Here's another version of a PB&J cocktail that's for the creamy peanut butter fans in the room! This follows basically the same recipe as the above cocktail, but adds in half & half to give it a smooth, creamy texture.
Chambord Manhattan
A classic Manhattan is made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. This clever take on a Manhattan uses rye whiskey, Chambord, aromatic bitters, and Byrrh (a French wine apéritif that tastes similar to a light port) in place of sweet vermouth. So compared to a typical Manhattan, it'll be more aromatic, fruit-forward, and slightly bitter from the Byrrh.
Chambord Bourbon Cocktail
This cocktail is essentially a fancier version of a 7&7, which is a cocktail made with lemon-lime soda and whiskey. In this recipe, you use bourbon, lemon-lime soda, and Chambord for extra depth and fruitiness.
Chambord Sidecar
This is such a fun and clever riff on a Sidebar, which is a cocktail made with cognac, lemon juice, and Cointreau. Ingredients for this version are cognac, lemon juice, Chambord, and dry curacao. The Chambord adds light sweetness and citrus notes that complement the cognac and dry curacao wonderfully!
Cran-Raspberry Martini
I love any recipe that uses cranberry juice with Chambord because the flavors work SO well together. This recipe only calls for Chambord, cranberry juice, and vodka. It's the perfect balance between tart, sweet, and fruity!
Witch's Brew Cocktail
Even though this cocktail was made with Halloween in mind, it'd be delicious any time of year! Ingredients are Chambord, grape juice, and sparkling wine. Grape juice and Chambord go together like a dream, and the sparkling wine gives the drink a nice effervescence.
Chocolate Raspberry Martini
If you like your cocktails on the sweeter side of the spectrum, this one is basically pie in a glass! Ingredients are Chambord, chocolate liqueur, vanilla vodka, and Irish cream. Even though it's a super decadent cocktail, it's surprisingly well-balanced!
El Diablo Cocktail
This cocktail is pretty much a cross between a Moscow Mule and a margarita, which I'm definitely not mad about! To make it, you need tequila, lime juice, ginger beer, and Chambord. Sounds a bit weird, but the flavors work great together -- it'll be a little spicy from the ginger beer, while the Chambord will add sweetness and fruitiness to round it all out.
Which of these simple cocktails are you going to make this weekend? (Or week.. lord knows I’m not here to judge 😂).
Regardless, I hope this gave you some fun cocktail inspiration and broadened your idea of what cocktails you can make with Chambord!
PS: if you have a simple Chambord cocktail you love, share it in the comment section below so I can try it out 🙂