RIGHT NOW, DEEP into the heat of summer, is the perfect time to drink a Kir: cold, crisp and low enough in alcohol to avoid sending you into a pre-prandial slumber.  A grand old cocktail with something of a reputation problem, this combination of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) and white wine originated in France’s Burgundy region. The Kir is named for Felix Kir—World War II resistance fighter, priest and mayor of Dijon—who, legend has it, kept his chin up and declared the red-tinted drink the official beverage of Dijon’s city hall after the Nazis confiscated all of Burgundy’s best red wines.  I was introduced to the Kir as a teenager by my Francophile godfather, for whom it was a standard pre-dinner tipple. The American Kirs of my youth, hastily assembled in country club grillrooms and lesser bistros, were sickly sweet and magenta in color, more wine cooler than aperitif. For stealing sips as a 16 year old, perfect; to a grown-up who has graduated to Manhattans and dry Sherry, repugnant.  Made correctly, however, as many American bartenders are doing today, the Kir can be beautifully balanced, tart and elegant.  First, there is the matter of the wine. Burgundian Kirs are traditionally made with a very dry, very acidic local white wine called Aligoté, which deftly offsets the sweetness of the blackcurrant liqueur. (In a Kir Royale, Champagne replaces the Aligoté.) Up to now, stateside bartenders have tended to reach for any white wine that happened to be open, typically something too fruity or full-bodied for the job.  High-quality crème de cassis is an absolute necessity, and while many fine versions now make it across the ocean from France, this was not always the case. Good crème de cassis relies on perfectly ripe blackcurrants soaked in alcohol, with a measure of sugar added afterward. Blackcurrant has a sharp tang sometimes compared to that of raspberry or gooseberry, as well as earthy, vegetal and floral characteristics. Cheap crèmes de cassis, made from extracts and artificial fruit flavors, don’t begin to capture the complexity and balance of the real thing. And freshness matters: Once open, crème de cassis should be refrigerated and used within four months for best results.  The preferred ratio of crème de cassis to wine is less a question of international mistranslation than generational shift. Historically, on both sides of the Atlantic, Kirs have been made strong and sweet, using as much as one-fifth to one-third cassis. Colin Field, the bartender at Bar Hemingway at the Ritz hotel in Paris, which will re-open after renovations at the end of the year, sees that recipe as far too rich for modern audiences.  “Today’s drinkers are looking for drier cocktails,” said Mr. Field. He makes his Kirs using just one-fifteenth crème de cassis.  At the brasserie Terrine in Los Angeles, partner and beverage director François Renaud makes an even subtler version of the cocktail, using one-eighth to one-quarter ounce of crème de cassis to five ounces of wine. Mr. Renaud substitutes a high-quality Chardonnay from Burgundy for the traditional Aligoté, which is difficult to find in the U.S. He relies on the crème de cassis made by Maison Trénel in Burgundy. The finished product is pale salmon in color and wonderfully tart.  If you’re not a white wine drinker, there’s a Kir for you, too. When designing the cocktail menu for Rebelle, the newly opened modern-French restaurant in New York City, Eben Klemm was casting around for a fresh angle on the classic aperitif. His research turned up a regional variation on the Kir from Normandy, which calls for dry sparkling cider rather than Aligoté. The resulting cocktail is earthy, funky and remarkably refreshing—a far cry from those candy-sweet Kirs of old.  Giffard (20% ABV) | A legacy French brand, in business since 1885, Giffard macerates Noir de Bourgogne-variety cassis berries and buds from the Loire Valley in neutral alcohol. The liqueur is tart with an almost raspberry sweetness and earthy, herbal notes. $35 for 750 ml  Clear Creek Cassis Liqueur (19% ABV) | This high-quality domestic crème de cassis—a rare find—uses Oregon blackcurrants macerated in clear fruit brandy. Tart, crisp and very fruity. $22 for 375 ml  Gabriel Boudier Crème De Cassis (20% ABV) | This heritage producer of crème de cassis has been making the liqueur in Dijon since 1874. Darkly fruity and vegetal with a lush, jammy texture. $16 for 375 ml
Thanks to a few timely tweaks, the disreputable Kir, Burgundy’s classic wine cocktail, is catching on with a new generation. Here are two au courant takes on the recipe.