Our Favorite Champagne Cocktails

Champagne and sparkling wine has always been my favorite kind of wine - the drier the better. The little bubbles are like a party in a glass! Luckily, there are plenty of delicious sparkling wines in the $5-$10 range, and plenty of ways to dress up the wine if you want a special drink to ring in the New Year.

The best champagne cocktail I ever had was on a Paris riverboat cruise on the Seine, where the scenery slid by at dusk and lights came on all over the city. People picnicking on the sides of the river waved to us and the music on board seemed to swell just as the waiter brought me a flute glass of Kir Royale. Magical. 

Mimosas/Bellinis/Kir Royales

These champagne cocktails, popular for brunches, are made by pouring champagne over fruit juices or liqueurs in a champagne glass. If you pour carefully, the juices mix in the glass without popping the bubbles, and of course you want bubbles!

Mimosa: 3 oz of orange juice in 3 oz Champagne; garnish with an orange twist.

Bellini: 2 oz peach nectar, 1 tsp Grenadine, and 4 oz Champagne; garnish with a lemon twist.

Kir Royale: 1 oz creme de cassis (black currant liqueur) in 5 oz Champagne; garnish with a cherry.

C and C: 2 oz Chambord (raspberry liqueur) in 4 oz Champagne; garnish with a lemon twist.

  

 Classic Champagne Cocktail

1 sugar cube

3 drops Angostura bitters

6 oz champagne

Put the sugar cube in the bottom of the glass and drop the bitters onto it. Fill the glass with champagne. Don't stir - allow the sugar cube to melt as you drink it.

Black Velvet

4 oz. Guiness or other stout beer

4 oz Champagne

Pour the stout into a highball or Collins glass. Slowly pour the champagne over the beer, then serve.

Barbotage

1 oz cognac

1 oz Grand Marnier (orange liqueur)

4 oz Champagne

Stir together the Cognac and Grand Marnier, then pour into a flute glass. Slowly add the champagne. Caution: this is a powerful cocktail. We're not responsible for who you kiss at midnight!

Champagne Julep

6 mint leaves (we like peppermint for this one)

1 tsp superfine sugar

2 oz bourbon

4 oz Champagne

Put the leaves in a bowl or mixing glass and sprinkle with the sugar and a few drops of water. Crush the mint leaves well (this is called "muddling"). Stir the bourbon into the mint, then strain into a highball or Collins glass. Add ice cubes and champagne, and garnish with a mint leaf.

P.S. Ever wonder about the difference between Champagne and sparkling wines? Any wine could be carbonated, but Champagnes must be made in a specific way in the Champagne region of France to be labelled "Champagne". We think they're delightful either way.