Here are some of our favorite champagne cocktails, from the old and easy to updated.
Champagne Cocktail
Yes, there is a Champagne cocktail called “Champagne Cocktail,” and it’s as beguilingly simple as its name. Adding the sugar cube after the Champagne helps prevent the bubbly from bubbling over.
6½ ounces Champagne (or other bubbles)
1 sugar cube soaked with Angostura bitters
Spiral lemon twist
Pour Champagne into flute. Add sugar cube. Garnish with lemon twist. —Adapted from Jerry Thomas’s “Bar-Tender’s Guide,” 1862, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal
Try it with the sugar cube soaked in Orange Bitters for a slightly different take on the traditional.
Wild Goose Chase
Armagnac, a woodsy French brandy, adds a warming, winterizing touch to this cocktail. The drink was created to pair with foie gras—hence the name.
1½ ounces Armagnac
¾ ounce lemon juice
½ ounce honey syrup (see recipe below)
2-3 dashes orange bitters
2 ounces Champagne (or other bubbles)
Armangac-soaked prune (optional)
Shake first four ingredients with ice and strain into a coupe. Top with Champagne and add garnish. Honey syrup: In a small pan over medium heat, stir one part honey with one part water until combined. Let cool. Keep refrigerated and use within two weeks. —From Brian Means of the Fifth Floor, San Francisco
Too bad that foie gras in now banned in California (as of July 2012).
Red Baron
My family’s traditional Christmas season drink. Traditionally served at home with smoked oysters (preferably from Portlock Seafood)
1 part Cranberry Juice
3 parts Champagne (or other bubbles)
This drink also known as a Poinsettia if you add Triple Sec and reduce the percentage of Cranberry Juice