TIP OF THE DAY: Recipes For Delicious Champagne Cocktails

December 31, 2013 at 7:50 am · Filed under New Year's Eve, Wine

The easy way out is to uncork the Champagne, pour and serve. The fun way is to offer a menu of Champagne cocktails.

When it comes to New Year’s Eve cocktails, we have a favorite: Champagne or other bubbly mixed with St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, a French import made by a family-owned Parisian company. At about $30 a bottle, it’s one of our favorite gifts to fellow foodies.

While “elderflower liqueur” may sound like something from another century (and it is), it is exquisite to modern palates as well.

It has a gorgeous lychee aroma aroma with flavor notes of grapefruit, orange, pear and peach.

It’s simply luscious by itself or mixed with white wine, including any white sparkling wine.

Here’s our review.

RECIPES FOR A CHAMPAGNE COCKTAILS MENU

Classic Champagne Cocktail: Sprinkle a few drops of bitters onto a sugar cube; let them soak in. Drop the cube into a flute with a splash of Cognac. Top with Champagne.

Ginger Champagne Cocktail: Add ginger liqueur to a Champagne glass, top with Champagne and garnish with a piece of crystallized ginger.

Grapefruit Mimosa: The classic Mimosa with orange juice is too much of a brunch standard to be special for New Year’s Eve. But a Grapefruit Mimosa isn’t something you come across often. Here’s a recipe; garnish with candied grapefruit peel.

Kir Royale: A Kir Royale mixes sparkling wine with crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur). Add the liqueur to a Champagne glass and then pour the wine down the side. Chambord (black raspberry liqueur) is equally delicious (just don’t call it a Kir Royale). Optional garnish: a fresh blackberry.

Champagne Lemon Drop: Make lemon simple syrup by stirring equal parts of sugar and water over medium heat until dissolved. Juice three lemons; cut the peel into garnishes. Combine champagne, 1/2 to 1 ounce vodka, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon each simple syrup and lemon juice; garnish with peel.

[1] The classic Champagne cocktail (photo © Chambre de Sucre).

[2] St. Germain liqueur: a perfect pairing with Champagne and other bubbly (photo © St. Germain | Paris).

RECIPE: CHAMPAGNE PUNCH

Champagne punch is another special way to usher in the New Year. The trick is to keep the ingredients as cold as possible before mixing the punch, so you don’t need to use a lot of ice, which dilutes it.

This recipe is from the Hyatt Regency New Orleans: It combines our favorite Champagne-St. Germain cocktail with a vodka kick. It’s called “garden” Champagne punch because of the aromatic herbs used as garnish. It’s lovely at any time of year and the pretty herb garnish is an eye-opener.

RECIPE: GARDEN CHAMPAGNE PUNCH

Ingredients For Pitcher Or Punch Bowl

9 ounces vodka

2 ounces St. Germain elderflower liqueur

2 ounces simple syrup (recipe)

1 bottle chilled Champagne or sparkling wine

3-1/2 ounces fresh squeezed lime juice

Garnish: basil, cilantro, cucumber, mint, rosemary, thyme

Plus

Punch bowl or pitcher

Ice cubes*

Preparation

1. COMBINE vodka, St. Germain, simple syrup and lime juice in a punch bowl or pitcher combine. Chill until ready to use. Prior to serving…

2. ADD Champagne to the mixture and pour over ice; garnish and serve.

Variations

If you can’t get a bottle of St. Germain, substitute orange liqueur (Cointreau, Grand Marnier, etc.) or other fruit liqueur, and add some orange slices or other corresponding fruit to the herb garnish.

If you have lychee liqueur, use that with a garnish of herbs, oranges and lychees (available canned in the Asian foods aisle; fresh lychees are in season from spring through early fall).

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*The larger the ice cubes the slower they melt. One option is to freeze a block of ice in a small loaf pan or other container. You can add fruit and/or herbs to decorate the ice.

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