Happy New Years Eve! I hope tonight is a blast–even if it’s just you in your jammies watching football! I hope that if you do go out you’re safe (make sure to get a DD!). And that most of all you spend the evening doing something that makes you happy with people you love! As a special treat we have a guest post! One of my dearest friends, Jason Ruth: food and drink specialist, is here to share some amazing champagne cocktails with us! His site My Glass Kitchen will be launching later in January and for now you can find him on Instagram @JasonCRuth –I hope you enjoy his recipes as much as I do!
Happy 2016! XO RA
How will you be ringing in 2016? Quietly at home, possibly at a small party with friends, or perhaps you will be at a large, formal party. Whatever way you are ringing in the New Year, I bet you will be doing so with a glass of the bubbly. Sparkling wine or Champagne has become the tradition for ringing in the New Year. Instead of just ringing in the New Year with a glass of Champagne, let’s dress it up a little and make a champagne cocktail.
Before we get into champagne cocktails, let’s first discuss what Champagne is and how to buy it. Champagne is a sparkling wine that is fermented once outside the bottle and then fermented a second time inside the same bottle that you purchase. All Champagne must come from the Champagne region of France in order to be considered Champagne. This often helps drive the price of Champagne up. Luckily, there are alternatives that are a bit cheaper.:Cava from Spain, or Franciacorta from Italy are often cheaper buys that are created in the same method as Champagne. There are also excellent versions from America, just look on the bottle for “method champenoise”. This means that the sparkling wine was created in the same method as in Champagne, France.
Traditionally, the champagne cocktail is a simple drink and should only be made with a Brut Champagne (dry). These cocktails typically consist of a sugar cube, 3 dashes of bitters and Champagne. Another common champagne cocktail is a scoop of sorbet and champagne. However, you can also add other liquors to champagne to create depth to your cocktail. Here are 3 tried and true favorites:
Red Velvet
4 oz. chilled Champagne
½ oz. Chambord
2 oz. Pomegranate juice
2 dashes Raspberry Bitters
2 raspberries
1 rosemary sprig
In a flute glass, add Chambord and Pomegranate juice and stir. Fill the glass with Champagne and add 2 dashes of bitters. Garnish with 2 raspberries poked with the rosemary sprig.
The Celebration
1 oz. St. Germain Liqueur
1 oz. Cointreau
1 sugar cube
3 dashes of Peach Bitters
Champagne
Cinnamon sugar
Take your flute glass and moisten the edge of the glass. Dip the rim in cinnamon sugar. In the flute, add your sugar cube, Cointreau and St. Germain then stir. Top off with Champagne and add 3 dashes of bitters.
The Irish Welcoming
1 oz. Irish Whiskey
¼ oz. Chartreuse
½ oz. simple syrup
Chilled Champagne
1 lemon twist
In a flute glass, add in Irish Whiskey, Chartreuse and simple syrup. Fill the flute with Champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.
Enjoy! Jason
