Entertaining:
The Champagne Cocktail
Champagne is
universally thought of as the ultimate symbol of celebration and good
news, and The Champagne Cocktail has always been considered a special
drink for special times. But it's not just for cocktail parties - it
can be an elegant addition to Sunday brunch, or scrumptious at a
leisurely luncheon. It's are also a perfect when serving that someone
special a romantic, luxurious breakfast in bed.
Serving champagne
cocktails is a sure-fire way to impress your guests when you are
entertaining. When you think champagne cocktail, you think
"upscale". Yet they are super-easy to make.
Champagne cocktails prove once and for all that the good life can
also be simple.
The champagne
cocktail is a true classic. Its been around forever - certainly since
publication of the oldest known book of cocktail recipes in history,
Jerry Thomas's How To Mix Drinks. The champagne cocktail is
also one of the very few drinks in that book which is still
recognized by the same name today.
Other references
to the Champagne Cocktail can be found dating all the way back to the
start of the 19th century.
The Champagne
Cocktail was named one of the 10 best cocktails of 1934 by Esquire
magazine. Esquire's 1949 "Handbook for Hosts" advises
gentlemen that the Champagne cocktail "is not a tipple to tender
with hamburgers and onions," but rather is best served with
upscale appetizers.
How to Make a
Champagne Cocktail
Champagne Cocktail
* 6
ounces chilled champagne
* 1 cube sugar
*
Angostura bitters
Hold a single
sugar cube over the opening of a bottle of Angostura bitters, then
invert the bottle so that some bitters soaks directly into the sugar.
Place the sugar cube in the bottom of a champagne flute, and then
fill the glass with champagne. Garnish with a spiral twist of lemon.
There are a number
of variations on the basic champagne cocktail. One of the most
popular is the Mimosa, also very simple to make. The Mimosa is
sometimes also referred to simply as a champagne cocktail.
How to Make a
Mimosa
(Another Version
of the Champagne Cocktail)
Mimosa
1oz Orange Juice
3oz Champagne
In a tall champagne
flute glass, first pour the Orange Juice, then add the Champagne - in
that order! This will ensure that the champagne mixes down into the orange
juice. Do not stir or you'll extinguish all of those
delightful and delicious tiny bubbles!
Once you've
mastered these classic versions, if you'd like to get more
adventurous with your champagne cocktails, check out these recipes.
Back to Entertaining:
Article & Ideas Index
