Hello! I was away travelling for about 2 weeks and was having too much of a good time going out all the time to spend any time indoor writing. But I'm back to glam up your festive season with a quick DIY post on champagne cocktails!
I recently met a friend for a round of pre-dinner drinks at La Coupole, the legendary brasserie in Paris's Montparnasse area which is an art-deco temple where everyone from Jean Paul Sartre to James Joyce have wined and dined in 20s Paris. As with all typically French brasseries, there is a pretty enviable selection of wines and classic cocktails this place boasts of, but that day we decided to take things a notch higher with a Kir Royale. Kir Royale is a très french concoction made with champagne and crème de cassis (a sweet liquor made of black currents) or simply black raspberry liquor and is the perfectly swanky drink to begin a night that you know will degenerate or a brunch that is destined to go downhill. A super simple, super elegant drink that speaks of good taste, fine connoisseurship and a prelude to a great night.
But then that is the particular thing about champagne. In my previous post on sparkling water, I had mentioned how effervescence or bubbles are a harbinger of good times. Champagne is a symbol of celebration and hence a natural luxury. It conjures with its impetuous bubbles a magical lifestyle of grace and a good life - a reminder of a product that has been painstakingly prepared in pre-mediated conditions of humidity and temperature to cause an elusive double fermentation of wines made with a combination of choicest grapes of varying vineyards and vintages. Add to that the importance of champagne in popular culture, it is found in art, literature, music and James Bond, is a veritable shade of color and comes with its own unique set of etiquettes to be followed from its uncorking to its spraying. Thus, when you take the most luxurious of alcoholic beverages and try to make it more interesting with a cocktail, you basically add a personal touch to what is already a luxury thereby creating something quite special and more exclusive than champagne itself! And there, this amazing vibe effortlessly permeates into your party or brunch making everything and everyone feel a bit more unique. To add to this, these cocktails make the best use of fresh seasonal fruits, look beautiful in perfect day colors - blush pinks, corals and peaches, work fantastically in crisp proportions, look chic on guests being sipped elegantly from a flute and don't leave irreparable wine stains! Easy sophistication, isn't that what all of us are looking for in our lives?
So let's begin. Here are a few things you will need to make and serve some cool champagne cocktails at your next party :
1. A good sparkling wine - At this stage, I would like to make the rookie distinction between champagne and sparkling wines. Though the word champagne is more or less generically used to describe any kind of sparkly wine, Champagne is a sparkling wine that comes from the Champagne region in the north of France and grapes nurtured in that appellation. Krug, Ruinart and Moet et Chandon are some celebrated producers reigning from the Champagne region which contributes over a hundred producers. Sparkling wines are thus producers based in other areas of the world, for instance Cava in Spain or Prosecco DOC from Italy, names you might have had. In essence, sparkling wines are either white or rose and for your DIY cocktail experiment, you are most likely to bring home a 'champagne'. Also, as most champagne cocktails tend to be on the sweeter side, when in doubt, choose the Brut (dry) version.
Whatever the choice of champagne, do ensure it is chilled as hell.
2. A mixer - A fruit-based mix to add flavour, color and seasonality to your champagne cocktail. The more natural they are the fresher your cocktail would be. Another reason I prefer preparing fruity mixers at home is because you are likely to get stuck with big bottles of store bought peach schnapps or creme de cassis for a long time and it will stop you from trying newer cocktail variations.
3. A glass - A nice champagne flute, that is a stem glass with a tall, narrow bowl (in all the photos below) or the more traditional coupe, a wide cup with a shorter stem make champagne cocktails look the best. Flutes deliver better on aesthetics and fizz. Alternatively, white wine glasses are GTG.
4. Some garnish - Orange and lemon twists, mint springs, muddled flowers, cubes of ice.
Here are 5 quick and easy champagne cocktail ideas to luxuriate your next party (I swear to God I didn't know luxuriate was a legit word till like last night, isn't it cool?!) These are ranked in order of my favourites. I have further simplified most recipes with easy to find ingredients and they should not take you more than 5-8 mins to conjure should you have everything ready.
1. Bellini
You will need : A bottle of Creme de cassis or Chambord (raspberry liquer), champagne
How to make : Pour 15ml of creme de cassis (3 tea-spoons) in the bottom of a champagne flute. Pour champagne on top and be guided by the color - stop when the cocktail gets a pale pink blush. You can garnish with blackcurrants.
P.S. If you were to endeavour to make creme de cassis at home, pour vodka over blackcurrants in a large jar and leave it for like...5 months. Later, mash with a potato masher and strain and keep aside.
5. Champagne Sangria
or sangria blossomed with champagne instead of wine. This colorbomb berried concoction is the most ambrosial of all champagne cocktails and the most DIY of all with a pick as you feel combination of liquers and fruit.
You will need : Thinly sliced oranges and lemons, a handful of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, 1 cup orange juice, a bottle of sweet wine (Reisling is a good choice) and a sparkling wine
How to make : Soak up all the chopped fruits in a large bowl with a cup of orange juice and a bottle of sweet wine overnight. Pour the fermented fruits over ice into white wine glasses and top up with champagne before serving. Garnish with mint juleps.
These easy champagne cocktail recipes will see to you drinking and serving more champagne in the upcoming months while ensuring your daily fruit intake. Infact I think you should make one soon because the weekend just called and she said she is bringing champagne. So cheeeeers from me and Jay Gatsby!
 |
| I only drink champagne on two occasions, when I'm in love and when I'm not. - Coco Chanel Lisbon, Nov'15 |
I recently met a friend for a round of pre-dinner drinks at La Coupole, the legendary brasserie in Paris's Montparnasse area which is an art-deco temple where everyone from Jean Paul Sartre to James Joyce have wined and dined in 20s Paris. As with all typically French brasseries, there is a pretty enviable selection of wines and classic cocktails this place boasts of, but that day we decided to take things a notch higher with a Kir Royale. Kir Royale is a très french concoction made with champagne and crème de cassis (a sweet liquor made of black currents) or simply black raspberry liquor and is the perfectly swanky drink to begin a night that you know will degenerate or a brunch that is destined to go downhill. A super simple, super elegant drink that speaks of good taste, fine connoisseurship and a prelude to a great night.
 |
| La Coupole, historical French brasserie in the 14th arrondisement of Paris |
But then that is the particular thing about champagne. In my previous post on sparkling water, I had mentioned how effervescence or bubbles are a harbinger of good times. Champagne is a symbol of celebration and hence a natural luxury. It conjures with its impetuous bubbles a magical lifestyle of grace and a good life - a reminder of a product that has been painstakingly prepared in pre-mediated conditions of humidity and temperature to cause an elusive double fermentation of wines made with a combination of choicest grapes of varying vineyards and vintages. Add to that the importance of champagne in popular culture, it is found in art, literature, music and James Bond, is a veritable shade of color and comes with its own unique set of etiquettes to be followed from its uncorking to its spraying. Thus, when you take the most luxurious of alcoholic beverages and try to make it more interesting with a cocktail, you basically add a personal touch to what is already a luxury thereby creating something quite special and more exclusive than champagne itself! And there, this amazing vibe effortlessly permeates into your party or brunch making everything and everyone feel a bit more unique. To add to this, these cocktails make the best use of fresh seasonal fruits, look beautiful in perfect day colors - blush pinks, corals and peaches, work fantastically in crisp proportions, look chic on guests being sipped elegantly from a flute and don't leave irreparable wine stains! Easy sophistication, isn't that what all of us are looking for in our lives?
 |
| Celebration in a flute, anytime anywhere. Como, April'14 |
1. A good sparkling wine - At this stage, I would like to make the rookie distinction between champagne and sparkling wines. Though the word champagne is more or less generically used to describe any kind of sparkly wine, Champagne is a sparkling wine that comes from the Champagne region in the north of France and grapes nurtured in that appellation. Krug, Ruinart and Moet et Chandon are some celebrated producers reigning from the Champagne region which contributes over a hundred producers. Sparkling wines are thus producers based in other areas of the world, for instance Cava in Spain or Prosecco DOC from Italy, names you might have had. In essence, sparkling wines are either white or rose and for your DIY cocktail experiment, you are most likely to bring home a 'champagne'. Also, as most champagne cocktails tend to be on the sweeter side, when in doubt, choose the Brut (dry) version.
Whatever the choice of champagne, do ensure it is chilled as hell.
2. A mixer - A fruit-based mix to add flavour, color and seasonality to your champagne cocktail. The more natural they are the fresher your cocktail would be. Another reason I prefer preparing fruity mixers at home is because you are likely to get stuck with big bottles of store bought peach schnapps or creme de cassis for a long time and it will stop you from trying newer cocktail variations.
3. A glass - A nice champagne flute, that is a stem glass with a tall, narrow bowl (in all the photos below) or the more traditional coupe, a wide cup with a shorter stem make champagne cocktails look the best. Flutes deliver better on aesthetics and fizz. Alternatively, white wine glasses are GTG.
4. Some garnish - Orange and lemon twists, mint springs, muddled flowers, cubes of ice.
Here are 5 quick and easy champagne cocktail ideas to luxuriate your next party (I swear to God I didn't know luxuriate was a legit word till like last night, isn't it cool?!) These are ranked in order of my favourites. I have further simplified most recipes with easy to find ingredients and they should not take you more than 5-8 mins to conjure should you have everything ready.
1. Bellini
or champagne with fresh pureed peaches. Created by Giuseppe Cipriani, owner of Harry’s Bar in
Venice. He named the drink after his favourite painter Giovanni Bellini and the
matching oranges of the cocktail and one of his paintings. It's probably the best known champagne cocktail in the world and I simply lurrrrve it!
You will need : 6-8 parts extra dry sparkling wine, Peach Schnapps (because freshly pureed
peaches are hard to find!). Grenadine or raspberry puree, if available for a hint of blush.
How to make : Pour the Peach Schnapps at the bottom of a champagne flute. Add a dash of
raspberry puree on top. Top it up with sparkling wine. Don't stir!
P.S. If you were to endeavour to make peach schnapps at home, take 2 ripe peaches (seeded and diced) and process it with 1 spoon of lemon juice and 1 spoon of sugar in a food processor. Sieve to remove the peach solids and its ready to pour into glasses.
2. French 75
basically your good old Tom Collins, with soda replaced with sparkling wine. It is named after the French 75mm gun used in World War 1 and apart from being the perfect example of a classic French cocktail, is super refreshing and citrusy.
You will need : Sparkling wine, gin, some lemon juice and a lemon swirl
How to make : Shake 2 ounces of gin, 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp superfine sugar in a cocktail shaker. Pour out in a coupe glass or flute. Top with champagne. Add a lemon swirl for the garnish.
2. French 75
basically your good old Tom Collins, with soda replaced with sparkling wine. It is named after the French 75mm gun used in World War 1 and apart from being the perfect example of a classic French cocktail, is super refreshing and citrusy.
You will need : Sparkling wine, gin, some lemon juice and a lemon swirl
How to make : Shake 2 ounces of gin, 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp superfine sugar in a cocktail shaker. Pour out in a coupe glass or flute. Top with champagne. Add a lemon swirl for the garnish.
3. Ritzy Raspberry Revelry
or champagne with fermented raspberries. Created at The Hemingway Bar at Ritz hotel Paris it is the perfect twosome morning-after brunch companion, and needs a little bit of pre-planning (as with all perfect nights <3).
You will need : Sparkling wine, vodka, raspberries
How to make : Mascerate (a process to soften and deskin ripe or preserved fruits by soaking them in a liquer so that they also absorb its flavour) about 10-15 raspberries in vodka for about 10 days. Pour 2/3rd of the vodka-ed raspberries into a champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine. Garnish with a red rose from your garden for the ultimate Ritz version. La amour is now served in your glass.
Champagne with fresh raspberries thrown in is ALWAYS a good idea!
or champagne with fermented raspberries. Created at The Hemingway Bar at Ritz hotel Paris it is the perfect twosome morning-after brunch companion, and needs a little bit of pre-planning (as with all perfect nights <3).
You will need : Sparkling wine, vodka, raspberries
How to make : Mascerate (a process to soften and deskin ripe or preserved fruits by soaking them in a liquer so that they also absorb its flavour) about 10-15 raspberries in vodka for about 10 days. Pour 2/3rd of the vodka-ed raspberries into a champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine. Garnish with a red rose from your garden for the ultimate Ritz version. La amour is now served in your glass.
Champagne with fresh raspberries thrown in is ALWAYS a good idea!
 |
| Raspberry champagne and dark chocolate - simply the best diet ever. Paris, April'15. |
4. Kir Royale
or champagne with creme de cassis. Kir originated in Burgundy France and was founded by the Second World War hero Felix Kir who made it with local white wine made with Aligoté grapes (extra dry) and creme de cassis (dark colored sweet liquor made with mascerated blackcurrants). Kir Royale is Kir's more swish cousin as it replaces wine with champagne and a popular feature in French aperitif hours.
You will need : A bottle of Creme de cassis or Chambord (raspberry liquer), champagne
How to make : Pour 15ml of creme de cassis (3 tea-spoons) in the bottom of a champagne flute. Pour champagne on top and be guided by the color - stop when the cocktail gets a pale pink blush. You can garnish with blackcurrants.
5. Champagne Sangria
or sangria blossomed with champagne instead of wine. This colorbomb berried concoction is the most ambrosial of all champagne cocktails and the most DIY of all with a pick as you feel combination of liquers and fruit.
You will need : Thinly sliced oranges and lemons, a handful of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, 1 cup orange juice, a bottle of sweet wine (Reisling is a good choice) and a sparkling wine
How to make : Soak up all the chopped fruits in a large bowl with a cup of orange juice and a bottle of sweet wine overnight. Pour the fermented fruits over ice into white wine glasses and top up with champagne before serving. Garnish with mint juleps.
These easy champagne cocktail recipes will see to you drinking and serving more champagne in the upcoming months while ensuring your daily fruit intake. Infact I think you should make one soon because the weekend just called and she said she is bringing champagne. So cheeeeers from me and Jay Gatsby!
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