Champagne cocktails a good way to celebrate New Year's

BY NICOLE MARSHALL MIDDLETON World Scene Writer
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
12/26/12 at 3:02 AM

The Champagne cocktail conveys an air of elegance and celebration.

It's the perfect drink to toast the new year, said Randa Warren, a local master sommelier and wine store owner.

"When I think of the Champagne cocktail, I think of cosmopolitan style and elegance. They can take an ordinary day and make them into something special," Warren said.

"They are also good brunch drinks for New Year's Day or for late afternoon, and a good way to ease into the evening on New Year's Eve."

Warren, who is one of the few female master sommeliers in North America, is the owner of a new liquor store, Warren Wine & Spirits, at 8058 S. Yale Ave.

One of Warren's favorite Champagne cocktails is the classic Kir Royale, she said.

"Basically, it is Champagne with a splash of Creme de Cassis, which is a black currant liquor," Warren said. "It's really cool. It gives it a little bit of a reddish color. You just need a hint of the liquor. It goes a long way."

Brut Champagnes are a good choice for the cocktails because you are typically going to be adding sweet juices, liquors and syrups.

But Warren said that in addition to Champagne, which refers to sparkling wines from the Champagne region in France, the same cocktails can be made with sparkling wines.

"Typically, you don't need anything too expensive, something like a Spanish cava, I think is excellent, as is prosecco, the Italian sparkling wine," Warren said.

Other popular traditional Champagne cocktails include Bellini, flavored with peach puree, or the French 75, which also contains gin, Cointreau and lemon juice.

Champagne cocktails flavored with pomegranate liquor and juice or Cham-bord, a raspberry liqueur, are also popular, she said.

"Something that would be a little more masculine for the guys would be a Black Velvet," Warren said.

A Black Velvet is a combination of stout beer and sparkling wine or Champagne, she said.

Some Champagne cocktails replicate the flavors of other popular drinks, such as the cocktail recipe suggested by Brett White, a salesman at Ranch Acres, 3324 E. 31st St., and a bartender at The Tavern, 201 N. Main St.

White suggested making a Champagne cocktail called the "Old Cuban," which is similar to a mojito.

It uses aged rum, such as Bacardi 8, shaken with fresh mint, simple syrup and a dash of bitters if you have it. Strain the contents into a glass or flute and top with Champagne, he said.

Domaine St. Vincent Brut, which is made at a winery in New Mexico, is a good and affordable sparkling wine to use for Champagne cocktails.

Warren said that it is important to offer a food pairing with your Champagne cocktails.

"A triple creme Brie goes well with those flavors ... or caviar," Warren said. "Something salty, like prosciutto or salami would also be good. It does not have to be heavy."

PEACH BELLINI

2 ripe peaches, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1 bottle chilled prosecco sparkling wine

1. Place the peaches, lemon juice, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until smooth.

2. Press the mixture through a sieve and discard the peach solids in the sieve. Place 2 tablespoons of the peach puree into each Champagne glass and fill with cold prosecco. Serve immediately.

- adapted from Food Network, by Ina Garden

PEAR-CRANBERRY CHAMPAGNE

2 cups pear nectar
2 cups cranberry juice cocktail
Orange bitters
Champagne, or dry sparkling white wine
12 rosemary sprigs
Fresh cranberries

1. Mix 2 parts sparkling wine to 1 part each pear nectar and cranberry juice.

2. Add a dash of bitters, if you like. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and fresh cranberries.

- adapted from thekitchn.com

SPARKLING SORBET COCKTAIL

1 teaspoon sorbet, such as grapefruit, blood orange, peach and raspberry
Chilled Champagne or prosecco

1. Scoop sorbet into a champagne flute.

2. Fill with chilled Champagne or prosecco; stir.

KIR ROYALE

1 part creme de cassis
5 parts Champagne

1. Pour creme de cassis into a glass and gently pour champagne on top.

from drinksmixer.com

Some people prefer more Champagne than the 1:1 mix in this recipe for a Black Velvet cocktail. The drink is said to have been created in London and served while the country was in mourning over the 1861 death of Queen Victoria's husband.

BLACK VELVET

1 part Champagne
1 part chilled stout, such as Guinness

1. Pour the Champagne into a beer mug, pint glass or Champagne flute.

2. Slowly pour the stout on top.

OLD CUBAN

1/2 lime juice
1/2 simple syrup
2 ounces aged rum, such as Bacardi 8
Mint sprigs
Champagne or sparkling wine

1. Shake lime juice, with fresh mint, simple syrup, rum and a dash of bitters if you have it.

2. Strain the contents into a glass or flute and top with Champagne.

FRENCH 75

1/2 ounce lemon juice
1 ounce gin
1/2 ounce Cointreau orange liqueur
Champagne

1. Pour the lemon juice, gin, and Cointreau into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.

2. Shake well.

3. Strain into a chilled Champagne flute.

4. Carefully add the Champagne.

Original Print Headline: On New Year's, it's all in the MIX

Nicole Marshall Middleton 918-581-8459
nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

Toast the new year with a Champagne cocktail. CHRISTOPHER SMITH / Tulsa World

Champagne can be combined with pomegranate juice (left), limoncello, sorbet, creme de cassis or stout. CHRISTOPHER SMITH/Tulsa World

Embellish Champagne cocktails with skewers of fresh fruit, various juices or liqueurs. Serve in different styles of glasses for an elegant presentation. CHRISTOPHER SMITH / Tulsa World