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| TIPS & ADVICE |
Champagne Cocktails
- by Paul Harrington |
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But if you want your sips to be like "tasting stars," as were the first tastes of Dom Pérignon, the cellarmaster at the Benedictine Abbey of Hautvillers and the roi of champagne during the 17th century, consider spending more and buying the genuine article.
Cocktails and sparkling wine closely mimic each other in intent and approach, which is why champagne cocktails are a favorite beverage without spirits as the focus or the base. Never drink Grande Dame tempered with dashes of cassis, but it is very appropriate to enjoy a bottle of good California brut or Prosecco with a little peach nectar. If you have yet to experiment with sparkling wines, remember that brut is bone dry, extra sec or extra dry is slightly sweeter, and sec is mildly sweet. Demi sec and doux are very sweet and should be reserved for digestifs, not champagne cocktails.
Whenever preparing champagne cocktails, treat them as though you were about to drink the wine by the glass, and pre-chill both the champagne and the flutes. Most champagne cocktails use the recipe of 1 ounce mixer (or juice) topped with a good sparkling wine served ice cold.
When adding the wine, pour slowly and be patient. Champagne and other sparkling wines do not like to be jostled. You may need to wait between pours for the foam to settle.
Make certain that the mixers and glassware are as cold as possible. If guests ask for ice in their champagne cocktail soon after they've been served, take it as a well-deserved insult - the drink wasn't cold enough. Instead of adding ice, mix a fresh batch, since adding ice at this point will further destroy the drink's flavor, killing any remaining bubbles. |
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