Easy Sparkling Drinks
December 12, 2011
By: Avalon Wines
Many champagne drinks are made simply by adding a splash [1/2 oz. or more] of some flavoring. These examples are meant to be made quickly with one or two basic ingredients and a lemon twist to garnish.
Kir Royale: You will find this drink made at any French bistro as you walk about St. Germaine. Crème de cassis with wine is simply a kir. With sparkling wine it is called a Kir Royale.
Pour sparkling wine into a large chilled wine glass, add 1/2 ounce of crème de cassis [black currant liqueur], and stir gently. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel. You might try the raspberry liqueur, Chambord as a substitute for cassis.
Mimosa: A Mother’s Day brunch standby. Pour 5 ounces of sparkling wine and 1 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice into almost any wine glass and add small orange wedge or slice for garnish. Try a mandarin orange for a variation on the theme. Fresh squeezed orange juice and a good quality sparkling make all the difference in this drink.
The Ghost: 5 ounces sparkling wine and 1/2 ounce Midori (melon liqueur). This one is very simple and utterly delicious. The fruitiness of the melon is a great foil to the sharpness of the sparkling wine.
Champear: 5 ounces of sparkling wine with a ‘float’ of Clear Creek pear brandy. To ‘float’ a distillate, gently pour as a top layer once the sparkling has quit foaming. Don’t mix it. Simply allow the distillate to float on top of the sparkling wine. Your first mouthful is a beautiful mix of aromatic pear, the fire of the spirits and the crispness of the sparkling wine. Pure Oregon in a glass.
Poinsettia: This one is awfully pretty and not too difficult. Five ounces sparkling wine, 1/2 ounce cranberry juice, 1/4 ounce triple sec and twist of lime. We loved the mix of fruity cranberry and the complex orange flavors of triple sec - very tasty.
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