Ingredient
Champagne
The serious sparkling wine — for proper champagne cocktails, French 75s and seasonal punches when the occasion is asking for it.
Flavour profile
Champagne is rarely the most sensible cocktail ingredient (the bottle is the cocktail), but at Christmas and on New Year it earns its place. A non-vintage brut from a producer you trust is everything you need for a French 75 or a champagne cocktail; prosecco is a better choice for a whole punch bowl. The cold lift it gives is the entire point — treat warm-and-champagne pairings carefully.
Recipes featuring champagne
Winter French 75
A festive French 75 with gin, lemon and a cinnamon-clove syrup, topped with champagne for a celebratory winter sparkler that still drinks dry.
Champagne Punch
A cold festive punch of champagne and brandy with fresh citrus, sugar and bright fruit, served from a chilled glass bowl for a winter celebration.
Christmas Cosmopolitan
A festive Cosmopolitan with vodka, cranberry, lime and triple sec, finished with sugared cranberries for a bright, jewel-toned holiday cocktail.