FESTIVE HOLIDAY CHAMPAGNE COCKTAILS

During the holidays, bring people together and drink an amazing champagne cocktail. Champagne tastes great all on its own, but why not add some addition ingredients to turn your champagne in something truly memorable? Try something unique and exciting this year; an ‘Elderflower Champagne Cocktail’ is the way to go. It’s refreshing and light. You will fill a tumbler with ice, fill 3-quarters of the glass with dry champagne, and add thinly sliced cucumber and fresh mint. Top off with St-Germain. This cocktails tastes like a vacation in a glass. You will taste pear, lychee, and lemon. A ‘Winter Champagne Cocktail’ is a winter dream. It’s made with just 3 simple ingredients: orange bitters, a squeeze of orange juice, and champagne. It’s delicious and fun. ‘French 75s’ is tasty and sour. It’s made with 2 oz. gin, 1 tsp. superfine sugar, ½ oz. freshly squeeze lemon juice, dash of lemon bitters, ice, and Brut champagne. You can use agave instead of sugar to keep it healthier. In a glass with ice, stir together gin, sugar, lemon juice and bitters. Strain into a coupe or champagne flute. Fill the rest with champagne. Rub the outside of the lemon twist around the rim of the glass before using it as a garnish, then serve. This is a fun drink to teach you friends to make.

Make a very yummy treat for your family; it’s called a ‘Pear and Ginger-Sage Champagne Cocktail.’ It’s made with 1 cup of honey, 3 cups of water, 2 whole pears (peeled, cored, and diced), 1 large chunk of ginger (peeled and diced), 20 fresh sage leaves + additional for garnish, and 1 bottle of your favorite champagne. In a saucepan, combine the honey and water over medium heat and bring to a light boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer, stirring occasionally. Add the pears, ginger, and sage leaves. Simmer until the mixture is reduced by 1/3 (should be about 15 minutes). Stir again during those 15 minutes, remove from heat after and let the mixture steep for 10 more minutes. Strain the syrup into a Mason jar, and then discard the ginger and sage leaves. To assemble the drinks, place a few pieces of the cooked pear into each glass followed by 1-2 tablespoons of the simple syrup. Add the champagne and enjoy.