Monday, December 31, 2012

Ten Classic Champagne Cocktails

Get ready to celebrate New Years Eve by popping a bottle of champagne and creating one of these classic champagne cocktails. With a few small additions, a simple glass of champagne can become your party's signature cocktail.




1. Champagne Cocktail
Soak a sugar cube in bitters, drop it into a flute, fill the flute with Champagne. This simple, classic drink dates back to at least the mid-19th century.




2. Kir Royale 
1 part creme de cassis (A sweet red blackcurrant flavored liqueur.)
5 parts Champagne (or sparkling wine)
Pour creme de cassis into a glass and gently pour champagne on top.




3. French 75    

1 lemon
3 tablespoons gin
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon simple syrup
1 cup ice cubes
1/4 cup brut Champagne (or sparkling wine),
chilled
Using a zester or paring knife, slice peel from lemon in long, thin spiral. Reserve lemon for another use and set peel aside.
In cocktail shaker, combine gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Add ice and shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain into chilled Champagne flute and top with sparkling wine.
Curl lemon peel around finger to create twist at least 6 inches long. Garnish drink with twist and serve immediately.



4. Black Velvet

Stout Beer such as Guinness
Champagne (or sparkling wine)

Fill a highball glass halfway with beer. Pouring over a spoon into the glass, fill to the top with Champagne.



5. Bellini Cocktail
4 tablespoons white peach puree or peach nectar.
1 bottle Prosecco or Champagne, chilled

Place 1 tablespoon white peach puree into the bottom of a Champagne flute. Fill the glass with Prosecco or Champagne.




6. Champagne Flip
3/4 oz brandy
2 - 3 dashes Cointreau® orange liqueur
1/4 oz cream
1/4 oz sugar syrup
1 egg yolk
4 oz Champagne
1 pinch nutmeg

Shake brandy, cointreau, cream, sugar syrup and egg yolk over ice cubes in a shaker. Strain into a cocktail glass, and carefully fill with champagne. Sprinkle with nutmeg, and serve.


7. Poinsettia
1/2 ounce Cointreau or triple sec
Champagne (or sparkling wine)
3 ounce cranberry juice

Chill all of the ingredients beforehand. Pour the Cointreau and cranberry juice into a chilled Champagne flute and stir well. Top with Champagne


8. Americana
3 dashes of Bitters
1 sugar cube
1 ounce bourbon
4 ounces chilled Champagne
1 tablespoon chopped or sliced canned peaches

Sprinkle the bitters over the sugar cube. Pour the bourbon into a chilled flute and top with the Champagne. Add the sugar cube and peaches.


9. Pimm’s Royale
1 1/2 ounces Pimm's No. 1
3 ounces Brut Champagne (or sparkling wine)
Cucumber, sliced
Orange, sliced
Strawberry, quartered
Mint garnish

Combine Pimm's, fruits, and cucumber into a glass. Muddle gently, if desired.
Add ice and top with Champagne.




10. D'Artagnan
1 tsp armagnac
1 tsp Grand Marnier® orange liqueur
3 tsp fresh orange juice
1/2 tsp simple syrup
3 oz chilled Champagne

Chill the teaspoon amounts of liquor in a mixing glass and strain into a champagne flute. Top with champagne, add strips of orange peel, and serve.


Champagne Cocktail Tips
  • Always chill your sparkling wines. 
  • Keep them about 42-45 degrees F.


  • Don’t use cheap sparkling for cocktails. 
  • Good ingredients make a good drink. 

  • Don’t use the highest end sparkling either. Drink your Dom straight.
  • Because most sparkling wine drinks are on the sweet side, use a dry sparkling [aka Brut].


  • Chill the glass [flute] ahead of time. Sparkling wine likes to be served well chilled.


  • Pour small amounts of sparkling in at a time to prevent foam over. Repeat until the glass is filled.Want to learn more about Champagne? 
    Check out our post Champagne 101

Friday, December 28, 2012

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Tabletop Inspiration


Vintage in the Vines

Soft hues against the rolling vineyards set the stage for a table full of vintage charm. The jewel encrusted brooch adds a sweet touch to the cake. Ivory antique overlay topped with florals including Quick Sand Ecuadorian Roses, Dish Plate Dahlias and Peonies give the table character and grace.

Coordinator and Florist The Divine Event | Photographer L. Parker Photography | Location South Coast Winery | Stationery/Paper Goods  Vanessa Gioviodan Designs | Cake Cakes to Celebrate









Saturday, December 22, 2012

Wedding Wednesday

NYE Wedding Celebration of Jolene and Scott Manuel


A New Year’s Eve wedding in 2011 was only appropriate for this couple who began dating on New Year’s Eve in 2005 and got engaged on New Year’s Eve in 2008. Jolene and Scott met at work in 1998, and she knew he would be her husband fairly soon thereafter. The couple took things slow and never felt the need to hurry anything along. Their wedding took 18 months of planning, so the stress factor was very limited, and they liked it that way.












Ingredients
Ceremony Location- The North Chapel (Point Loma)
Reception Location- Lounge SD (Gaslamp)
Officiant- Todd Manuel (brother of the groom)
Photographer- Celebration Packages (Reuben Poon)
Entertainment- Willie Ames/ D.J. FOS
Catering- The French Gourmet
Cake- The French Gourmet
Invitations/Stationery- Homemade/ Super Trendy
Hair & Makeup- MAC Cosmetics and Katie Sartine Hair Stylist
Dress- BCBG & Scala
Men’s Formalwear- Men’s Wearhouse
Jewelry- Grandmother’s and Blue Diamond
Rentals- Classic Party Rentals