No party is complete without the alcohol and if ever there’s a time to serve champagne New Year’s Eve is it! Make sure your bar or freezer has plenty of ice and bubbly! You’ll want have plenty of champagne flutes or at least wine glasses for toasting.
Below are few of my favorite specialty champagne drinks:
Classic Champagne Cocktail
1 sugar cube
Angostura bitters
Champagne
Soak sugar cube with a couple of good splashes of Angostura bitters and place in the bottom of alarge champagne flute. Fill slowly with sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon twist.
For a stronger drink you can add a ½ oz of brandy and a ½ oz of triple sec to 4 oz of champagne.
Raspberry Champagne
This is a great way to use up your “less expensive” sparkling wine. Add a ½ oz of Chambord or other Raspberry liqueur to your glass of champagne and Voila! Now it tastes expensive. Garnish with fresh raspberries.
Bellini
2 oz peach nectar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 oz peach schnapps
Crushed ice
4 oz chilled, dry sparkling wine
Mix the peach nectar, lemon juice and schnapps in a chilled glass. Add half a cup (or more) of crushed ice, stir, and add the sparkling wine. Make sure to pour the peach juice into the glass first. May be prepared in a blender to produce a frozen drink. (Serves 2).
Champagne Flip
There are many creamy champagne cocktail recipes that call for egg. This one is delightfully frothy and quite nice strained into a flute.
¾ oz Brandy
2-3 dashes Cointreau
¼ oz cream
¼ oz simple syrup
1 egg yoke
4 oz sparkling wine
1 pinch nutmeg
Shake brandy, Cointreau, cream, simple syrup and egg yolk over ice cubes in a Martini shaker. Strain into a champagne flute, and carefully fill with sparkling wine. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
Champagne Punch
You can make this ahead of time to free yourself up to be the life of the party!
1 (12 oz) can frozen cranberry juice concentrate
1 (12 oz) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate
1 (6 oz) can frozen limeade concentrate
1 bottle white wine, chilled
1 liter carbonated water, chilled
2 bottles champagne, chilled
1 lemon slice for garnish
½ cup fresh mint for garnish
In large punch bowl, combine the cranberry juice concentrate, pink lemonade concentrate, limeade concentrate, white wine, club soda and champagne. Garnish with lemon slices and fresh mint leaves.
Enjoy, and of course remember that the well-being of your party guests are the utmost importance. So if someone has imbibed a bit too much, have someone drive them home or call a taxi. We all want to welcome 2012 in safe and sound!
Go here for other last minute party ideas by The Roving Wino.
