Get into the swing of celebrating this party season with these great drinks!
A great New Year’s Eve countdown party isn’t complete without a great Champagne or sparkling wine — that familiar pop signals the start of a fun night!
This year, impress your guests with easy yet tantilising drinks that use your favourite bubbly drop.
The classic berry
If you have a prized Champagne that you can’t bear the thought of mixing with other liquids, simply dress up the one you have.
Of course you can add a fresh strawberry, but what about some frozen strawberries, raspberries or blueberries? The berries are so sweet this summer and, when served frozen, they’ll keep your beverage cooler for longer.
If you don’t like the idea of a whole berry floating around, try strawberry pulp. A few hours before your party simply sprinkle sugar over diced strawberries and let them sit for an hour. Then gently mash, strain through a sieve to remove seeds and serve at the bottom of the glass before pouring.
Liquor love
One of the best known Champagne cocktails around simply involves the pairing of a nice liquor. Some great enhancements include a shot per glass of peach liquor, Chambord (black raspberry) or Creme de Cassis.
Sweet and sour
If you have a medium to sweet Champagne, you might like to experiment with a shot of limoncello, Cointreau (orange) or vodka. This is a bolder combination of sweet and sour flavours that can be flourished with a twirl of lemon zest in the glass.
The party experts at Pink Frosting have a great recipe for a cocktail with a sweet and sour twist:
Cosmopolitan Champagne
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of cranberry juice
- 2 tablespoons of Cointreau
- 2 tablespoons of lime juice
- Sugar cubes
- 1 bottle of sparkling wine
Directions:
- Reduce the cranberry juice to a syrup by boiling it on a high heat in a saucepan for about 10 minutes, uncovered. Once it is about one-third of its original quantity, remove the saucepan from the heat and let the syrup cool completely.
- In a cocktail mixer, mix the syrup, Cointreau and lime juice. In your best Champagne glasses, pop a sugar cube into the bottom. Firstly, pour the cranberry mixture over the sugar, then carefully pour Champagne over the top.
- Garnish with a raspberry, strawberry or cherry.
Bubbly punch
If you need to serve a large number of guests, then try whipping up a big bowl of punch, using Champagne or sparkling wine as the base.
Simply mix your bubbles with lemonade, vodka, fruit juice and fruit pieces. Play around with the quantities to get a flavour that suits you or follow the SheKnows summer punch flashback recipes.
More entertaining ideas
Top 5 cocktails for Christmas
Fresh summer dips
Healthy canape recipes
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