Thursday, October 20, 2011

thirsty thursday: champagne cocktail

the champagne cocktail.

it all started with the film moonstruck for me.  i remember the scene with loretta (played by cher) and her father toasting her upcoming wedding with champagne into which they dropped sugar cubes.  i remember thinking, who would put sugar cubes into ones drink, especially a glass of champagne.  but years later i looked further into this and found that putting sugar cubes into spirited drinks was a popular thing in the victorian era, and some people still do it today.  hence the champagne cocktail.


i've had this bottle of cheap champagne sitting in my fridge for some time and thought to try out the champagne cocktail.  one logical choice would be to use the champagne for mimosas or for a bellinis but i thought hell let's try something different.

mimosa recipe:
one part chilled champagne (or sparkling wine)
one part chilled orange juice
served in a tall champagne flute

bellini recipe:
one part peach puree
two parts sparkling wine (or prosecco)
served in a tall champagne flute

champagne cocktail recipe:
1 cube of sugar soaked with angostura bitters
dry champagne (or sparkling wine)
served in a tall champagne flute

*some recipes also add an ounce of brandy
  with a slice of orange and a cherry for garnish (optional)


the champagne cocktail wasn't anything special.  i could see how someone who doesn't drink a whole lot would like this drink because it's a lot sweeter and the sugar cuts some of the alcohol.  i didn't have it with the brandy or any of the garnishes, so it was just a dry champagne with a sugar cube soaked in angostura bitters at the bottom of a flute.  it was fun and whimsical and an excuse to try a new drink.  so i'm not complaining because i got trashy.

so enjoy your drinking, i sure did. xoxo.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

ode to wine


i love wine.
wine loves me.

one of my favorite things to do is visit local vineyards (well actually vineyards anywhere) and get all trashy.
i love the free wine glass you get when you do tastings.  i have so many vineyard wine glasses i don't know what to do with them all.  i need one from each place i visit and i love them.  so if your vineyard doesn't have the free wine glass i think  you should think twice about not offering it.
and by the third or fourth vineyard, i am totally tipsy and go crazy buying bottles of wine.  it's pretty awesome.

have any of you visited a vineyard?  do you have a favorite?  a favorite wine?

my favorite wine is cabernet sauvignon.  i can't get enough of it.

i have to say that i love napa valley the most, but how can you go wrong with a big glass of a full bodied red wine from anywhere.

xoxo.