Champagne Cocktail Cocktail Recipe
A bitters-soaked sugar cube dropped into champagne, with a splash of cognac — it fizzes from the bottom for the whole drink.
- Category: Contemporary Classics
- Glass: Flute glass
- ABV: 13%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Champagne90 ml (3 oz)
- Cognac10 ml (0.3 oz)
- Sugar cube1 piece
- Angostura bitters2 dash
How to Make It
- Soak the sugar cube with the bitters and drop it into a flute.
- Add the cognac.
- Top slowly with cold champagne.
- Express orange zest over the glass.
Garnish
Orange zest
What it tastes like
It is carbonated.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A narrow, tall flute. The slim opening is what keeps sparkling wine fizzing longest: there is very little surface for the bubbles to escape from.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Champagne
- Sparkling wine from the Champagne region. Cocktails call for brut; demi-sec noticeably sweetens the drink and makes the recipe's syrup redundant.
- Cognac
- Brandy distilled from grapes in the Cognac region of France. VS is young and lively, VSOP rounder; in a cocktail VS is plenty, since VSOP's finesse disappears in the mix.
- Angostura bitters
- The salt of the cocktail world. Measured in dashes, not millilitres: a few of them cut the sweetness and add spice. One bottle lasts years.
The Story
In print since 1862 in Jerry Thomas's Bar-Tender's Guide, which makes it one of the oldest drinks still ordered by name.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Champagne Cocktail mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a flute.
- How strong is a Champagne Cocktail?
- Roughly 13% ABV as served — right around a glass of wine — an aperitif or an early-evening drink.
- Can a Champagne Cocktail be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Champagne Cocktail hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.