*Champagne Family Cocktails*

Learning to Drink By Family - *Champagne Family Cocktails*

Ahhhhhhhh shiiiiiiiiiit! Nothing like a bubbly cocktail! If only Puff, or is it Diddy? P Diddy? Daddy? Whatever. If only they knew the experience of a well crafted champagne cocktail. They’d probably order bartender service along with those bottles of champagne. Oh, good idea. Trade marked, Bartender Service. Everyone’s going to want it at their table. Anyways, enough hip hop and brilliant ideas.

The champagne cocktail family! These cocktails are usually pretty easy to make, and super fun to drink! The family of cocktails is constructed as follows:

- 1 oz of Gin or Cognac

- 1/2 oz of Lemon

- 1/2 oz Sweetener (usually simple syrup)

- A quick shake

- Strain into a champagne flute and top with Champagne

Bam! Not to tough eh? These cocktails are perfect for parties, relaxing by the beach, or a celebration of any kind! A classic staple Champagne cocktail would definitely have to be the French 75. All this little guy requires is Gin, Lemon, Simple, and Champagne. At El Dorado we use the following specs:

- 1 oz Plymouth Gin

- 1/2 oz of Freshly squeezed lemon

- 1/2 oz of Simple Syrup (1:1 Ratio)

- Shake, Strain, top with the Bubbly

- Garnish with a lemon zest

Now let’s take a look at the history of the Champagne Cocktail. The original champagne cocktail dates back to the mid to late 1800s. In Jerry Thomas’ “The Bar-Tenders Guide,” the recipe calls for shaking all the ingredients, including the champagne. Well they quickly realized that was a mistake as carbonated drinks will explode in your face or over a large crowd at a rap show if you shake them. Here’s his recipe:

- 1/2 teaspoon sugar

- 1 or 2 dashes of bitters

- Lemon peel

- Champagne

Later the recipe called for a lump of sugar with angostura bitters. You would then build the drink in the champagne flute and stir it. From there, the variations began to take off. And now we have the current Champagne Cocktail Family. Here’s an old favorite at El Dorado that you will be sure to love. It’s called the Airmail:

- 1 oz White Rum

- 1/2 oz Freshly squeezed Lime

- 1/2 oz Honey

- Shake, Strain, top with Champagne

There’s plenty of different champagne’s to choose from. We feel that usually the drier champagne’s work best. Brut is always a good call. But hey, it’s your cocktail, experiment! Until next time, Cheers!