Friday, January 28, 2011

Champagne Cocktail with a Fruity Twist

I love Champagne Cocktails. Love 'em, especially if we are having a nice dinner I think it is a very festive way to start an evening. Champagne cocktails were one of the first cocktails invented and they are very simple: Champagne, bitters, sugar cube, lemon twist.

But I usually make them with Prosecco instead of Champagne. Italian Prosecco is far less expensive and it is a touch sweeter. We went to a sparkling wine tasting for our wine group last month and I came away with 6 bottles of sparkling wine, one being a Rose Cava. Cava is the sparkling wine of Spain. It is not typically Rose, but I like Rose, so I thought it would make a decent cocktail. Boy, did it ever. And since I was tweaking tradition, I went really crazy and used Rhubarb Bitters instead of the go-to Angostura Bitters.

Jennevieve's Cava Sparkle

1 bottle Cava (Rose preferred)
Sugar Cubes
Rhubarb Bitters
Lemon Peel

Start by placing a sugar cube in each glass and add a few splashes of bitters over each cube.

Use a zester to create lemon peel slices.

Curl peel firmly to create a nice twist.

Fill glasses with Cava and add twist. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6 depending on size of pours.
You can really taste the rhubarb and it compliments the Rose nicely and is not overly sweet. It almost tasted like Aperol, one of my favorite apertifs. Bottoms up!

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