Adore Champagne

The joy of spring is the same for all. After a long winter (especially a bad one) the sight of the sun, the sound of birds singing, and the absence of snow and rain, is truly a reason for celebration.

And celebrate you should, as spring doesn’t always stick around and can occur tentatively to start. So throw open a window – perhaps put a jumper on first – and make something special.

This Elderflower Champagne cocktail is just the thing. Perfect for toasting the start of spring. A marriage of sweet, tart, light and fizzy that tastes delicious.
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Many of you will have heard the term apéritif in cocktail discussions. In Italy, the term is aperitivo, a word dating back to the 19th century. An aperitivo is a drink which is intended to precede a meal; the low alcohol content and dry flavour are designed to get your digestive system working prior to eating, to enhance your dining experience. Most aperitivos contain Campari, Prosecco, vermouth, or – in this case – Aperol.
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This lovely Rhubarb and Rum cocktail is a perfect Friday night tipple and a great way to start your weekend in style.

The recipe uses frozen rhubarb. This is ideal if you’re a keen gardener and have frozen some home-grown crops; alternatively, most supermarkets stock frozen rhubarb that will work just fine.

The rhubarb compote is very easy to make, and adds a lovely hint of pink to the drink, in addition to a delightful sweetness. It is very yummy, and great to stay in with, as well as a wonderful concoction for special guests.
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This lovely cocktail is made using the Fuyu Persimmon fruit. The seasonal orange fruit, native to East Asia, is rich in vitamin A, potassium, magnesium and fiber. They also contain shibuol and betulinic acid, which have anti-cancerous properties.

Persimmon are in season during fall and winter, and they add a mild sweetness and wintry feel to a champagne cocktail. With the beneficial properties of this fruit, what excuse is there?

I think this would be an ideal cocktail for festive occasions that fall during this fruit’s seasonal months; Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Eve spring to mind.
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As those confident, feisty women from HBOs Sex in The City graced our screens, so did a range of cocktails favored by the sexy Manhattan friends.

The Cosmo, we were probably familiar with; the Flirtini, perhaps not so much – but we certainly knew it after it was featured on an episode of the show. The Flirtini is a stylish cocktail comprised of vodka, champagne and pineapple juice.

With the glamour of the champagne, the strength of the vodka and the sweetness of the pineapple, this combination of ingredients suits those ladies completely. Flirtinis come in a variety of styles – this is simple and elegant.
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Black pepper may seem like a bizarre addition to not-so-savoury cocktail, but the peppered rim is one of the most enjoyable parts of this cocktail. Coupled with the viscous raspberry purée, you might almost forget you’re drinking a cocktail at all!

Frozen raspberries work just as well as fresh raspberries in this recipe, which means this delectable cocktail can be enjoyed all year round. You can even switch out the freshly squeezed orange juice for a store-bought alternative, though you should reduce the syrup in the recipe if you take this route.
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The Mint Champagne cocktail is a very nice twist on the plain champagne that you serve on those special occasions, to those special people in your life. There is something about the combination of mint and alcohol that screams of the 1920s, an era of glamour, glitz and The Great Gatsby.

This is a lovely, simple and uncomplicated tipple. It is both stylish and enjoyable, an ideal choice of cocktail for those very special celebrations, or, in fact, for any occasion that you’d like to inject some elegance in to.
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When people think of punch being ‘spiked’, it’s rarely spiked with something as delicious as champagne. This champagne apple punch is a perfectly boozy drink for a get-together with family or friends. The unsweetened apple juice and brut champagne create a dry and fresh bite that livens up the atmosphere at any party.

The key to the apple and orange garnish is to slice the fruits very thinly so they float on the surface. Place some of them in the pitcher and add a few to each glass as you serve. It’s best to cut the fruits immediately before service to avoid browning, but if you must do it in advance, coating the slices in lemon juice should reduce this problem
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If you’re a sucker for exotic drinks that make you feel like you’re on vacation, then this is a beverage for you.

At the end of a long week, when you feel like you need something to lift your mood, pull out the cocktail shaker and make yourself one of these babies. The Haleakala Holiday is a delicious combination of Malibu rum, pineapple juice, dark cherry juice, and champagne. This is all you need to make the stress of the day float away on a tropical breeze.

These yummy cocktails are the perfect crowd-pleaser too, ideal if you’re planning a New Year’s Eve party this year. Make up a large batch at the beginning of the evening and let your guests help themselves.
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The Pomegranate Mojito Champagne Cocktail – a bit of a mouthful, in every sense. It is a delicious combination of flavors. Let’s be honest: as far as awesome combinations go, rum, pomegranate and champagne is up there with the best.

This cocktail is light, fresh, and slightly sweet, with a faint tang from the lime. The addition of champagne creates a sweet, bubbly feeling in the belly.

This is a refreshing and perfectly balanced drink that’s ideal for sipping on a hot summer night, though combinations as good as these work at any time, for any occasion.
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Sorbet Champagne Cocktails are the grown up, more sophisticated, version of the ice cream sodas or ‘floats’ you probably enjoyed frequently in childhood.

This can be made using any sorbet, but the dark berry variations produce lovely intense hues. When the sorbet and champagne are mixed, the two separate, creating a two-toned effect for a drink that looks far more complex than it really is.

The result is a cocktail that looks as good as it tastes. This is a perfect cocktail for hot summer evenings with friends, and it’s so easy to produce that your time can be spent entertaining your happy guests.
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This delicious classic of the cocktail world has a history that is as stimulating as the drink itself. The story goes that it was created in 1915 by Harry MacElhone at the New York Bar in Paris. It was flown over to the US by returning World War I pilots, becoming a popular drink at New York City’s Stork Club.

Apparently, the name comes from a 75mm French field gun,s said to have the same kick as the drink – well, this name is apt. A sip of a French 75 is definitely akin to being shelled with a very powerful gun.
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Spiced Apple Cider is a champagne cocktail that is scrumptious, fresh tasting and simple.

Cider is a drink that is suited to all times of the year. The addition of champagne takes this relatively low cost beverage and transforms it into a drink fit for the best of festive celebrations.

As far as champagne cocktails go, this is one of the easiest, yet it works superbly and tastes divine. It’s one to serve when you want to be free to spend time with your guests, instead of tending bar.
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As far as flavour combinations go, it doesn’t get much better than this. Strawberries and champagne are so well matched that it’s a marriage that could only have been forged by the gods.

The Strawberry Bellini takes that marriage to a whole new level, blending the strawberries into the champagne to create at synergistic union that could easily be described as heavenly.

This heavenly mix is a wonderful choice for a special Valentines celebration, and also works brilliantly for summer evening gatherings. This is a fresh and sweet cocktail, easy to produce, yet so delicious that your guests will leave smiling.
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The great chefs will tell you that before we taste with our mouths, we taste with our eyes. Presentation is the key in all the best restaurants and bars. If you are looking for a cocktail with pizzazz then this is your ideal.

The intense hue of the Green Grass Champagne Cocktail is amazing. The green is created by the Midori melon liqueur; the taste of melon with champagne is divine, and the crystallized sugar sticks give this already cool drink some extra fizz.

This is your go to cocktail when image matters. It’s a wonderful choice for Christmas, and totally perfect for St Patrick’s day celebrations.
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