There's just something truly captivating about champagne. It's fizzy, bubbly, golden, elegant, and as an alcoholic beverage, is undoubtedly refined. We love a high-end bottle of bubbly, but rather than sticking to the straight stuff, there's a wonderfully tasteful array of champagne cocktail recipes you can try crafting at home.
Champagne is ordinarily reserved for special occasions. It's a celebratory drink - and it's always a lot of fun popping a bottle in front of your guests. champagne can be turned into a refined cocktail to add to the celebrations, too. There's the mighty Mimosa, the classic Champagne Cocktail, and of course, the peachy Bellini.
To inspire your next celebratory drinks, here are the best champagne cocktail drinks to fizz up your evening!
Can you get drunk on champagne?
Champagne is one of the world's most well-known and highly popular alcoholic beverages, but there are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to this bubbly drink.
Champagne drinks are essentially fizzy wine. White wine is carbonated, giving us that distinctive pop and fizz when the bottle is opened. Traditionally, it was an upper-class drink, and so even today, fancy champagne (or expensive champagne) is reserved for special occasions and celebrations.
The bubbles are often said to get you drunk more quickly than a still white wine or other drinks of equal alcoholic content. The fizz is said to go straight to the head, giving you that champagne buzz and putting you in the mood for celebrating!
Drinking champagne is easy and enjoyable. Selecting the best champagne, though, can be a challenge. The most expensive bottles originate from the Champagne region of France (where the best champagne names and brands come from), and to officially be labeled as 'Champagne,' the bottle must have been produced here. The rest are technically 'sparking wine.'
However, there are lots more champagne types to consider. Cava and Prosecco, for instance, are also popular champagne-style drinks. They are essentially the same - carbonated, fizzy, white wine. However, they are from different regions of Europe. They are often cheaper, but they work just as well in a champagne cocktail as an expensive bottle of Moet or Brut.
What can you add to make the best champagne cocktails?
Champagne is often popped and poured straight into a long, tall, glass champagne flute. It fizzes up and often fizzes right over the top (adding to the jovial mood of a champagne drinking session!).
But not everyone loves the bubbly, sharp taste of champagne straight from the bottle. There are plenty of ways to liven a glass of champagne up, with a few extra ingredients.
Here are a few of the ingredients mixers that go particularly well with champagne:
- Ice - what's better than a cool glass of champagne? Try using anice ball maker for the clearest, cleanest ice. That way, you won't dilute the taste of the bubbly!
- Fresh fruit - a good champagne cocktail needs some fresh fruit. Classic cocktails make use of all sorts of lovely, fresh berries, including strawberries, as well as sweet fruits such as peach.
- Fresh fruit juice - as well as fresh fruit, fresh fruit juice is the perfect way to craft a champagne cocktail for your guests. Orange, peach, or grapefruit; these are all delicious additions!
- Sweet liqueurs - try mixing champagne with sweet liqueurs such as Cassis for an excellent yet simple cocktail!
Classic champagne cocktail recipes
It's always great to try crafting your own champagne cocktails, using fresh fruit, juice, or any sweet liqueurs that you have in your drink cupboard. Always remember to add ice for that chilled yet fizzy finish!
However, you might prefer to follow a more tried and trusted champagne cocktail recipe. There certainly are lots of them, so we've curated a selection of refined champagne cocktails that you can try mixing for your next dinner party.
The Champagne Cocktail
The Champagne Cocktail is a favorite on New Year's Eve when the bubbly is flowing, and the fireworks are up in the night sky!
The Champagne Cocktail is very easy to prepare too, but it really adds a punch to your flute glass when it's time to celebrate.
To prepare a Champagne Cocktail, you'll need the following:
- Champagne
- Sugar cubes
- Angostura bitters
Pass around the bitters and hand out sugar cubes, or prepare a large bowl of Champagne Cocktail for your guests to dip into all evening!
Mimosa
The Mimosa is the perfect way to start the day or an excellent addition to brunch. This is the best way to enjoy a drink with breakfast for the early starters.
To make Mimosas, you'll need:
- Champagne
- Orange juice
- Ice
Mimosas are excellent on birthdays, Christmas mornings, or any other event you're celebrating. Serve fresh and cold alongside breakfast or brunch. Mimosas can also be prepared with other citrus-based juices - not just orange juice. Try grapefruit, or lemon juice, for a fruit twist.
Bellini
The Bellini is another favorite for the early starters, and it makes for a great breakfast or brunch accompaniment. A Bellini is also lovely at lunchtime and perfect in the evening - in fact, there's not really a time of day when we wouldn't call for a Bellini!
Bellinis are technically prepared with Prosecco rather than champagne, but who's judging? To make Bellinis, you'll need:
- Prosecco (or champagne)
- Peach puree or peach nectar
It's just Prosecco and peach, really, but it's a winning combination of fruit and fizz that has become a firm brunch favorite all over the world. Keep it cool with a clear ice cube or some crushed ice. Add some fresh peach slices if you want to be super-fruity!
Black Velvet
The Black Velvet isn't your average champagne cocktail because this drink combo is made with a mixture of champagne and beer! You need a thick ale or stout for the best results. Guinness is our go-to Black Velvet beer, but any dark, thick, and creamy beer will do the trick.
To make a Black Velvet, you only need 2 ingredients:
- Champagne
- Dark beer (like Guinness)
This can be difficult to pour because there is always going to be an unfortunate amount of fizz involved. Start by pouring your Guinness or stout of choice into a glass tumbler (a Collins glass works best). Once it's settled, add the fizzy champagne to the glass, trying not to let it fizz over the top!
What's your favorite champagne cocktail?
Do you prefer drinking champagne on ice, or are you a fan of the classic Champagne Cocktail? Perhaps you're into the Mimosas or Bellinis, or maybe, you like an adventurous Black Velvet?
Whatever your tipple, champagne is a fantastic drink to make cocktails with. This bubbly, fizzy favorite is the perfect drink to share with guests at a dinner party or a celebratory event, and you can liven things up with a few mixers!
Why not bookmark our guide to champagne cocktails so you can find the perfect recipe?