Cocktail recipe
Champagne Cocktail
A jewel-like classic: fine bubbles carry bitters, cognac warmth and a trace of sweetness.
Ingredients
- 90 ml (3 oz) chilled brut Champagne
- 10 ml (⅓ oz) cognac
- 1 small sugar cube (approximately 4 g)
- 2 dashes aromatic bitters.
- Garnish: Long orange twist; optional one cocktail cherry.
Preparation
Chill the flute thoroughly. Set the sugar cube in the base and saturate it with bitters. Add cognac, then slowly pour in Champagne, pausing if the bubbles climb too fast. Express an orange twist over the surface and arrange it neatly. Do not stir aggressively: the gradual release of sweetness and bitters is part of the drink's old-world charm.
Glassware
Chilled Champagne flute
History
Champagne mixed with sugar and bitters appears in nineteenth-century cocktail literature, including Jerry Thomas's influential 1862 *How to Mix Drinks*, although specifications and garnishes have changed substantially. Earlier forms did not necessarily include cognac; adding a small measure of brandy is a recognized later approach rather than a universal historical constant. The sugar cube's slow dissolution became part of the visual ritual. No single inventor can responsibly be named.
Mixology View
The Champagne should remain the star. A dry bottle and restrained cognac make the drink festive without turning it syrupy; our brandy addition is a declared house choice.