You Don't Need Much To Transform Champagne Into A Delicious Cocktail

Although the sole difference between wine and sparkling wines like champagne is carbonation, they're used in vastly different settings. While you can pop the cork of a bottle of wine any time, champagne is reserved only for the most special of occasions. But while straight champagne is the most common and simplest way to serve it, if you want to dazzle your guests with your bartending skills, a simple champagne cocktail will be a good use of that newly-popped bottle of sparkling wine.

There are countless champagne cocktail recipes out there, but you don't need an extensive collection of liqueurs, bitters, and syrups to craft a good drink. All you'll require is a tablespoon of sugar and a couple of dashes of bitters. Angostura bitters work best, but you can also use your preferred variety, like Peychaud's, orange, or lavender bitters.

Combine these two ingredients in a champagne flute. Swirl with a spoon until they're mixed together nicely. Once they do, add about 2 ounces of champagne to the glass and stir until all of the solids dissolve. Finish the cocktail with 2 more ounces into the glass, and you're basically finished. If you want to make it fancier, you can decorate the rim of the flute with a lemon twist.

The best part about this recipe is that it is highly versatile and will accept any bubbly, regardless of quality or price. Generally, though, dry champagnes are a top choice for cocktails because they aren't very sweet. This lack of sweetness allows bitters and other flavors to shine. Plus, their high acidity balances out the sweetness of other cocktail ingredients. But if you have a fondness for sweet cocktails, you can work into the recipe sweeter kinds of bubblies, too.

Brut champagnes are usually the go-to for cocktails because they strike a perfect balance between sweetness and dryness, making them easy to mix with. If you're looking for something lighter and fruitier than French champagne, Italian prosecco is a fantastic option. And of course, for those who want to make this cocktail on a budget at home, instead of champagne, go for a bottle of Crémant, another sparkling wine. It's made using the same ingredients and basically the same production method as champagne, but for a fraction of the price. The only real difference is that it's not made in the region of Champagne, France.