The Wonderful, Wonderful World of Champagne Cocktails

I utterly fail to recall how I was introduced to the Champagne cocktail, but it has become a staple in my pre-dinner repertoire. In fact, whereas most people own a single tiny and ancient cruet of Angostura bitters, about once annually I purchase an institutional-sized 16-ounce flagon of the dark and mysteriously aromatic ingredient that is mandatory for this classic drink.

First, let us dispel a few myths about the Champagne cocktail. It is not a sweet drink; or rather, it is sweet only when made with sweet sparkling wine. It is not a drink for dizzy socialites and chorus girls, if such still exist; made with quality sparkling wine and attention to measurement, it is a connoisseur’s cocktail.

Then, there are the myths about what type of sparkling wine to use in the Champagne cocktail. In one of my favorite mixology texts, “The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks,” published during the heyday of the cocktail era in 1958, author David A. Embury vituperates against the bubbling beverage, declaring “Why some people rave about the Champagne cocktail is a complete mystery to me. . . . This cocktail is a decidedly inferior drink, and no true Champagne lover would ever commit the sacrilege of polluting a real vintage Champagne by dunking even plain sugar--much less bitters in it.”

I say, chill out, Mr. Embury, and pull up a glass. Let me have you compare the flavor of a Champagne cocktail prepared with, say, a good French brut Champagne with one made with, as you suggest, “a cheap domestic Champagne or even an artificially carbonated white wine.” I believe that you will easily be able to tell the difference, and you will prefer the former so long as your taste buds have not been dulled by prolonged exposure to more potent potions.

It’s common sense that the better the ingredients, the better the cocktail. In all honesty, I don’t use French Champagne in my cocktails because when I can afford to drink the real stuff, I prefer to savor it straight. But I do use good-quality California methode champenoise sparkling wines, because they possess the necessary backbone and structure to produce a bracing drink.

I scour the stores for brands on sale--such as Piper-Sonoma and Chateau St. Jean--and seldom spend more than $10 or $11 a bottle. When I find myself in reduced circumstances, Cava--dry Spanish Champagne-method sparkling wine--makes an adequate substitute. My favorite is Castellblanch Brut Zero.

CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL

The classic Champagne cocktail is simplicity itself. Start with a scrupulously clean stemmed glass. Drop one sugar cube (a cube, not a lozenge) in the bottom and saturate it with a dash or two of Angostura bitters. Add one teaspoon Cognac and four ounces chilled dry sparkling wine. Run a lemon peel around the rim and drop it in.

I seldom tire of this brisk and effervescent aperitif. But if I do, there is a select group of sparkling wine drinks that make tasty alternatives.

KIR ROYALE

The key to a good Kir Royal--Champagne kir--is the quality and freshness of the creme de cassis, or black currant liqueur. Choose yours at a reputable wine shop. Excellent brands include Creme de Cassis du Vignon by Domaine Thevenot-Le Brun and the bottling by Lucien Jacob, imported by Neal Rosenthal Selections. Always refrigerate creme de cassis after opening. Use about one teaspoon liqueur (add more if you want a sweeter drink) with four ounces sparkling wine. Run a lemon peel around the rim of the glass and drop it in.

INFUSION COCKTAIL

Randall Grahm, proprietor and winemaker of tiny Bonny Doon Vineyard in Santa Cruz, makes some very interesting non-grape products, among them a series he calls fruit infusions--strawberry, raspberry and other fruit wines perked up with a dollop of spirits. In particular, his Framboise (raspberry infusion) makes a superb drink mixed with sparkling wine. Pour one teaspoon Bonny Doon Framboise in the bottom of a glass, then fill with four ounces dry sparkling wine. Should you be prone to such extravagances, a fresh raspberry floating in the glass makes a nice touch.

FIZZY FUZZY

This is a takeoff on the recently popular Fuzzy Navel cocktail, an on-the-rocks blend of peach schnapps and orange juice, but if you can overlook that, it’s a very tasty drink to serve at brunch. Start with one ounce peach schnapps. Add 1 1/2 ounces orange juice, then fill up with three ounces dry sparkling wine.

Finally, a hint: If you order a Champagne cocktail in a restaurant (a risky business), always ask what type of sparkling wine they use. Even if you’re not familiar with the brand, the mere fact of inquiring shows the establishment that you’re attentive to the quality of the drink.

Plus, you may be able to avoid a financially embarrassing situation such as the following, which happened to me about seven years ago.

I was in Boston on business and staying at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. My work completed, I decided to have a late lunch in the hotel’s upstairs salon, which was furnished with wing chairs and peopled with a great many blue-haired dowagers. Caught up in the setting, I decided to reward myself. “Tell me,” I asked my venerable waiter, “do you make a Champagne cocktail?”

“Of course, Madame,” he responded.

He reappeared shortly carrying a small tray on which were arranged a split of Taittinger Brut La Francaise Champagne, a chilled glass and the other drink ingredients. Before my enraptured eyes, he mixed a masterful cocktail. I tasted it. It was impeccable.

But the bill, for the one drink only, was $17.