Holiday Champagne Cocktails

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By Andrew Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

Champagne, “Come quickly, I’m drinking stars!” said Dom Perignon, the monk who’s given credit for putting the sparkle in wine. We all owe this gent a debt of gratitude for the hard work in figuring out how to capture joyous bubbles. But his life couldn’t have been all work and no play, drinking his fermented mistakes.

Since Dom developed the venerated wine, the producers of Champagne have become very protective of the name and tradition. So much so, that if you make wine using the méthode Champenois outside the region of Champagne, then it must be called sparkling wine. Either way, there’s no better way to kick off the holiday season than with bubbles.

Here are two variations of our favorite festive drinks including a kid-friendly, nonalcoholic version. So whether you say Santé, Salud, Prost or Skál, the Hunter Family says Cheers! to you and the joy of the holidays.

Kir Royale
Kir Royale is both elegant and festive. It’s the champagne variation of the classic French Kir, made with crème de cassis and white wine. Customize it to your liking with your favorite fruit liqueur.

1 bottle champagne or sparkling wine, chilled
1 cup your choice of fruit liqueur (Crème de Cassis, Chambord, Saint Germain)
1 lemon, cut in twists or thin wedges

For each serving: Add 1 tablespoon fruit liqueur to a flute of champagne. Add a twist of lemon.

Makes about 8 drinks

Optional garnish: strawberries, raspberries or orange twists

Kid Royale
The Kid Royale is a festive nonalcoholic "mocktail" for the kids. It’s a celebration cider with cranberry ice cubes. Your kids will feel a part of the party when they propose a toast with their tall glasses filled with apple bubbly.

12 to 24 ounces cranberry juice
32 ounces sparkling apple cider, chilled

Pour cranberry juice into 1 or 2 ice cube trays (about 1 ounce of juice per cube) and freeze a few hours before the party. Drop the frozen cubes into a tall glass, top with sparkling apple cider, and serve.

Makes 4 drinks

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