A.J. Rathbun - Champagne Cocktails

The Harvard Common Press
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Boston, Massachusetts 02118
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Copyright 2010 by A.J. Rathbun
Photographs copyright 2010 by Jerry Errico

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Printed in China
Printed on acid-free paper

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rathbun, A. J. (Arthur John), 1969
Champagnecocktails : 50 cork-popping concoc
tions and sgintillating sparklers / A.J. Rathbun.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-55832-426-8 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Cocktails. 2. Sparkling wines. I. Title.
TX951.R164 2010
641.8'74--dc22
2009050013

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Book design by Laura Palese
Photographs by Jerry Errico
Food and drink styling by Brian Preston-Campbell
Author photographs by Natalie Fuller

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For REBECCA STAFFEL, for opening the bottle, and for Michael Bourret, for keeping the drinks and food flowing

To ensure that bubbles don't get flat throughout a whole book takes much more than just one person, which is a darn good thingdrinking is never as much fun alone. For all the help keeping those bubbles bubbling, I'd like to thank everyone who's ever shared a bottle of any kind of sparkling wine with me, whether it was mixed with other ingredients or sipped solo. Here's to you, the Champagne of drinking companions. But I'd also like to send out a few specific thanks to those who helped with this particular bottle (well, book of bottles, really), starting out with Valerie Cimino, my wonderful editor, who makes my ramblings so much crisper and whose devotion to the art of finer drinks (especially those from Venice) can never be doubted. A jeroboam of thanks, also, to the whole staff at The Harvard Common Press, who are an effervescent and helpful batch of book-loving folk.

Speaking of opening big bottles of thanks, a magnum of sparkling wine should be opened for a great drink photographer, Jerry Errico. Thanks also to the whole Errico team for their assistance. A grammatical toast, too, to copy editor Jane Dornbusch, whose keen eye kept this book from dribbling out onto the floor.

Of course, another round of bottles must be delivered to my agent, Michael Bourret (the dedication just isn't enough), for his continual aid, advice, and ability to answer nearly any question from anywhere.

An extra double magnum (maybe two) of the imported stuff must be opened for a few more select folks as well, for their help above and beyond the removal of a cork. These fine friends and bar companions include those who were kind enough to lend me recipes for this book (a huge shout-out to pal and boy bar genius Andrew Bohrer); filmatic mad mastermind Brad Kosel (and his basketball league) and Brad's charming wife Christi and son Cash; my pals at the Lisa Ekus Group; Brad (not Bradley) Parsons for support and championing the cause; Leslie for the website aid; Mark for the biz advice; Ed and Jill, Jerm, Meg, and Beatrix for testing anything and everything (oh heck, really, thanks to the whole Ballard Progressive Institution and anyone who sometimes hangs out with it); anyone who's left a comment or come by the Spiked Punch blog at www.ajrathbun.com/blog; my family near and far; and, as always, you.

But the last and largest bottle of thanks (a bottle of Prosecco, I think, or maybe Lambrusco) goes to the family I see each and every lucky day, those nutty dogs Sookie and Rory (who keep eating all the leftover bottle corks) and my wife, Natalie. Thanks for never skipping a beat when I get the punch bowl down for testing late on a weekday, for not missing the space now taken up by those extra bottles of sparkling wine, and for being ready, at a moment's notice, to go open those bottles where they were actually filled.

Aren't celebrations wonderful? There's nothing better than getting together with friends, family, beaus and belles, a single pal, coworkers, even people you met only a minute ago to talk happily, sing songs, dance, perhaps say a few silly things, and just be joyous on a certain day. Maybe it's a somewhat serious type of cheerful day with long-term ramifications, such as a wedding, or a glad day at the end of a long project or task (a retirement, even), or a night when you want to gather those closest to you to tell them how much better they make your moments, or a moonlit night with you and that special someone, remembering a day 12 years ago when you had that first kiss. These celebrations, big and small, constitute much of what keeps life from sliding into a mundane morass.

Champagne, and sparkling wines of all types, has always added an extra serving of terrificness to these moments. A sparkler automatically brings a nice but not overwhelming touch of elegance anywhere it's opened up. The lively nature of these drinks matches up so well with happy occasions, and the fact that the bubbles in the bottle, as everyone knows, don't last forever reminds us to enjoy these special days that much more. For all these reasons, it's a shame to have your wingdings, soires, and generally festive ftes without making sure old pal Champagne or one of her cousins is around in some form.

I think, too, that having a particular Champagne cocktail, or other sparkling mixed drink, makes the occasions even more spectacular. Not that I don't enjoy a glass of plain Prosecco, mind you. But picking out a signature drinkone that really matches the big-or-small occasion, one that tastes great and mirrors the moment's personalityadds a touch of transformative magic that elevates an event into rollicking, memorable revelry. And isn't having memorable and exciting parties what throwing parties is all about? It isn't, after all, a party if it happens every night, and your drink should have that same "I'm special" kind of attitude. And Champagne cocktails certainly do.

The classic (and simply named) Champagne Cocktail, with its graceful mingling of sugar, Angostura bitters, and Champagne, has been around at least since the latter part of the 1800s and is featured in Jerry Thomas's Bar-Tender's Guide from 1862. And Mimosas and Bellinis have made it to brunch menus from Maine to California. But why stop with these (not that they aren't great)?

I say, uncork and start up the sparklers. Having a little gathering next week to celebrate turning 30? Try a Happy Youth to let folks know that age isn't going to change your outlook. Want to have a winter holiday hoedown that folks actually are happy to attend? Mention Bubbly Poinsettias on the invites and watch the RSVPs flow in. Or, just turn the pages, get your cabinets stocked, and delve into the effervescent world of the Sea Horse, Sweeter Welcome, Black Velvet, Buck's Fizz, and their cheerful and singular bubbly brothers and sisters. These beauties are sure to make those special days, big and small, spent with those closest to you, those days that make life worth living, even better.