Our ideal Christmas cocktail is sparkling and festive. That’s why it was love at first sip when we ordered Nine Ladies Dancing at Simon Pearce Restaurant in Quechee, VT last Christmas. Light, bubbly and not too sweet, this champagne cocktail also has a subtle floral taste. It’s exactly the kind of cocktail we want to casually whip up in our own home at Christmas or New Years, like we thought of it ourselves. But it tasted … complicated. Certainly too tricky for us to pull off without a breaking a sweat at a party.
Or so we thought. When our friends at Simon Pearce shared their recipe, we learned it only has 3 ingredients and requires little to no prep thanks to one special ingredient: elderflower liqueur. It’s a French spirit made from small, fragrant white flowers that are picked in the Alps during the Spring and early Summer months. It’s like Sound of Music in a bottle.
A word of caution: So simple to make and even easier to drink, this champagne cocktail might have you caroling like the von Trapps by the end of the night.
- ½ oz. elderflower liqueur, like St. Germain
- 1 thin slice lemon zest
- 5 oz. sparkling wine, preferably brut or extra brut, chilled
- In 6-oz. champagne flute or coupe, add elderflower liqueur and lemon zest. Top with sparkling wine. Serve immediately. Drink and repeat as necessary.
- Tip: How to get thin strips of zest from a lemon
- Getting strips of zest from a lemon takes less than a minute and is worth every second: To do, using a vegetable peeler, peel wides strips of yellow skin from the lemon, taking care not to cut into the white pithy layer underneath. If you do get some white attached to the peel, don’t panic. Simply scrape it off with a sharp paring knife, then use the knife to cut the peel into thin strips.