The Champagne Cocktail. So elegant.  Doesn’t it just bring to mind Great Gatsby (or, to be more current, Boardwalk Empire)?

We were in a gourmet dinner club thing a few years ago (a really fun one, I might add, with a bunch of very talented cooks and super creative themes!)  One of the couples chose “1920’s Speakeasy”.  It was fun researching to figure out what to make.  Tony & I were in charge of a salad.  And with each course, we all also had to bring an accompanying cocktail or beverage.  We made a Crab Louis Salad.  It was so fricking delicious…we used some of Tony’s homemade pickled asparagus and fresh Dungeness crab.  And, of course, a Classic Champagne Cocktail.  lt was very popular among the “Flapper set” in the 1920’s, served in those flat-bottomed “coupe” champagne glasses, not the tulip ones we have now.  It just so happens that when Tony & I got married, the crystal we registered for, by Sasaki, included coupe champagne glasses.  They are gorgeous and we rarely get to use them.

Don’t you think a champagne cocktail (or two) would be such a classy and elegant addition to your New Year’s Eve celebration? I’m sure F. Scott Fitzgerald and Nucky Thompson would think so.

Classic Champagne Cocktail

INGREDIENTS

Champagne (or sparkling wine)

Sugar cubes

Cognac

Angostura Bitters

Lemon (for lemon peel twist garnish)

DIRECTIONS

Drop sugar cube in glass; splash with cognac and bitters; top with champagne or sparkling wine.  Garnish with a twist of lemon peel.