‘Cheap’ Champagne Cocktail with Winter Citrus
If the “good stuff” is too much for your budget, add fresh grapefruit to your bottle of cheap champagne this New Year’s for something elegant and delicious.
Expensive champagne is one of life’s great pleasures. It’s indulgent and refreshing and leaves its imbibers giddy with its perfect tiny bubbles. Really great champagne isn’t exactly affordable, especially if you’re sharing with guests. A single bottle might be more than you’re spending on your New Year’s Eve dinner for two. Indulgent and delicious? Yes. Affordable and reasonable? No.
There is a brilliant solution to this expensive problem: the champagne cocktail. This clever cocktail is a hostesses’ best friend. By adding juice to your champagne, you’re not only making the bottles last longer but you’re also masking the imperfect taste of a lesser bottle of champagne. There are hundreds of brands that make affordable champagne. Make sure to do you shopping and stock up a few days before New Year’s so you have all the bottles you need. Depending on your guests, figure one bottle per three people for a long party that lasts well past the ball drop at midnight.
It might seem counterintuitive but in the dead of winter, citrus fruits flourish. Juicy yellow and pink grapefruits pile up in markets and taste just a bit more delicious than they do the rest of the year. This cocktail showcases the pretty sweet red citrus fruit with a subtle hint of nutmeg.
You can make the grapefruit nutmeg mixture up to three days before your plan on serving the cocktail. If you do want to make it the day of your party, make sure to budget your time for a few extra hours of refrigeration.
Cheap Champagne Cocktail with Grapefruit and Nutmeg
Makes 6 cocktails
Ingredients
Directions
Make sure your champagne and grapefruit are very cold. Chill in the fridge for at least three hours.
Slice the grapefruit in half and extract the juice with a juicer or by hand. Do the same with 1/2 the lemon and combine in a small pitcher. Add 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and stir a few times.
Pour one ounce or two tablespoons of the grapefruit mixture into each glass. Pour about 4 ounces of champagne in each glass as well and give it a quick stir with a cocktail spoon. Serve immediately.
Photos by Ally-Jane Grossan
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