Luxardo cherries – cocktails & gratitude

For Valentine’s Day, I’m thinking either champagne or red cocktails… or red champagne cocktails. 🙂 Here’s a round-up of some of my favorites. (Click on the blue words below for more information or to purchase.)

Sorbet Champagne Float

Raspberry Sorbet

Raspberries

Champagne

Place a ball of sorbet in a chilled coupe, top with champagne and berries. Serve with a spoon. You could even serve this for dessert, just use a chilled dessert dish and increase the size of the sorbet scoop.

Cherry Champagne Cocktail

Luxardo cherries (do not refrigerate or the syrup will crystalize – speaking from experience)

1 oz Cherry liqueur (I used Heering)

Fresh lemon juice

5 oz Champagne or Prosecco

Drop a Luxardo cherry in the bottom of a chilled champagne coupe or flute. Use a spoon to drizzle a tablespoon of Luxardo syrup in the glass. Top with 1 oz cherry liqueur and a few drops of fresh squeezed lemon juice (this will enhance the cherry), then top with Champagne or Prosecco. Garnish with a lemon peel.

Below are two Hibiscus Cocktails. Make the hibiscus concentrate in advance so it has time to chill.

Hibiscus concentrate. If you can find hibiscus flowers that’s great, (available on Amazon) but if not, just pick up a container of natural hibiscus tea at the grocery store. The Republic of Tea is a good brand.

Boil 1 1/2 cups of water, remove from heat

Add 1/4 cup of hibiscus flowers or several tea bags

Let steep for at least 10 minutes until the concentrate is a dark red.

Strain out the flowers and discard. Refrigerate the concentrated tea in a sealed container for up to one week. (I like to store my concentrate in Mason jars.)

Hibiscus Gin Spritz

1 oz Aviation gin or your favorite brand

1 oz Hibiscus Concentrate

4 oz LaMarca Prosecco

2 oz Q club soda

Add all ingredients to a large wine goblet filled with ice. Stir gently. If you’d like, garnish with a lime wheel.

To make your Hibiscus Margarita extra special, make a hibiscus rimmer for your glass. Grind equal parts sugar and dried hibiscus flowers together with a mortar and pestle until you have a fine pink powder. (The sugar helps break down the hibiscus petals.) Then add salt to taste.

Pour a little Cointreau in a plate to wet the rim of your glass and then dip the glass in your hibiscus rimmer. Fill your glass with ice and set aside.

Hibiscus Margarita, combine in a cocktail shaker filled with ice:

1 1/2 oz Patron Silver tequila, or your favorite brand of tequila

1 oz Cointreau

2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice

1 oz hibiscus concentrate

Shake well and strain into your glass with the hibiscus rimmer and ice.

For a non-alcoholic hibiscus cocktail, I love the hibiscus concentrate with lemonade and a splash of club soda.

Cheers!

What are you drinking on Valentine’s Day?

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Below are a few tips to help you prepare the best champagne cocktail.

Chill your glass in the freezer for 5 – 10 minutes while you gather your ingredients and open your champagne. (Heat is the enemy of carbonation.)
Since none of these drinks are served over ice, chill all ingredients in the fridge for several hours before making your cocktails.
Freshly squeeze all citrus and strain to remove any bits of pulp. Chill.

The basic ingredients of a champagne cocktail usually includes:

a bitter or sweet liqueur
a flavor accent, if you used a bitter for the first step this step will mostly likely be sweet
Champagne or Prosecco

Once you understand the basic components, have fun and create your own cocktail. Below are a few options to get you started.

The Classic Champagne Cocktail

1 sugar cube

Angostura aromatic bitters

5 oz Champagne

Place the sugar cube in the bottom of a chilled champagne flute. Dash bitters onto the sugar cube until soaked. Top with champagne. This is a classic party drink because it’s quick to make and the sugar makes the champagne fizz.

Kir Royale

1/2 ounce black currant liqueur (Creme de Cassis)

5 oz Champagne

Luxardo cherry (do not chill or the syrup will crystalize)

Pour the chilled liqueur into the chilled champagne glass. Top with champagne. Garnish with a Luxardo cherry.

Cocchi Champagne Cocktail

1 oz Cocchi Americano

1/2 oz Orange simple syrup (see below)

5 oz Champagne or Prosecco

Combine in a chilled champagne flute. Garnish with an orange slice or a fresh orange peel.

Orange Simple Syrup

Simmer in a saucepan for 5 – 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

1 cup water
1 cup of sugar
The peel from 1 orange and 1 lemon (try to include as little white part (pith) as possible since that will give your syrup a bitter taste)
Juice from the orange you just zested

Strain out the peels, discard. Refrigerate the citrus simple syrup for up to one week.

Hibiscus Champagne Cocktail

1 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

1/2 oz Hibiscus rosemary concentrate (see below)

5 oz Champagne or Prosecco

Combine in chilled champagne flute. Garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary.

Hibiscus Rosemary Concentrate. If you can find hibiscus flowers that’s great, (available on Amazon) but if not, just pick up a container of natural hibiscus tea at the grocery store. The Republic of Tea is a good brand.

Boil 1 1/2 cups of water
Add 1/4 cup of hibiscus flowers or several tea bags and a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary

Let steep for at least 10 minutes until the concentrate is a dark red.

Strain out the flowers and discard. Refrigerate the concentrated tea for up to one week. (If you have any leftover concentrate, try it in the Hibiscus margarita.)

Cherry Champagne Cocktail

Luxardo cherries (do not chill or the syrup will crystalize)

1 oz Cherry liqueur (I used Heering 200)

Fresh lemon juice

5 oz Champagne or Prosecco

Drop a Luxardo cherry in the bottom of a chilled champagne coupe or flute. Use a spoon to drizzle a tablespoon of Luxardo syrup in the glass. Top with 1 oz cherry liqueur and a few drops of fresh squeezed lemon juice, then top with Champagne or Prosecco. Garnish with a lemon wheel or lemon peel.