Pop, fizz, clink! 2017 is only a couple days away, so it’s time to gear up for a fun weekend full of celebrating! I’m ringing in the New Year in Destin with my family and friends, and I’m more than excited to pull out the sparkles and champagne to cheers in style!
Toasting to a new year with a glass of regular ol’ bubbly is fine, but why not spice things up and add a little something extra to your toasting flute? We’ve rounded up eight of our favorite Pinterest recipes to take your NYE cocktail to the next level. Wow your guests with these beautiful (yet easy) cocktails to kickstart the New Year with sophistication and domestication!
Check out our favorite festive recipes below:
BLACKBERRY THYME SPARKLER
Ingredients
- 1 c. blackberries + 8 more for garnish
- 1 c. Water
- 1 c. sugar
- 1 bottle of champagne
- 4 ounces or 1/2 c. gin
- 4 long sprigs of thyme
- 1 c. ice
- gold baking sugar for the rim
Directions:
- In a small saucepan, bring blackberries, water, and sugar to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until the blackberries are soft and the simple syrup has turned to a bright pink/redish color. Remove from heat, drain blackberries, and allow to cool. This step can be done well in advance as the syrup will keep for at least a week in the refrigerator.
- Prepare your champagne glasses. Okay, so here is a dirty little secret of getting those beautiful salts and sugars to stay atop the rim: butter. It adheres perfectly and you honestly never taste it. Place the tiniest amount between your fingers and rub just around the rim of the glass before dipping the glass into the gold baking sugar.
- Next, begin by adding 1 ounce of gin to each champagne glass. Next drop two blackberries in each glass, followed by 2 ounces of homemade blackberry simple syrup. Fill the rest of the glass with champagne and top with a sprig of thyme in each glass. Voila!
Recipe via Style Me Pretty
SPARKLING BEES KNEES
Ingredients:
- 1¼ oz. Tanqueray London Dry
- ¾ oz. lemon juice
- ¾ oz. honey
- Champagne
Directions:
Combine Tanqueray London Dry, lemon juice and honey in a cocktail shaker. Shake and pour into a coupe or flute glass. Top with champagne. Garnish with a lemon twist and brandied cherry.
Recipe via Cosmopolitan
COTTON CANDY CHAMPAGNE COCKTAILS
Ingredients:
- 1 bottle of champagne, sparkling wine or rose champagne
- fresh cotton candy flavor of your choice (you can make your own or buy fresh packaged cotton candy)
Directions:
- Pour champagne into glasses about 2/3 full. Do not fill to the top as you do not want the champagne to touch the cotton candy until people are ready to drink.
- Keep cotton candy sealed until right before serving (this goes for packaged cotton candy and any fresh cotton candy you may make). This will prevent your cotton candy from melting and turning hard. Right before serving, open your cotton candy and gently pull off a small tuft of cotton candy to place on top of the rim of the champagne glass. Make sure your cotton candy is slightly wider than the rim of your champagne glass so that it can sit right on top of it. Serve immediately. Place cotton candy into champagne and let cotton candy dissolve into champagne before drinking.
Recipe via Kirbie’s Cravings
GRAPEFRUIT CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yields: 4 Cocktails
Just three simple ingredients is all you need to make this elegant pink brunch cocktail. It is a bitter sweet and refreshing alternative to traditional orange juice mimosas.
Ingredients
- 1 ruby red grapefruit
- 1 tablespoon Campari
- 1 bottle dry Champagne or Prosecco
Directions:
Cut grapefruit in half. Slice one 1/4-inch slice from one half and cut that into four quarter rounds for garnish. Juice the grapefruit halves. Transfer to a glass measuring cup. Add 1 tablespoon Campari and stir to combine. Divide among four champagne flutes. Top with Champagne. Garnish with the grapefruit slices.
Recipe via Healthy Seasonal Recipes
SHIMMERY CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL
Ingredients:
- 1 scant shot of vodka
- 1 TBSP lemon juice (meyer lemon if you have access)
- 1 TBSP of vanilla simple syrup (add 1 TBSP vanilla bean paste to 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar and heat until the sugar dissolves)
- Pinch of Pearl luster dust (edible luster dust for decorating desserts you can find it in the baking aisle of most craft stores or baking supply stores)
- Pink Moscato Champagne
Directions:
Add the first 4 ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake well to combine, pour into a martini glass and fill with the champagne. Feel free to garnish with a lemon curl if desired.
Recipe via A Kailo Chic Life
WHISKEY CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL
A delightful adult libation, perfect for celebrations, romantic dinners, or when simply when you would like to share a cocktail with a special someone. This Whiskey Champagne Cocktail is easy to make, and oh so delicious!
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Ingredients:
- ½ oz Irish Whiskey
- 3 oz Champagne
- 3 Ripe Strawberries, divided
- 2 Ice Cubes
Directions:
- Place 2 strawberries inside a tall glass. Set aside.
- Break ice cubes into shards.
- Combine ice whiskey, champagne and ice shards in cocktail shaker; stir (don’t shake).
- Pour Whiskey Champagne over strawberries.
- Garnish with remaining strawberry.
- Serve.
- Makes 1 Whiskey Champagne Cocktail
Recipe via Ann’s Entitled Life
FESTIVE PROSECCO SANGRIA
Sangria with extra sparkle – adding Prosecco to this fruity Christmas cocktail makes it all the more special. Prepare a batch of this pear, grape and pomegranate fizz to impress you Christmas party guests.
- Tip the apricot brandy and the caster sugar into a large glass jug. Mix well to dissolve the sugar.
- Add the ice and fruit then pour over the Prosecco. Stir with a spoon and pour into glasses to serve immediately.
Tip: Slice the pears just before serving to stop them turning brown.
Recipe via TESCO Real Food
CHERRY MARTINI
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. Grey Goose Cherry Noir
- ½ oz. St. Germain Liqueur
- 1 oz. grapefruit juice
- Splash champagne
Directions:
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add first three ingredients and shake vigorously. Strain into a martini glass. Top with champagne.
Recipe via Cosmopolitan
Cheers to 2017! xo