Sparkling Cocktails: What to Drink Once the Champagne Has Been Sabered

You've popped the cork on your favorite bottle (or bottles) of bubbly and the festive fizzing has begun. But what if you're ready to explore what sparkling wine has to offer beyond a simple pour into a traditional flute?

Here are five sparkling cocktails to try once the Champagne is sabered.

Classic Champagne Cocktail

No list of Champagne cocktails is complete with the original. This tipple is super easy to create. Simply put a sugar cube in a Champagne glute, soak it in a few drops of bitters, then fill the flute about three-quarters of the way with a brut sparkling wine or Champagne. Garnish with a lemon twist and serve!

French 75

Another classic Champagne cocktail, the French 75 combines sparkline wine with simply syrup for sweetness, lemon juice for a tart note, and a generous dose of gin. Add Champagne and serve.

There are quite a few variations on this drink, but you can use this version from Southern Living as your starting point.

Black Velvet

Guinness fans will love this nod to the auld sod. A Black Velvet features the unlikely marriage of stout beer and Champagne. It may sound odd, but this drink has a lot of history behind it — it was reportedly created by a steward in London following the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's loving husband, in 1861.

Guinness is definitely the stout of choice here, and you'll want to pour carefully so you get a clean demarcation between the bottom layer of Champagne and the top layer or "float" of beer.

Pro tip: Pour the beer into your glass very slowly, using the curved side of an upside-down spoon to keep the flow from disrupting your layers.

Kir Royale

This beautifully festive cocktail is berry delicious (get it?) thanks to chilled brut Champagne topped with a half-ounce of Chambord of crème de cassis. Garnish your Kir Royale with a raspberry and you get a visual indicator of flavor that will also bob around in the bubbles in your glass like a tiny, fruity celebration.

Champagne Punch

When you need to stretch a bottle of sparkling wine to serve a crowd, combine it with a few other party-friendly ingredients to create this light and bubbly Champagne Punch.

We love the extra zip you get from the addition of brandy and Cointreau, and the fresh fruit garnishes and sprigs of mint really take this surprise beverage over the top.

Check out our selection of sparkling wines to find the bottle of bubble that best suits your cocktail-making needs!