Champagne Cocktails: Elysee Palace and Lord Baltimore's Cup

 

Special occasions call for impressive champagne cocktails. A good champagne cocktail is balanced, not overly sweet or spicy; it should be elegant, colorful, effervescent and most of all, strong. Both of these cocktail achieve this in very different ways. The quintessentially French Elysee Palace is a blushing, bubbling flute glass with rich berry flavors and cognac. Lord Baltamore, the English governor of the Maryland colony, is a chunky chalice full of manly rye and bitters. 

The nice thing about offering a champagne cocktail during a party is that it makes use of the dry sparkling wine that is already open and being passed around. The rest of the recipes are not complicated and really only amount to sprinkling in a few ingredients to alter the champagne. 

Here are the recipes to these two cocktails. As usual, feel free to make substitutions when it comes to syrups, liqueurs and sparkling wine as needed to pull them off.

For instance, I used sparkling wine that is as dry as Champagne--Californian, not Italian, which runs the risk of being too sweet. I made my own raspberry syrup out of brandy, sugar, and fresh raspberries rather than buy a bottle of Chambord. And because I don't have framboise, (which does have a little fizz of its own) I fell back on strawberry-infused rum, hoping that the sparkling wine would take up the slack of the bubbles. 

        Elysee Palace

• 1 oz. cognac (Martel single distillery used)
• 1/2 oz. raspberry liqueur (homemade raspberry brandy used)
• 1/2 tsp. framboise (homemade strawberry liqueur used)
• brut champagne  

Combine cognac and raspberry liqueur in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a champagne flute and top with brut champagne.

         Lord Baltimore's Cup

• 1/2 oz. sugar syrup to taste  
• 1 oz. rye (Rittenhouse)
  
• brut champagne
• several dashes Angostura bitters
• several dashes Pernod (Ricard used)

Combine rye, sugar and bitters in a wine goblet. Add ice cubes (I prefer cracked ice for drinks with floats) and stir. Float Pernod (or pastis like Ricard) on top.

Tea Time (Original Recipe for MurLarkey Distillery)

This drink takes its inspiration from the Ice Pick, a cocktail with the dubious intent of hiding alcohol in an innocent looking glass of iced tea. Using flavored spirits and sparkling water enhances that basic recipe: I wondered what would happen if the liquor tasted like tea?

MurLarkey makes Three Tea Whiskey that is infused with Earl Gray, Darjeeling and English breakfast teas. I like a raspberry iced tea, so Chambord black raspberry liqueur suggested itself. My thinking was that a really enjoyable summer cocktail shouldn't feel like a basic iced tea. It should be a treat for a special occasion, or at least turn a typical summer afternoon into a special occasion. This was a very special recipe.

• 2 oz. MurLarkey Three Tea whiskey
• 1 oz. Chambord
• 1 tsp. sugar
• sparkling water
• blackberry, lemon slices, and mint sprig garnishes

Combine whiskey, Chambord and sugar in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass full of fresh ice. Place a lemon slice in the glass and top with sparkling water. Stir gently and garnish with mint sprig, blackberry and lemon slice.

Chamborlada

The idea behind this drink is a Pina Colada with Chambord raspberry liqueur added for color and flavor. I don't have Chambord because I make my own with fresh raspberries, rum and sugar. But this drink is indicative of a time when tropical-themed hotels and bars were trying to differentiate the most popular cocktail in the American South--The Pina Colada!

Another note: I'm not sure what actual Chambord does, but my natural raspberry liqueur just sinks to the bottom of the glass. Look at the photo. I didn't start by putting the liqueur on the bottom as the instructions said. I put it in half way and again on top. What I got was a raspberry bomb at the bottom, which was really tasty.

• 2 oz. light rum
• 1 oz. dark rum
• 2 oz. cream of coconut 
• 3 oz pineapple juice
• 2 oz. Chambord (homemade raspberry liqueur used)

Combine all ingredients except Chambord in a blender with ice. Blend until smooth on low speed. Add a little of the Chambord to the bottom of a cocktail glass or balloon wine glass. Pour the blended cocktail on top. Top with the remaining Chambord.

Nuts And Berries

This was a drink I made to a guest's specifications. It is rather a dessert drink, but I can't fault him for wanting one on such a cold night in D.C. The cocktail is a combination of Chambord raspberry liqueur and Frangelico, which is a hazelnut and berry liqueur. That's got to be where the drink gets its name. An equal part of heavy cream and you have a dessert drink bar none.

• 1 1/2 oz. Chambord
• 1 1/2 oz. Frangelico
• 1 1/2 oz. heavy cream

Shake all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Royal Matador

I'm kind of obsessed with pineapple shell drinks right now. For one thing, it is amazingly easy to core a pineapple and freeze the shell. Then just pull it out and fill it with a drink that will stay cold in an icy pineapple.

This time I was following the recipe and made a saw-toothed bowl deep enough for two drinks--perfect for sharing. The word "royal" in a drink name usually denotes the use of pineapple or Chambord or both. Anyway, I get the idea that anytime someone goes all out and makes a pineapple shell or spear cocktail. It's the royal treatment!

• 4 oz. gold tequila
• 1 1/2 oz. Framboise (homemade raspberry syrup + vodka used but Chambord is a good standard)
• 1 tbsp amaretto
• 2 oz. lime juice
• fruit of one whole ripe pineapple

Cut off the top of a pineapple and save the top. Scoop out the pineapple, being careful not to damage the shell, and liquefy the chunks in the blender. Strain the pineapple juice from the pulp and put the juice back in the blender with remaining ingredients. Blend with ice until smooth and pour into the pineapple shell. Put the top back on and serve with two straws. (Garnish with whatever floats your boat.)

Grafton Street Sour

This is a St. Patrick's Day  "Do." Anytime you substitute a whiskey or gin with Irish whiskey in a known cocktail, it will be a pleasant improvement. The addition of raspberry liqueur makes it that much more special.

• 1 1/2 oz. Irish whiskey
• 1/2 oz. triple sec
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• 1/4 oz. Chambord

Mix all ingredients except Chambord in a shaker with ice. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass with new ice. Garnish with a lime.

Barbed Wire

This was a flavorful drink that was way better than I expected. Anything with so much vodka comes across as kind of a Martini with a touch of flavoring. This was more than that, and you'll see why.

• 3 oz. vodka
• 1/4 tsp. Pernod
• 1/4 tsp. Chambord
• lemon twist

Combine all ingredients except twist in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass rimmed with lemon juice. Garnish with twist.