Endangered Cocktails: Champagne Cocktail

To help “breed raise, and release nearly extinct drinks into the wild”, the ladies of LUPEC Boston have created the Endangered Cocktail of  the Month series.  Each month they select a classic cocktail to revive, share a little background on (both here and on their blog) and supply the recipe for what they consider to be an outstanding version.  This month’s Endangered Cocktail is the Champagne Cocktail.  Treat your patrons to this delectable delight or make one for yourself and spread the gospel of the Endangered Cocktail!

The name of the first clever drinker to replace champagne for spirits in a cocktail has been forgotten with time, though the Champagne Cocktail makes an early appearance in Jerry Thomas’s 1862 title, the bar-tender’s guide.  Cocktail historian and imbibe! author David Wondrich describes the Champagne Cocktail as a morning bracer, the 1860s version of the Mimosa, if you will.  Even with its hefty price tag, the Champagne Cocktail became a popular choice for any time of day as Californians started spending their Gold Rush wealth.

Ah, the Gilded Age . . .
We love the Champagne Cocktai for its simplicity and celebratory elegance.

Champagne Cocktail
Place a sugar cube in the bottom of a champagne flute.
Saturate the cube with angostura bitters.
Fill with Champagne.
Garnish with a lemon twist and serve.

Cin-cin!