Vodka and champagne can give your night a special kind of sophistication. If the champagne is good and so is the vodka, you’re sure to impress all of your friends with these recipes. Whether it’s a cold night time event, staying in and keeping warm, or if it’s a hotter celebration outside and a bit louder, these cocktails are perfect for any occasion. Vodka with its heritage as something both fun and sophisticated and champagne as the quintessential celebration drink, the mix of the two creates something all the more impressive and tasty.
A little bit about Champagne
Champagne comes from the Champagne region in France. There are a few different types, all creating a different drinking experience. Take note, though, that the price and the vintage creates less of a difference than if you’re thinking of your classic reds and whites. For champagne, as it is all created in the same region, the vintage is less important.
The climate changes less from year to year and so it’s not like a fine South African sauvignon blanc competing with an Argentinian red from the same year. Because of this, most champagne is blended, meaning that grapes from all different years are blended together to make some of the finest champagne.
The type of champagne depends on the grapes used, or how they are used. There’s is Cuvée de Prestige, Blanc de Noir, Blanc de Blancs and Rosé Champagne, which all use a different type of grape. Whether the grapes are black or white, they can all be used to make champagne.
Rosé Champagne has made a comeback in previous years. Due to it’s sweetness it was once discontinued, but fairly recently it has been brought back and is now more popular than ever. Because of this you’ll find that quite often it is more expensive than other champagnes, as it compliments food and is now the drink of choice for many on a celebratory Friday night out.
A little bit about Vodka
At first glance, vodka and champagne are entirely different. One is a spirit and the other a type of wine, and their flavours are entirely different. To see how similar they are, therefore, you have to look at both of their heritages and the ways modern vodka is distilled.
For example, in France in the past, champagne and wines brought together the bourgeoisie and the upper classes, as well as the working classes. If there was one thing royalty and layman alike could agree on, it was how fine a wine was, even if one was tasting the finest on the table and the other was getting their own, cheaper brands, wine could bring both together. The same is true of Russia in the past. The revolution was paused after a victory over the Winter Palace in Russia, because all of the revolutionaries found the wine cellar and drank to celebrate, causing a pause in history.
As well as this, many may think of vodka as fermented through cereal grains or potatoes, but some much smoother brands, such as Ciroc and Bombora use fruits or sugar. This means that the taste creates a completely different experience than a shot of ‘more traditional’ vodkas, and that it’s easy to experiment with tastes when mixing the two into a cocktail.
So why mix them?
It’s a mixture of two great histories. Both agricultural nations of France and Russia can come together, two powerhouses in wine and vodka production and in revolutionary ideals. In every sense of the words, if done right, these cocktails can be a scholar’s drink, as drinking them is drinking history.
Not only this but the taste is incredible. Even with cheaper champagne and vodka, the balance will still be impressive. If you want to splash out on the highest price vodkas and champagnes and see what it’s like, you will certainly still see how the notes of each drink compliment the other, but this doesn’t mean you won’t pick up on it with two cheaper brands.
This is because the type of drinks compliments each other brilliantly. Vodka is harsher and heavier, meaning that it’s quite solid or flat, whereas champagne is oxidised, with etchings on the glass causing it to fizz up. Therefore, instead of creating a concoction where the champagne will be flattened, or the vodka will be fizzy, with a good recipe, both will bring out the best in the other, creating a unique and impressive experience for you and your friends.
Some recipes:
A rule of thumb for these recipes is to serve them in a champagne flute. The flute is designed so that the champagne can breathe and bubble, without dissipating too quickly, meaning that it doesn’t go flat as quickly. However, when it comes to serving it with vodka, the oxidisation of the champagne may be mellowed, and so therefore some recipes can be served in beer mugs or cocktail glasses.
Something classy
Blue Champagne:
Ingredients:
2 shots of vodka
7ml lemon juice
1 – 2 teaspoons of triple sec
1 – 2 teaspoons of Blue Curacao liqueur
Champagne
Pour the vodka, lemonade, triple sec and Clue Curacao into a shaker filled with blended ice cubes. Shake for thirty seconds. Strain into two champagne flutes. Fill the rest with champagne.
Something fun
Like a Holiday:
Ingredients:
1 shot of vodka
1 shot of grenadine syrup
Champagne
Stir the vodka and the grenadine in a mixer with ice. Pour into a champagne flute (without the ice). Top it up with champagne.
Something older
French 76:
Ingredients:
1 shot of vodka
0.25-0.5ml grenadine syrup
0.25-0.5ml sugar syrup
A dash of lemon juice
Champagne
Pour the vodka, grenadine syrup, sugar syrup and lemon juice into a shaker. Add crushed ice cubes. Shake well for 30-40 seconds. Strain into a champagne flute and fill with champagne.
*Note: The amount of lemon juice doesn’t matter as much, it’s up to personal preference how much you use so play around!
Something newer
Harlem Mugger:
Ingredients:
1 shot of vodka
1 shot of gin
1 shot of white rum
1 shot of tequila
Champange (around 6 shots)
Cranberry juice
1 lime wedge
This one is properly for a party! However, it is layered so this one is not mixed. Place ice in a collins glass. Add the ingredients in order. Top off with cranberry juice. Add the lime wedge.
Something borrowed
Shaken not Stirred:
Ingredients:
1 shot of vodka
1-2 ml of Angostura bitters
1-2 tsp sugar
Champagne
Pour in the angostura bitters into a champagne flute before placing in a sugar cube or teaspoon of sugar. Wait until it is fully dissolved. Add the vodka. Fill the rest with champagne.
Something Bluer
Liberty Blue:
Ingredients:
1 shot of vodka
A dash of lemon juice
0.25-0.5ml Grand Marnier orange liqueur
0.25-0.5ml Blue Curacao liqueur
Champagne
Pour the vodka, lemon juice, orange liqueur and blue curacao into a shaker filled with crushed ice. Shake for 30-40 seconds. Strain into a champagne flute. Fill with champagne
Tips:
Any of these recipes can be made with prosecco to lower the price a bit. Also, as vodka and champagne cocktails are usually quite sweet, you may want to wet the rim of a champagne flute and place the rim in a pile of sugar. This way the sweetness of the sugar will compliment the drink without having to be included in the mixture itself.