These recipes use homemade simple syrups, one made with pomegranate and the other made with mint. With just a teaspoon of simple syrup per glass, you’ll find that these cocktails are only delicately sweet and not cloying. After testing these recipes, we discovered a few techniques that will make them taste even better.
Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail
Pomegranates ripen in the winter time, which is why they’re a great seasonal choice for a NYE Champagne cocktail. This recipe was the winner because it’s simple, has a lovely fruity-but-dry taste, and the buoyant seeds are fun to eat. Technically, this drink is a Pomegranate Prosecco cocktail, because that’s the sparkling wine we would absolutely recommend. Overall, this drink is very subtle and classy.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Filtered water
- 1 large Pomegranate
- 1 bottle of Sparkling wine (Prosecco)
- Creates enough simple syrup for 50 glasses. By the way, one bottle of sparkling wine contains 5 servings.
Directions:
Pomegranates macerating in simple syrup after being pulled from the burner.
Pomegranate Simple Syrup:
Remove the seeds from the Pomegranate (I used the water method), strain, and set aside. Stir the sugar and water together in a saucepan over medium-low height until the sugar dissolves. Add about 1/2 of the pomegranate seeds into the saucepan and let them simmer on low for 5 minutes before crushing them with a fork or potato masher. Pull from heat and let the mixture macerate for another 5–10 minutes before straining and reserving the liquid.
TIP:
When I was making the simple syrup, I noticed the pomegranate seeds added a slight bitterness to the syrup. To alleviate this, I added 15 allspice berries during the maceration period. It’s not enough to overwhelm the aromas, just enough to give it a hint of spice that counteracts the bitter. It tasted great.
Hold the glass at an angle when pouring so the sparkling wine stays separated from the simple syrup.
Build the Cocktail:
Put a teaspoon of pomegranate simple syrup in the bottom of a flute and cover with a spoonful of fresh pomegranates. Hold the glass at an angle when filling with sparkling wine so it doesn’t disturb the simple syrup on the bottom.
Raspberry Champagne Cocktail with Fresh Mint Simple Syrup
Raspberries are the classic NYE cocktail addition. With the added subtle floral aromatic component of mint, the drink has beautiful rose water aromas. This drink is more explosive with its flavor and aroma than the pomegranate cocktail above, so if you like a more intensely aromatic drink, this one is for you.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Filtered water
- 1 bunch of Mint (about a cup)
- 1 pint Raspberries
- 1 bottle of Sparkling wine (Prosecco)
- Creates enough simple syrup for 50 glasses. By the way, one bottle of sparkling wine contains 5 servings.
Mint Simple Syrup:
Stir the sugar and water together in a saucepan over medium-low height until the sugar dissolves. Add several sprigs of mint and leave over the heat for another minute or two. Pull from heat and let the mixture macerate for another 5–10 minutes before straining and reserving liquid. The mint simple syrup will be highly aromatic (and you might get worried) but when you add it to the sparkling wine it becomes a lot more subtle!
Build the Cocktail:
Put a teaspoon of mint simple syrup in the bottom of a flute and a spoonful of mashed raspberry. Hold the glass at an angle when filling with sparkling wine so it doesn’t disturb the simple syrup on the bottom. Garnish with a sprig of mint and 1 whole raspberry.
By: Madeline Puckette
***Grabbed from: http://winefolly.com/tutorial/pomegranate-champagne-cocktail-recipe-nye/