Citrus Champagne Sparklers

2016 has truly flown by. This year has been punctuated by a lot of ugliness, which makes me all the more grateful for the beautiful blessings that have come to pass despite it. As we close out this year and welcome in the next, I hope that y’all get a chance to reflect, give thanks, and have boundless hope for 2017! Of course, I had to create a cocktail to help with that. It’s no fuss but gorgeous and, dare I say, sophisticated? Last year I shared this equally easy to make pomegranate champagne cocktail.

Pomegranate is a fruit that symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings, making it perfect for a cocktail ushering in the next set of 365 days. This year, I chose to incorporate grapefruit because it’s…all around me. Literally. The grapefruit tree in my parents’ backyard has been screaming “HALP!” It’s so full. Keep scrolling for the easy recipe for the citrus champagne sparklers I whipped up after unloading the tree.

Many of us don’t realize that grapefruit and many other citrus fruits are harvested in the winter. The brightness and tartness evokes summer and most of us aren’t physically harvesting fruit ourselves, so it’s an easy thing to overlook. Grapefruit is also the state fruit of good ole Texas and, although the ones growing in our backyard are not of the revered Ruby Red variety, they are so flavorful and, surprisingly, a bit sweet. I have been in overdrive developing recipes with them. And I’m documenting everything from picking the fruit to testing recipes on my Instagram stories, so be sure to follow along! The skins are a pretty unexciting yellow color but the flesh inside is a pretty pink. So, expect to see lots of grapefruit concoctions coming to the blog soon. I’ve got everything from pies, to salads, to chicken dishes in the works!

This cocktail is probably even more simple than last year’s. Scratch that, it’s definitely more simple. There are two components: grapefruit simple syrup and champagne. That’s it. Below are the instructions to make the simple syrup (or you could buy it) and then construct the cocktail, which is just two pours and a swirl! I recommend making the syrup ahead of time and letting it chill out in your fridge (it keeps for up to a week). If grapefruit isn’t your thing, feel free to use the citrus fruit of your choice. This is just what I had on hand…and in baskets…and all over the yard!

Now, the name of this cocktail comes from the bubbles in the champagne, which do plenty of sparkling on their own, and the sugared rim of the glasses. The sugaring step is completely optional but such a fun and simple way to take things up a notch presentation-wise. I’ve linked some festive glasses, garnishes, and pieces to recreate my #NYE look at the bottom of this post (my lippie shade is “The Ultimatte“) in case you need some options.

I’ll have one of these sparklers in hand to ring in the new year and celebrate my parents’ wedding anniversary in a few days and I hope you will try it too. This is the last recipe I’m sharing for 2016 (eek!) but I have one more post going up in a couple of days about a new Houston brunch spot that’s opening on New Year’s Eve so be sure to check back for that!

Happy New Year to you and your family and thanks for reading!

P.S. This recipe serves four but only three glasses are pictured. Unfortunately I broke one of the flutes prior to shooting and went to THREE different Marshalls locations in search of a replacement to no avail. Just sharing in case the pictures throw you off. 🙂

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Citrus Champagne Sparklers

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

A refreshingly bright and simple champagne cocktail with just a few ingredients.

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 bottle champagne chilled
• 1 3/4 cups sugar plus extra for rimming glasses
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 3 grapefruit or citrus fruit of choice

Instructions

Simple Syrup

1. Squeeze juice from grapefruit then remove pulp and pith from skins. Add skins and juice to a small saucepan with water and sugar. Heat over medium flame and stir until sugar is dissolved.
2. Bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Strain syrup into a heat-safe pitcher or bowl to cool. If making ahead of time, store in the fridge. You can save the grapefruit to use for garnish if you like or add it to another dish.

Cocktail Preparation

1. To prepare the cocktails, run a citrus wedge around the rim of each glass then dip in sugar to garnish. Next, simply add 2 ounces of the syrup to each glass then top up with champagne.

Recipe Notes

You can use most any kind of citrus for this recipe but I used pink grapefruit. Additionally, this simple syrup makes more than is necessary for the recipe so you'll have some left over. Recipe by Jazzmine of Dash of Jazz