Champagne Cocktail
A sweet, bubbly and citrus wine & sparkling cocktail ∙ Build ∙ 2 min ∙ 15.4% ABV ∙
The Champagne Cocktail, one of the oldest drinks on the IBA list, is Brut Champagne poured over an Angostura-soaked sugar cube with a little Cognac.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Place the Sugar cube 1 pc with 2 dashes of Angostura aromatic bitters in the cocktail glass, add the Cognac 10 ml, and, if you like, Cognac orange liqueur (e.g., Grand Marnier) 2 dashes
- Pour Brut Champagne 90 ml
- Garnish with an orange twist and a maraschino cherry
Tips
- Soak the sugar cube right through with the 2 dashes of Angostura, so it dissolves and fizzes steadily once the Champagne goes in.
History
The Champagne Cocktail's exact origin is undocumented, with drinks historian David Wondrich placing it in the "Iron Age of American mixology" — the stretch between the earliest cocktails and the first cocktail manual of 1862. Its earliest known mention appears in Robert Tomes's 1855 travel account, Panama in 1855, which describes a version made with sugar, bitters, and champagne poured over crushed ice in a tumbler, with no brandy. The first printed recipe followed in Jerry Thomas's 1862 guide, How to Mix Drinks, or The Bon Vivant's Companion — widely regarded as the first cocktail book published in the United States — which likewise called for champagne, sugar, bitters, and a lemon twist but no brandy or cognac, and is treated as the classic American version of the drink. Brandy did not enter the standard recipe until decades later: W. J. Tarling's Café Royal Cocktail Book of 1937 is the first recipe to add a note calling for a dash of brandy.
The drink's build — sugar and bitters in the glass, topped with champagne — has since been read by some as an adaptation of the Old Fashioned template, using champagne instead of whiskey. Today's IBA-official version, listed among the Contemporary Classics, includes a dash of cognac as standard. This Champagne Cocktail recipe uses 10 ml of cognac.
FAQ
What is in a Champagne Cocktail?
A sugar cube soaked in two dashes of Angostura bitters, 10 ml Cognac and 90 ml Brut Champagne. Two dashes of Grand Marnier are optional.
How do you make a simple Champagne Cocktail?
Set a sugar cube in the glass, soak it with two dashes of Angostura, add the Cognac, then pour in 90 ml cold Brut Champagne. Pour carefully to control the fizz.
What is a classic Champagne Cocktail?
The classic American version is the first printed recipe, from Jerry Thomas's 1862 guide How to Mix Drinks: champagne, sugar, and bitters with a lemon twist, but no brandy. Brandy came later. This recipe adds Cognac and finishes with an orange twist and a maraschino cherry.
