Recipe Background
New Year Sparkle is a festive cocktail pairing gin with sparkling wine.
Every New Year's Eve, my best friend and I made a pact to come up with a unique cocktail that symbolized our hopes for the coming year. In the wind-whipped chill of December, we gathered in my cozy kitchen for a mixology challenge that promised more laughter than locational accuracy. That particular year, having just nabbed a big promotion, my friend was keen on crafting something celebratory and quick to whip up, as her calendar was starting to resemble a ticking time bomb of meetings.
Gin became our spirit of choice, and my trusty cocktail shaker made its annual appearance on the kitchen counter. Eagerly, we added a splash of fresh lemon juice to conjure optimism and a dash of simple syrup for sweetness—balanced just right to suit our contrasting personalities. Always have ice at the ready, I'd say, ensuring your drink is chilled and inviting, a trick of the trade I picked up in some misguided Googling. Finally, we topped it all with sparkling wine, a nod to prosperity and joy, and garnished with a whimsical lemon twist.
That night, our 'New Year Sparkle' was born, a fizzy blend that warmed us against the cold and set the tone for the night. We toasted to the future, glancing at the glimmering reflections in our coupe glasses. Always stress shaking the mix thoroughly for well-blended flavors, I mused over the clinking of celebratory sips. This cocktail remains our tradition, a symbol of where we wanted to go and how far we had come.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces gin
- 2 ounces fresh lemon juice
- 1 ounce simple syrup store-bought or homemade
- ice to taste
- sparkling wine to taste, chilled
- lemon twists optional, to taste, for garnish
Directions
- In a cocktail shaker, add the gin, the lemon juice, the simple syrup, and the ice.
- Cover the shaker and shake until combined and well-chilled, about 10-20 seconds.
- Evenly pour the gin mixture into two coupe glasses.
- Top the gin mixture in each glass evenly with the sparkling wine.
- Serve garnished with the lemon twists.
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