Before the “New Year, New You” resolutions, let’s sip on something easy and delicious for a New Years Eve cocktails – it’s a chocolate champagne cocktail I’m calling Midnight Kiss. It’s a combination of three lovely flavors perfect for celebrating ringing in the new year – raspberry, chocolate and bubbles.
Champagne in Cocktails
Champagne cocktails are in order any day you have something to celebrate, whether it’s the start of a new year, a promotion, a birthday, or any achievement you want to celebrate. Champagne’s association with the finer things in life means we reach for it when we have a special occasion, but if you prefer cocktails, adding a little liqueur, citrus or spirit to your champagne can make a glorious drink.
While the classic champagne cocktail is just a sugar cube, bitters and sparkling wine, in this case, we’re adding the fruity flavor of black raspberry.
Flavors in this New Year’s Cocktail
Decadence is on the menu for New Year’s Eve, whether it’s for food or cocktails. To me, chocolate, fresh fruit and some bubbles sound like the perfect combination for little indulgence. Instead of settling for plain champagne, let’s add those flavors to the glass.
I start with some Chambord black raspberry liqueur – it has deep notes of raspberry, but it’s also a liqueur so it’s very sweet. The raspberry flavor is sweet and syrupy, not tart or bright. It’s the flavor of a decadent raspberry puree syrup drizzled over a chocolate tart or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
For the chocolate flavors, I reached for a white creme de cacao. But you could also use Ballotin’s Chocolate Whiskey. If you don’t mind a darker sparkling wine cocktail, you could use Tempus Fugit’s creme de cacao infused with vanilla. It’s combination of dark chocolate and vanilla flavors punches through the dryness of the champagne.
Because you’re using so many sweet elements choose a very dry sparkling wine for the bubbly element. If you feel the cocktail still needs balance, add a dash or two of bitters to take the sweet side of the drink or add a drop or two of saline.
How to Make a Chocolate Raspberry Champagne Cocktail
You don’t want to spent the whole evening behind the bar mixing drinks on NYE, so this easy Champagne or bubbles cocktail can be built right in the champagne flute. The first order of business is to start with a chilled champagne flute.
To the flute add the creme de cacao and the raspberry liqueur. Top the two with dry sparking wine and garnish with a few fresh raspberries.
Batch this Champagne Cocktail for a Party of 8
If you want to batch this for eight:
- Add 1/2 cup of creme de cacao to 1 cup of black raspberry liqueur.
- Store in the fridge until you’re ready to pour.
- To each glass, add 1.5 ounces of the cocktail mix to each champagne flute and top with champagne.
Recommended Bar Tools
You don’t need every slick, beautiful bar tool out there, but there are several I’ll recommend. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. However, that does not affect the cost of the items below.) My favorite pieces usually come from the Cocktail Kingdom section of Amazon:
You may already have these bar essentials, but just in case:
Chocolate Raspberry Champagne Cocktail – Midnight Kiss
Ingredients
- 1 oz Chambord black raspberry liqueur
- ½ oz crème de cacao
- 4-6 oz dry Champagne Brut or Extra Brut
- Garnish: fresh raspberries
Instructions
- Add the black raspberry liqueur and creme de cacao to a chilled champagne glass.
- Top with Champagne and garnish with a fresh berry.
