Cognac, built
Champagne Cocktail
Barline b,3,h,t,hl
The code is the shorthand off my printed menu; the Key tab decodes every letter.
- 1 barspoon Sugar
- 3 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1/2 oz Cognac
- top with Champagne
Build in the glass with no ice, then top.
Highball or flute, lemon twist.
Taste
A barspoon of sugar soaked with three dashes of Angostura, half an ounce of cognac, then Champagne poured on top. The sugar is there for the bead as much as the sweetness; it dissolves slowly and keeps a stream of bubbles rising off it. Bitters give it clove and bark, the cognac gives it weight, and the wine stays dry under a lemon twist.
History
Robert Tomes describes one in Panama in 1855, made with Mumm, bitters, sugar, and ice. Jerry Thomas prints it in the first cocktail book in 1862 with no brandy in it at all. The cognac arrives later. Difford's traces it to W. J. Tarling's 1937 Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, which allows a dash of brandy as required. David Wondrich makes the point that the sugar cube earns its place on the bubbles it keeps sending up. A barspoon of sugar, three dashes of Angostura, half an ounce of cognac, and Champagne, with a lemon twist.
Same shape, other bottles
The Sparkling family, with the bottle that changed.
- Seelbachbourbon for cognac
- Death in the Afternoonwith absinthe
- Negroni Sbagliatowith sweet vermouth and Campari
- Queen Beevodka for cognac
- Ritzwith lemon juice and maraschino liqueur
- Old Cubanaged rum for cognac
This is one drink on my home bar's menu. Tick the bottles you own and the menu lists which of all 185 drinks they pour.