Juniper Berry and Champagne Cocktail

This Juniper Berry and Champagne Cocktail is ideal for ringing in the New Year! Get the recipe below.

Counting down ’til midnight

It is just 27 hours until the New Year arrives in London, UK but the islands of Kiribati and Samoa will be the first countries to welcome in the New Year. That means in just 13 hours it will be 2015 some where on earth! You better open that bottle of Champagne now…

Yesterday I shared a cocktail recipe that, light and fizzy, is a fab alternative to Champagne at your New Years Eve celebrations (get the Limoncello Gin Fizz recipe here). Tonight I’m showing you how to liven up any bottle of dry, sparkling white wine. Though of course Champagne is best!

Now I enjoy a glass (or bottle ) of Champagne as much as anyone, but my heart lies with gin. I’m a proud member of the London Gin Club in Soho and love any excuse to add gin to a recipe.  A Gin Drizzle Cake has long been on my “to cook” list but until I get round to baking one I have to get my gin in more conventional forms – for example in a glass.

Juniper berries

Instead of adding neat gin to make the Champagne cocktail, I wanted to strip out the more complicated botanicals you can find in gin and use the pure essence of the juniper berry. By crushing the berries with a little sugar and straining the Champagne over them, the cocktail retains the characteristic floral note of gin without losing the fact that this is first and foremost a Champagne cocktail.

If you too love gin and Champagne as much as I do, I’m sure you’ll agree this is a match made in heaven.

The recipe

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Juniper Berry and Champagne Cocktail

This sparkling cocktail is inspired by the flavous of gin.

Course Drinks

Cuisine British

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 6 glasses

Author Emma Walton

Ingredients

• 750 millilitres Champagne or other sparkling white wine
• 1 handful juniper berries
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• Martini glasses to serve

Instructions

1. In the bottom of a cocktail shaker, crush the juniper berries with the light brown sugar.
2. Top with the Champagne then strain into large martini glasses.
3. It's as simple as that!
4. For an added professional touch, dust the rims of the glasses with light brown sugar first.

I’ve tried this recipe with Cava, Prosecco and Champagne and you can substitute either depending on what you have in the fridge. The key is BUBBLES and the addition of some light brown sugar will take the edge off of even the most dry plonk.

Wherever you are celebrating, with bubbles or without, I hope you have a fantastic time celebrating the New Year! I’ll raise a toast to all of my lovely readers at midnight on the terrace at Somerset House as the fireworks light up the London skyline. See you in 2015.