7 Champagne Cocktails for Celebrations (New Year's, Weddings, Brunch)
Recipes · 2026-08-10 · 9 min read · by Jake
Champagne cocktails are for when you want something more interesting than straight bubbly but still want that celebratory sparkle. They're perfect for New Year's, weddings, brunch, or honestly any Tuesday when you feel like treating yourself.
One important note: you don't need actual Champagne for these. Any dry sparkling wine works — Cava, Prosecco, Cremant, or domestic sparkling. Save the $60 Champagne for drinking straight and use the $12 Cava for cocktails.
French 75
The French 75 is the most elegant cocktail on this list. It's gin, lemon, sugar, and Champagne — essentially a gin sour topped with bubbles. Named after a French artillery cannon because it hits that hard.
1.5 oz gin, 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice, half an ounce simple syrup. Shake with ice, strain into a Champagne flute, top with 2-3 oz sparkling wine. Lemon twist garnish.
The cognac version (sometimes called a French 95) is equally good — swap the gin for cognac and you get something richer and more warming. Both are excellent.
Mimosa
The brunch staple. Equal parts sparkling wine and orange juice. That's it. The only trick is using fresh-squeezed OJ — the carton stuff is too sweet and too acidic.
Pour 3 oz sparkling wine into a flute, top with 3 oz fresh orange juice. Don't stir — let it naturally mix. Use cold ingredients so the drink stays refreshing.
Upgrade: add a splash of Grand Marnier or St. Germain (elderflower liqueur). Either one adds complexity without changing the essential Mimosa character.
Kir Royale
A Kir Royale is Champagne with a splash of creme de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur). It turns the wine a gorgeous deep pink and adds this berry sweetness that's subtle but transformative.
Half an ounce creme de cassis in the bottom of a flute, fill with sparkling wine. That's it. The cassis sinks to the bottom and slowly swirls up through the bubbles — it looks stunning.
If you can't find creme de cassis, Chambord (raspberry liqueur) works as a substitute. Different flavor but same concept — berry liqueur + bubbles = elegant and easy.
Bellini
The Bellini was invented at Harry's Bar in Venice using fresh white peach puree and Prosecco. It's delicate, fruity, and one of the most refreshing brunch cocktails.
Two ounces white peach puree (blend fresh peaches or use Boiron frozen puree), fill with Prosecco. Gently stir to combine. The peach should be subtle — this isn't a peach smoothie with bubbles.
Fresh peaches are only good for this in summer. The rest of the year, frozen peach puree is actually better because it's made from ripe fruit at peak season.
Champagne Cocktail (Classic)
The original Champagne Cocktail dates to the 1860s and it's beautifully simple: a sugar cube soaked in Angostura bitters, topped with Champagne, and garnished with a lemon twist.
Place a sugar cube in a flute, dash 3-4 drops of Angostura bitters onto it. Fill with sparkling wine. The sugar cube slowly dissolves, releasing streams of tiny bubbles and gradually sweetening the drink as you sip.
This is the cocktail equivalent of watching a sunset — it changes as you drink it. The first sips are dry and bitter, the last sips are sweeter as the sugar dissolves. Genuinely elegant.
Death in the Afternoon
Ernest Hemingway's creation: absinthe and Champagne. It sounds intense and it is — the anise flavor of absinthe against the acidity of sparkling wine creates something otherworldly.
Pour 1-1.5 oz absinthe into a coupe, slowly top with cold Champagne until it turns opalescent (the louche effect). No garnish. Hemingway's original instruction: 'Drink three to five of these slowly.' I'd recommend stopping at two.
This is not for everyone. If you don't like licorice/anise flavors, skip it. But if you do, it's one of the most unique cocktails you'll ever try.