Ginger Cube Champagne Cocktail I found these ginger cubes from Saratoga Sugar Company and couldn’t resist. I originally discovered other flavors, and this is a sample they sent to me. Just add honey syrup and the sugar cube with a dash of bitters, and a new champagne cocktail is born. Don’t tell the others! It’s super simple. Order the sugar cubes and wait for them to arrive. Once they do, add one to a champagne or dessert glass and proceed with the instructions. Sit back and sip, whether during a retrograde or a holiday—no problem! Except if you drink too much, of course. Ruinart Blanc de Blanc is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes. Some may wince at the idea of putting anything in it to make a cocktail, but I don’t—and it’s delicious! Fancy bubbly Chardonnay grapes with superb flavors. Superb flavors with superb flavors is a win win. Yes, even for those that are purists. And yes, “superb” is my new favorite word. Ginger Cube Champagne Cocktail 1 ginger sugar cube (from Saratoga Sugar Company) 1 oz honey syrup (1 part honey, 1 part warm water mixed until combined) A dash of bitters (orange or aromatic bitters work well) Champagne (or sparkling wine) Blanc de Blanc is my vote, no wincing please. Bar Chef Notes: Optional: Lemon twist or fresh ginger slice for garnish Method Prepare the Honey Syrup: If you haven’t done so already, mix equal parts honey and warm water until the honey is fully dissolved. Let it cool. Add the Ginger Sugar Cube: In a champagne or dessert glass, place one ginger sugar cube. Combine Ingredients: Pour the honey syrup over the sugar cube. Think barspoon. About a teaspoon. Add a dash of bitters. Top with Champagne: Slowly pour champagne over the sugar cube mixture. Not too fast as overflowing sometimes happens. Watch delightful bubbles. Maybe give a teeny stir half way and continue. Garnish (optional): For an extra touch, but not necessary, you can add a lemon twist or a thin slice of candied ginger along side. Or fastened over the mouth of the glass using a cocktail pick. Where to buy the goods, you know champagne stoppers, ice buckets and stuffs? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront of course. -*I earn commissions from eligible purchases More about ruinart from a previous post here. And here. And here. Blonde Behind the Bucket
Always Sparkle: Discover the Charm of Montmartre Brut This wine is clear. This wine is pale straw yellow. This wine is tiny bubbles, mousse foam. This wine is bright and lively. This wine is apples and pears. This wine is bread. This wine is Old World European, specifically French. This wine is Ugni blanc grape (notable Cognac region and some Italian regions). This wine is light. This wine is casual. This wine is an everyday wine. This wine is citrus, lemon peels. This wine is brut sparkling wine, a drier wine. This wine is Montmartre Brut Sparkling Wine. This wine is. This wine is affordable about $11.99 a bottle and available for purchase at select online retailers. This wine pairs well with shellfish, oysters, potato chips and light Chinese foods, hamachi, salads, lights dishes, and sushi. Bar Chef Notes: Please drink responsibly Where to buy the goods? Champagne buckets, flutes and other wine and kitchen related items? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront of course. Please know I may receive compensation from eligible purchases. Thank you.
Gold in a Bottle: Krug 168th It takes me about three days to taste most of the wine. The wine goes into the refrigerator sealed and dated. The next day, I pour another glass using two different style glasses – ISO and then a bucket – noting any differences. Does anyone else do this? This wine is monumental. The beauty and feeling of this wine are unphotographable. Any attempt to capture it would not be god enough. This wine is pale yellow. This wine is clear. This wine is sparkling. This wine is Old World with gold flakes sparkling racing to the top leaving me to wonder did they inject gold into this bottle. The professional term known as vivacious. This wine is wow. This wine is extraordinary prestige, a true cause for celebration. This wine is mouth watering citrus. This wine is a gingerbread nose. This wine is a first burp. This wine is delicate and very much alive. This wine is its unique identity with every sip. This wine is 198 different wines from 11 years. This wine is 52% Pinot Noir 35% Chardonnay and 13 % Pinot Menuier. This wine is grapes from 1996 to 2012. This wine is cork received 2019. This wine is champagne. This wine is KRUG 168th. This wine is exceptional. This wine is unforgettable. This wine is. This wine pairs well with the usual suspects: caviar, oysters, French fries, salmon, shellfish, frog legs, mushroom pâté, crispy cold salads, and ginger snap cookies. This wine retails for about $220 USA dollars. Drink now or hold. Buy two of you can. Where to buy the goods? Glasses and champagne stoppers and stuffs? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront. Please know I may earn commissions from eligible purchases. Thank you.
Ruinart Blanc de Blanc tasting This wine is straw-pale yellow. This wine is clear. This wine is flowers and pears. This wine sparkles with a light golden effervescence that playfully tickles and prickles the tongue. This wine is a classic let’s say continuously eccentrically a popping of delicate bubbles that almost instantly dissolve. This wine is Old World or as they say now, European. This wine is subtle chalk terroir. This wine is purity. This wine is art. This wine is stratification of creativity. This wine is easy. This wine is a mastery. This wine is champagne. This wine is resemblance to…This wine is Chardonnay grapes. This wine is Blanc de Blanc. This wine is the perfect dinner date. This wine is recognizably Ruinart Blanc de Blanc. This wine is. This wine pairs with caviar, oyster and seafoods, extra creamy pasta dishes, cheeses and sour cream cake with vanilla frosting. And popcorn. This wine retails for $80 USD. Drink now. Where to buy the goods? By goods, I mean wine glasses, plates, cake stands and champagne stoppers? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront of course. Please know I may receive commissions for eligible purchases. Thank you so much!
Classic Champagne Cocktail Try not to wince at what I am about to suggest. I didn’t invent it. Same stance with my post on Kir Royal. Sometimes there is a sometimes, and this is one of those times. Hear me out, this is one of the most elegant cocktails. I won’t try to sell it to you; the cocktail can do that itself. I chose Veuve Clicquot for this one because this wine has structure and finesse. This champagne is a Pinot Noir-forward champagne followed by Chardonnay grapes and Pinot Meunier grapes for balance. The honesty of the bitters and sugar cube with this wine creates a beautifully blended cocktail. It maintains bold bubbles bright minerality with spice and a hint of sweetness in the finish. This cocktail can be enjoyed anytime of day with or without food. I always picture it consumed in a sexy cocktail lounge bar. Poolside or at dinner. Basically anywhere anytime. I mostly prepare and serve them. The champagne cocktail pairs well with triple crème cheese and crusty baguette. This I know for sure, and I recommend you do too. Worth noting, this is one of the few times I drink champagne from a flute, if I can help it. Champagne cocktail recap: elegant, super simple. Just three ingredients. No excuse not to try this classic. Sugar cubes, bitters, champagne – that’s it! Build in glass, ready for serving. Classic Champagne Cocktail Ingredients Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Sugar cubes A few drops of Angostura bitters Method Place a sugar cube at the bottom of a champagne flute (chilled glass recommended) and add a few drops of Angostura bitters. The sugar cube will dissolve as you pour in the champagne, creating a delicious aromatic drink with a touch of sweetness and spices because of the bitters. Glass: champagne flute Garnish: none Side note: Bitters are herbal and spice extracts that often include botanicals and aromatics. “Traditional Bitters” do contain alcohol, although there are some modern versions that don’t. They are used in many cocktails to add balance or create a low ABV option (lowest being bitters and soda for example), remaining a staple in many bartender and home bars. Bar Chef Notes: There are several renditions of this cocktail. Some include cognac, some use only a sugar cube and bitters, while others incorporate a twist of orange and/or lemon, with some including all of the above and so forth. I prefer this version. It’s the one I have made the most throughout my career. Here it is, this is it. Where to buy the goods? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront of course. I may receive commissions from eligible purchases. Thank you.
Billecart-Salmon Rosé Champagne 2010 This wine is I couldn’t keep it in the bucket. This wine is strawberries. This wine is Old World. This wine is birthday toasted in a bottle. This wine is longevity. This wine is bright. This wine is earth and chalk. This wine is pink. This wine is effervescence at its finest. This wine is delicate. This wine is Aÿ-Champagne. This wine is family. This wine is history. This wine is elegant. This wine is champagne. This wine is 55% Chardonnay from the Crus of Chouilly, Mesnil, and Cramant and 45% Pinot Noir from Verzenay, Mareuil, and Ludes. This wine is clear. This wine is Billecart-Champagne rosé 2010. This wine is. Drink now or hold. Hold, if you can. Better yet, buy two bottles. This wine pairs well with a variety of dishes, from oysters and caviar to beef burgers with stinky cheese, charcuterie boards, roasted chestnuts, salmon beurre blanc, sushi, eggs Benedict, ice cream, chocolate cake and soufflé. This wine retails range is $119-$250 USD 750ml. Where to buy the goods? Ice buckets, champagne stoppers, wine corkscrew, stemware and other stuffs? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront of course. Please know I may receive compensation for eligible purchases. Thank you so much! Cheers!
The Campari Smash Don’t you want to dive into this glass? A burst of berry goodness awaits with this Campari Smash. It’s a vibrant, not-too-sweet, and refreshing cocktail ready to be enjoyed. This drink could have gone a couple of ways: one with only sparkling water and two (what I chose) is to add a little sparkling water and top the rest of this baby off with a brut champagne. Billecart-Salmon brut champagne is my choice for this one. While it may be tempting to skip the sparkling water altogether, keep it. It’s a good addition. Cheers to this summer’s patio pounder! Before we settle into the patio chairs and cheers, let’s discuss Campari for those of you just joining the blog and may not be familiar with it. Campari is a popular Italian aperitif, similar to its cousin Aperol. Campari is more vibrant in red color compared to Aperol, which is more orange, and has a slightly higher alcohol content, offering more complexities with hints of citrus and considerably more bitter notes. Some say it’s an acquired taste, but I find it to be divine really. You’re going to love it! The Campari Smash Ingredients 1 cup of mixed strawberries and blueberries 2 ounces of Campari (I always pour this one with the heart) 1 can of sparkling Pellegrini top off 1 bottle of champagne (I use Billecart-Salmon brut for this one) to top it all off, noting that you won’t use the whole bottle for one drink, I mean..depends the size of the glass maybe 1/4 slice of an orange to squeeze over the finished cocktail Method In a mixing tin add your berries. Muddle berries with a muddler until they are a chunky mush. Add Campari and ice. Shake and garbage dump all contents into a glass. Top with 1/2 ounce sparkling water and fill the remainder of space in the glass with champagne. Squeeze and orange over the contents of the glass. Garnish: None other than the berries in the glass, okay, maybe one more blueberry (for the photo opportunity!) with the optional sugar rim. Glass: Bucket Glass Bar chef note: To muddle means to mash or extract, in this case, juices from the berries into a glass or mixing tin to enhance the flavors of the concoction. Typically, a long, slender stick, preferably one with teeth (I prefer the wooden ones), is best. Testing drinks: one with sparkling water, one with white champagne, one with both, one with more fruit, one with less fruit, and one where I forgot the fruit. Check out the video featuring the drink where I forgot the fruit. Where can you buy the goods? Muddlers, shakers, ice cube molds, coasters, and more? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront, of course. **I may receive commissions from eligible purchases- thank you. Oh! And if you haven’t found me on social media, please do. I look forward to seeing you there. #blondebehindthebucket Related Posts about Campari: Campari Sparkling Water Chocolate Campari Please drink responsibly and be of the legal drinking age. Thank you.
Yellow Label: Veuve It’s one of the most recognizable labels in the world. This wine is a vibrant explosion of life with strong flavors of Pinot Noir grapes (its the dominant grape), followed by Chardonnay and the masterpiece of balancing blending grape Pinot Meunier. As I sit on my floor in my silk floral, shoveling heaping mounds of caviar topped with diced purple onions onto my blini and washing down each sip of this pale yellow nectar, each bubble exploding and dissolving on my tongue simultaneously, I am grateful, thinking about my life. I also, while mentally counting my blessing, took a moment to sip and spit. Just a moment, as it had taken us all night to get here. I stood on chairs, rearranged, changed lights, and used reflective paper to take photos of this group of eggs and vintage coupes with the bottle. Then, I begin, clearing my throat to call the wine. This wine is sparkling. This wine is pale yellow. This wine is apple. This wine is peach and citrus with toast. This wine is minerals and bright. This wine is crisp. This wine is Old World. This wine is Veuve Clicquot. This wine is nostalgia. I wouldn’t say that calling it for the Court of Master Sommeliers, or maybe. I had a made me think of that time drinking it while sitting on another floor across the country in my kitchen in NYC. I loved that apartment. This wine is a good idea always. It was then for me, it is now. There’s reason it’s been around for all the years. This wine is bold. This wine is promise. This wine is magic. This wine is luxury. This wine is history. This wine has been sparkling for 250 years. Madame Clicquot, also known as Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, played a significant role in the development champagne. Champagne was created in the 17th Century and while Madame was not responsible for inventing champagne but what she did do was create techniques to refine the champagne-making process known as riddling. Riddling is one of the processes which is responsible for the clarity and quality of champagne as we know it today. Riddling (remuage in French) happens after the fermentation (Millard reaction) and aging process. Over time, the bottles are rotated and tilted, enabling the yeast and sediment to shift towards the neck of the bottle. This action consolidates the sediment in the bottle’s neck, facilitating its removal. After the riddling process is finished, the bottle’s neck is frozen, and the sediment is removed through a procedure called disgorgement. Riddling mostly happens using machines these days; however, some houses do so by hand even today. This wine retails for around $70 USD for 750ml. Smaller and larger formats also available. Pricing of size and location varies. Drink now. Always drink now. Hold if you want to but my vote is drink now. This wine pairs well with or without food. This wine pairs perfectly with caviar, oysters, triple crème cheeses and toast, grilled and poached salmon, olive oil covered angel hair or penne pasta with Parmesan Reggiano and black pepper, crème brûlée, black truffle French fries, and duck. Side Note: if you haven’t seen the documentary Truffle Hunters, I certainly recommend. Please enjoy responsibly and of the legal drinking age. Where to buy the goods? Couple glasses, champagne buckets and stoppers and such? BlondeBehindtheBucket Storefront. Please know I may receive commissions from eligible purchases. Thank you. Labels from the Veuve Clicquot book I purchased while visiting the exhibition
Ruinart Blanc Singulier Champagne This wine is bubbles. This wine is delicate and crisp. This wine is slate and mineral. This wine is chalk and citrus. This wine is acidic and bright. This wine is an offering of subtle sweetness. This wine is vanilla and spices with pear. This wine is champagne. This wine is Reims, France. This wine is Ruinart Blanc Singulier. This wine is. This wine is a sweet, satisfying, lingering on the tongue finish, leaving me wanting more. This wine pairs well with pasta and parm, mushroom and pork, a crusty butter and jam-slathered baguette, French fries with Dijon mustard, oysters, and triple cream cheese doused in aged balsamic. Lemon meringues. In the early hours of New Year’s Day, I enjoyed it alongside a spaghetti noodles olive oil Parmigiana Reggiano and a Dom Perignon back. This wine retails for $150 USD. Hold or drink now. Best served chilled between 46-50 Fahrenheit. Find out more about this wine on the Ruinart website. Where to buy stemware, ice buckets and champagne stoppers (won’t need it with this one though) Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront of course **I may receive commissions from eligible purchases** thank you
Ruinart Rosé Champagne 375ml This wine is pink and sparkling. This wine has a floral, fruity nose. This wine is red berries. This wine is crisp with bright mineral character. This wine is delicate and vibrant. This wine is champagne. This wine is specifically Ruinart Rosé Champagne. This wine is. This bottle is in a smaller format, measuring 375ml. This size bottle is equivalent to about two and a half glasses. Smaller format wines tend to age faster and are typically brighter and crisper. This wine is predominantly made from Pinot Noir grapes. It was gifted to me with the agreement that if I opened the bottle to pour a single glass, I would take the remainder home. This wine does not disappoint. This wine pairs with shellfish, cheeses (cow and vegan), pork pâte, salads and chocolate mousse and ganache desserts. This wine retails for about $50 USD retail. Drink now. Ruinart is one of the oldest Champagne houses in the world, founded in 1729 in Reims, France. Ruinart has a rich history and has been associated with art and culture throughout the years. The house has collaborated with renowned artists to create unique and artistic packaging for their Champagnes, reflecting their commitment to craftsmanship and creativity. Find out more from their website and social media accounts. Where to buy stemware, champagne toppers, ice buckets and stuffs? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront of course. Please know I will receive commissions on all eligible purchases.