Bellini (p. 53) , Mimosa (p. 53), and Black velvet (p. 53)

I have no taste when it comes to wine. Josh and I very, very rarely buy wine and when we do, we tend make our selection based on which label we find the most attractive (usually tending towards funny names or labels with animals). I really like sparkling wine, although I am perfectly happy with the cheap stuff. I knew TJOC had a handful of wine and beer cocktails. I decided to pick up a bottle of cheap champagne and whipped up a few.

First, I made a Bellini (p. 53). I took a peach, processed it in my food processor, and pushed it through a sieve:



I mixed it with sparkling wine:



Delicious but too much trouble. I don't like working with peaches because I don't like peeling them, so I moved on to a simpler recipe--the Mimosa (p. 53). I mixed orange juice and sparkling wine:



I love mimosas. I think they are particularly perfect for breakfast, brunch, and/or sitting out by the pool. The sparkling wine is enhanced by the orange juice but not overwhelmed and the sweetness of the wine is cut by the acidity of the orange juice.

I've eyed the recipe for the Black velvet (p. 53) many times. You take three ounces stout (I used Guinness) and fill the glass with sparkling wine. Guinness and champagne?? It seemed incredibly bizarre.




I have to say, it was pretty good! Stout mixed with fruit lambic is amazing and this mixture was pretty similar. The sparkling wine lent a welcome sweetness to the stout and the Guinness stopped the sparkling wine from being too sweet. But the most obvious benefit to the black velvet is being able to say that you are drinking Guinness mixed with champagne.

Do you know of any other champagne cocktails? Have you had the "black velvet"? What were your thoughts?