Champagne Cocktails!

Champagne cocktails are some of my favorites - they're super easy to make (they mix themselves!) and what is more, they are nearly impossible to screw up. Take the classic champagne cocktail, the mimosa. Not enough orange juice? No problem! It just tastes like champagne! And people love champagne. Add too much orange juice? No problem! Orange juice is delicious! Pretty much, the formula is fruit + champagne. One good thing + another good thing = a third good thing. Foolproof.

Allow me to present to you...the Kir Royale. Despite the unpronounceable name (I am never quite sure how to say "Kir"), it is super approachable - only two ingredients. It will impress your non-cocktailing friends, because it is not a mimosa. And it is so pretty. All champagne cocktails are beautiful (it's the glassware*), but this one especially so.

So here goes:
champagne
creme de cassis**

*Investing in some champagne glasses will make you feel so grown-up and sophisticated and like the consumate entertainer. And, as it turns out, it's not really that much of an investment - I got mine at crate and barrel for four dollars each. They are 9 oz, so keep that in mind if your champagne flutes are a different size.
**Creme de cassis is a blackcurrant-flaovred liqueuer. A blackcurrant, it would appear, is a kind of berry that only grows in France. You can find very expensive and very cheap varieties of creme de cassis, but the cheap ones will work equally well here.

Put about an ounce and a half of creme de cassis in a flute, and fill with champagne. Really, that's all. It's that easy.

An especially nice touch (okay, I got this idea from Real Simple Magazine) is to freeze some blackberries and use them as a garnish in your champange glasses. These will keep the drink cold, for your friends who like to savor, plus they look amazing.

So, so pretty.

Photos for this installment were taken by Sarah, my very talented photographer friend. Check out her website here.