Prosecco Cocktails

I should have thought of posting this before New Year's Eve, but better late than never!

I *love* champagne cocktails. I'm actually cheating when I say that, because in reality, I use prosecco for most of my cocktails. We had a prosecco bar at our wedding with a number of different types of cocktails, and I put this on the menu to explain why we chose to use prosecco:

Prosecco is an Italian, dry sparkling wine that is crisp and clean with notes of citrus. Its zesty effervescence and transformative, yet subtle, flavor profile lends well to cocktails. As such, prosecco cocktails are delightful social
drinks and perfect "aperitivi."

Here are the recipes we served at the wedding, as well as one I just recently served with an Asian-inspired menu for some friends at a New Year's Eve dinner. They're all pretty similar in construction, though they have distinct flavor profiles.

Pomegranate Prosecco Cocktail
Ingredients:

• 3 blueberries
• A stir stick or toothpick
• Pomegranate juice
• Prosecco

Directions:

• Skewer the blueberries on the stir stick and drop into the bottom of a champagne flute.
• Fill about 1/4 of a champagne flute with pomegranate juice (can add more or less, based on your preferences). Fill the remainder of the flute with prosecco and serve.

Photo from Jeremy Evans Thomas

Limoncello Prosecco Cocktail
Ingredients:

• Limoncello
• Prosecco
• Creme de cassis
• Raspberries

Directions:

• Soak as many raspberries as you wish in creme de cassis for 2 hours, then freeze for 4 hours.
• After the raspberries are frozen, drop a raspberry in the bottom of a champagne flute. Fill 1/4 of the flute with limoncello (can add more or less, based on your preferences). Fill the remainder of the flute with prosecco and serve.

Blood Orange Mimosa
Ingredients:

• Blood orange
• Prosecco

Directions:

• Using a vegetable peeler, remove a bit of the zest of the blood orange. It should come off in large pieces (unlike if you were to use a microplane). You don't want any of the white part. Drop a piece of zest into a champagne flute.
• Fill 1/4 of the flute with the juice of the blood orange (can add more or less, based on your preferences). Fill the remainder of the flute with prosecco and serve.

Lychee Prosecco Cocktail (Adapted from Food and Wine (though I can't find the exact recipe now, sorry!))
Ingredients:

• Canned lychees, plus the syrup
• Prosecco

Directions:

• Drain the lychees and reserve the syrup from the can. Freeze the lychees for 4 hours.
• After the lychees are frozen, drop a lychee in the bottom of a champagne flute.
• Fill a champagne flute with 1 Tbsp. of the reserved syrup (can add more or less, based on your preferences). Fill the remainder of the flute with prosecco and serve.

Enjoy! Our guests certainly did!