The Cocktail Chronicles: Southern Champagne
Champagne, Southern Comfort, bitters and orange rind are all you need to make Southern Champagne. According to Stuart Walton, this is a favorite way to serve bubbly South of the Mason Dixon line.
Brunch is one of my favorite things about the weekend, and while I don’t go nearly as much as I aspire to, I take advantage of good brunch food and drinks whenever I can.
One of my favorite parts of brunch is champagne cocktails, so when Winston and I were discussing which drink to make next for The Cocktail Chronicles, I gravitated to the Champagne and Sparkling Wine section of Stuart Walton’s book. Because OF COURSE the book totally has that section. (Related: All of the champagne mixed drinks sound so good to me right now since it’s been so cold in Dallas because they remind me of the summertime.)
So, anyway.
We chose the Southern Champagne cocktail and made it one fateful weekend after eating brunch at home. Because sometimes, you gotta have a budget brunch, and that’s OK, especially when there are SO many good things you can make for it.
And while the drink wasn’t necessarily our cup of tea, I know that maybe one of y’all would like it. Check out the recipe and our review below…
Other Cocktail Chronicles drink recipes: Bloody Mary / Mustique / Kingston / Rum Sidecar / Tom Collins / Cosmopolitan / Cutty Sark on the Rocks / Blizzard Bourbon Cranberry Cocktail
Southern Champagne
Ingredients
- ¾ oz. Southern Comfort
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
- Champagne or sparkling wine
- Orange rind
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Instructions
- Add the liqueur and bitters to a champagne flute.
- Mix briefly, then top with the champagne/sparkling wine.
- Squeeze a small twist of orange rind over the drink, the drop it into the glass.
Nutrition
The thought of this drink is really lovely… until you take a sip and realize that it tastes like it’s missing something. While we commend the author for sharing an all-alcohol drink with champagne, this needed some acid or a little fruit juice to balance out the flavors. I ended up adding OJ to mine, and it tasted a lot better.
Two cheers! Sorry, y’all. We’d like to be sipping something else… but we like the idea of this cocktail. For us to try this again, we’d have to make some changes.
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
I’m not a cocktail person, but I’ll stash this one away.
I’ll be interested what you think, Tyler. This one wasn’t our favorite, but I’m sure there’s someone out there who enjoys it.
I like the name of the drink, but I’m not a big fan of SoCo. Sounds interesting!
I agree with you, girl. I like SoCo in a shot, but not necessarily in this drink. It was kind of lacking with the champagne…
Love how easy this is. Whisky plus sparkling and orange is a classic combo… sorry that you didn’t find it to be as tasty as expected! Good idea to add the extra orange (makes it slightly less boozy too, haha). Very cool cocktail series! xx
Yes, the extra orange made this drink a LOT better. Hopefully, the next drink we try in the series will be loved by me and Winston both!