This is our version of an exotic Champagne-style cocktail. It is quite affordable and very popular with our friends.
We came across it more or less accidentally when, some years ago, we had made a Pernod based granita for dessert. Some days later there was still quite a lot of the granita in the freezer, so to use it up we put a spoon or two in a glass of sparkling wine, added some fruit and, voilà, we had a lovely cocktail. We soon refined the method so that there was no need to make granita, using sugar syrup as the base.
An interesting aside occurred when we were staying with some French friends in Provence. They were great cooks and lived on a vineyard. We offered to make them a Champagne cocktail before dinner one night. The husband was very provençal and strongly wedded to the traditions of French wine and food. He enquired about our method and ingredients. The mention of pastis, which is widely made and drunk in Provence, combined with Champagne resulted in a loud retort of “Impossible!” We made the cocktail for them, they loved it and by all reports, from then on, made it quite often themselves.
Use a medium-priced ($15 to $30) bottle of Australian sparkling wine in the Champagne style. There is no need to use an imported bottle given that there are numerous high quality sparkling wines made in Australia, with Tasmanian sparklings dominating. Pastis is the aniseed flavoured liqueur very popular in the south of France. It comes under a number of different brand names, of which Pernod is probably the best known in Australia. For the fruit, consider small dices of strawberry, orange, mango and peaches.
Ingredients
One bottle sparkling white wine
Sugar syrup (see below)
Pastis (Pernod) liqueur
Diced fruit
Ingredients
Put the wine and pastis in the fridge early to ensure they are well-chilled. Chill the glasses too if you wish.
Make the sugar syrup using equal volumes of sugar and water. For example, place 100 ml each of water and sugar into a saucepan, bring to the boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Or place the sugar and water into a glass and microwave gently until sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate until well chilled.
To make each cocktail, add 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons chilled sugar syrup to the bottom of each glass. Add 1 teaspoon of pastis (Pernod). Add some diced fruit. Stir. Top each glass with sparkling wine. (Adjust to taste if necessary with more syrup or pastis.) Serve immediately.