Champagne cocktails are celebration cocktails. Weddings, New Year’s Eve, Mother’s Day brunches, engagements, promotions , any moment worth marking gets better with a flute of something sparkling and well-mixed.

Inside: Mimosa (champagne + orange juice), Bellini (prosecco + peach purée), French 75 (gin, lemon, simple syrup, champagne top), Kir Royale (crème de cassis + champagne), Aperol Spritz (prosecco, Aperol, soda), Classic Champagne Cocktail (sugar cube, bitters, champagne), Death in the Afternoon (absinthe + champagne , Hemingway’s creation), and the whole prosecco-based spritz family.

All Champagne Cocktails (with photos)

More Champagne Cocktails (no photos)

Champagne Cocktail Essentials

Champagne vs Prosecco vs Cava: Champagne is French (appellation-protected). Prosecco is Italian. Cava is Spanish. For mimosas and bellinis, prosecco is fine and cheaper. For the Classic Champagne Cocktail, use real Champagne.

Temperature: ice-cold. Put the bottle in the fridge overnight, or in an ice bucket 20 minutes before serving.

The pour: tilt the flute, pour slowly down the side. Preserves bubbles.

Garnish: lemon twist for the Classic Champagne Cocktail. Peach slice for Bellini. Raspberry for Kir Royale.