New Year's Cocktails

Ring in the New Year right!

Happy New Year’s Eve everyone!  I hope your New Year’s is full of fireworks, great music, lots of sparkly things and of course, at least one great cocktail.  If you don’t have a clue on what kind of concoction you should have on this holiday, don’t fret, we have your back!  Here are some New Year’s cocktail ideas to get you started.

Strawberry Bubbly

 Ingredients:

·         Strawberries

·         ½ oz Simple Syrup

·         ½ oz Ketel One Vodka – Chilled (Optional)

·         Bisol Jeio Prosecco – Chilled

o   Glassware: Champagne Flute

o   Garnish: Strawberry (cut the top off and cut a slit from the bottom to about halfway up – this will help it sit on the edge of your flute)

Yes, it’s just that simple!  In a Boston Shaker, muddle two strawberries (washed and with the tops cut off) with your simple syrup.  If you’d like an extra kick to your cocktail, you can add about a ½ oz of chilled vodka (go with something high quality like Ketel One).  If vodka is not your thing, you can skip this step and you’ll still get a tasty cocktail.  Take your muddled mixture of strawberries, simple syrup and vodka (if you choose) and put it into a champagne flute.  Top with either prosecco or champagne (here at BPI we’re partial to Bisol Jeio Prosecco) and garnish with a strawberry.

Hint:  Never made simple syrup before?  Don’t be intimidated, it’s incredibly easy!  Check out more info here.

Bourbon Fizz

Ingredients:

·         1 ½ oz Maker’s Mark

·         2 Slices of Fresh Ginger

·         Sugar Cube

·         Lemon Slice

·         Club Soda

o   Glassware: Lowball glass

o   Garnish: Lemon Slice

This cocktail is a definite hit to ring in the New Year!  It’s a crowd pleaser and you’ll find that the ladies and the gents both love this flavorful yet unique cocktail.  In a lowball glass, muddle your two slices of ginger, sugar cube and lemon slice until all of the ingredients are “mashed” together.  Add ice to your lowball glass and then pour in your 1 ½ oz of Maker’s Mark.  Lastly, top the cocktail with club soda.  Garnish your glass with a lemon slice.

Sparkling Rum Punch

Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocktail

Ingredients:

·         1 Cup Orange Juice (Get the good stuff, it’ll be worth it!)

·         1 Cup Pineapple Juice

·         ½ Cup Mango Juice – Optional

·         ½ Cup Cointreau

·         ½ Cup Myers’s Dark Rum

·         2 Bottles Bisol Jeio Prosecco

·         Whole Orange Slices

o   Glassware: Highball Glasses

o   Garnish: Orange Slices

This recipe will make about 10 servings, which is great if you’re hosting a New Year’s celebration at your place.  And, you can serve this drink “punch style” in a large serving bowl so that your guests can help themselves, meaning that you won’t be tied up by having to continuously make people cocktails throughout the night.  First, combine your orange, pineapple and mango juice in a large serving bowl.  You can easily get away with only using orange juice and pineapple juice but if you want more of a tropical flavor, add the mango juice to the mixture.  Once combined, stir in your Cointreau and Myers’s Dark Rum.  Cover the serving bowl and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.  Before your guests arrive, take the mixture out of the fridge and add in the two bottles of Prosecco.  Lastly, place the orange slices on top.  For an extra touch, I like to keep a smaller bowl with ice cubes and serving tongs next to the mixture so that guests can pre-fill their glasses with ice before serving themselves from the punch bowl.  This way, you don’t have to add ice to your punch bowl, which will inevitably water down your punch over time.

Champagne

Ingredients:

·         Champagne

o   Glassware: Champagne Flute

Open Champagne bottle.  Pour into flute.  Drink.  J