New Year's Champagne Cocktail: The Toasted Almond
Here's another New Year's Eve Champagne cocktail. Want more? Drink up!
When I was little, I used to insist that my mother keep our freezer stocked with Good Humor's Toasted Almond ice cream bars. Let the other kids play with the Chocolate Eclairs and the Strawberry Shortcakes. For me, it was toasted sweet almond all the way. Those rainbow marzipan cookies are my Achilles heel; if I see one, I eat one. Plain and simple. I love almond desserts; they can be kitschy but are still a rare find. They inspired this Champagne cocktail, a mixture of marzipan-sweet Amaretto and icy Champagne, crowned by a rim of toasted almond sugar. The perfect drink to take you back, while you look ahead.
About the author: Kerry Saretsky is a Serious Eats intern and the creator of French Revolution Food, where she reinvents her family's classic French recipes in a fresh, chic, modern way.
The Toasted Almond
- This recipe makes 1 Toasted Almond cocktail. Two bottles of Champagne will yield 10 to 12 cocktails -
Ingredients for the Toasted Almond
2 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
Champagne, chilled
Almond sugar for garnish (recipe follows)
Ingredients for the Almond Sugar
20 to 25 toasted almonds
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Procedure
1. Make the almond sugar by grinding the toasted almonds, sugar, and almond extract together in a mini food processor until the mixture is homogeneous.
2. Run a lemon slice around the rims of the champagne flutes. Pour the almond sugar onto a shallow dish, and dip the wet glass rims into the almond sugar.
3. Being careful to avoid wetting the sugared rim, pour the Amaretto into the bottom of each champagne flute. Top with champagne, being careful not to pour too fast, or the champagne will fizz over the glass, and ruin the sugar rim.
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12 Comments:
I am so making this tonight. It sounds awesome!!
gammypie at 11:15AM on 12/31/08
Kerry, what's your favorite of the champagne cocktails that you have posted? (in other words, which one should i make tonight for myself & a few friends??)
sarag22 at 11:27AM on 12/31/08
@sarag22: I'm sure Kerry will show up to answer your question, but she still has two more Champagne cocktails in the works here that I need to schedule for posting on SE. I'll do that soon, so there's time to get any necessary ingredients yet.
Adam Kuban at 11:38AM on 12/31/08
Oh gosh! I would go for either the French 75, Wintergreen, or the up and coming Kir Royale du Bois...those are my three favorites, and they are impossible to choose between. At that point you just have to cater to your mood: the Wintergreen is refreshing and sweet. The Kir Royale du Bois is fruity and has three liquors. The French 75 is dry and has 2 liquors. You'll also want to factor in inebriation. That Kir packs a huge punch.
Kerry Saretsky at 11:44AM on 12/31/08
That sounds like a delicious drink, but a toasted almond it is not. That would be amaretto, kahlua, and light cream.
shoneyjoe at 11:44AM on 12/31/08
this sounds so nice im going to have to try this, just a shame ill be tucked up in bed with flu
Edwardkimuk at 11:56AM on 12/31/08
Thanks!! Happy New Year!
sarag22 at 12:05PM on 12/31/08
Love the sound of it and am trying it tonight. I just made the toasted almond sugar and it smells incredible. Happy New Year!
nightangel at 12:36PM on 12/31/08
The 2008 Missing the Point Award goes to shoneyjoe.
simon at 2:09PM on 12/31/08
How have I missed the point? The point was, here's a delicious drink. I have made a delicious drink with champagne, angostura bitters, and lime. I'm calling it a Martini, after my brother Martin. Think it'll catch on?
shoneyjoe at 3:29PM on 12/31/08
This sounds great!
saraann at 3:33PM on 12/31/08
This was how I rang in 2009, and it was LOVELY! Thank you so much for sharing it with all of us! (Hubby had a French 75 and loved it too)
trillian42 at 9:47AM on 01/01/09