January Drink of the Month - the Kiley Royale

The newest craze I saw on all the morning talk shows this year was to celebrate the New Year with a "bubbly bar." I love the idea of allowing guests to spruce up their NYE champagne with fresh fruit and syrups, but most of the offerings on the Today show and other were pretty boring. Of course a fresh strawberry slice would be nice in my champagne, but where is the creativity in that? If I had hosted NYE (instead of building IKEA furniture and falling asleep on the couch watching Life of the Party), my bubbly bar would have had a little more style and flair! Add some Chambord or creme de casis to the table so guests can make a Kir Royale. Add some bitters and gin or brandy for a French 75. Citrus is a must if you are adding more sweetness, so make sure to have some lemon or lime juice out for guests. And add in a curve ball for giggles - some Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur for sweet/spicy or some evergreen liqueur for herbaciousness. Surprise your guest, and encourage them to sample something unique, instead of adding a boring blueberry or three.

While my NYE plans were not the most epic, I was inspired to try my hand at a sparkling cocktail for the evening - yes, you can still drink bubbly on NYE, even if your plans consist of sitting in sweatpants and trying really hard not to fall asleep. I was inspired by the Kir Royale, which is traditionally made with champagne and creme de cassis, which is made from blackcurrants. The Kir Royale is named after it's creator (a Mr. Kir), who first created the Kir Cocktail (cassis and white wine), and then made it "royale" by swapping out the still wine for sparkling. My take (named the Kiley Royale, because if Mr. Kir can have an eponymous drink, then so can I!) adds raspberry syrup, brandy, and lemon juice (to balance the sweet with some acid), while upping the alcohol content to give it some punch. Brandy and champagne are natural pairings, but make sure to avoid other grape distillates - the first batch I made used pisco, and I can confirm that brandy is the far superior fermented grape product to use in this application.

Ingredients: 1 oz brandy, 1 oz raspberry syrup, 0.5 oz lemon juice, 2 dashes cherry bitters, 3 oz prosecco to top.

Preparation: For the raspberry syrup: combine 0.5 cups water and 0.5 cups granulated sugar in a saucepot over medium heat. Stir until combined, add in 6 oz of raspberries. Bring to a boil, and reduce to simmer for 5 minutes. Allow to cool, then strain and store for up to 3 weeks. For the cocktail: combine the first four ingredients in a Boston Shaker, shake over ice and strain into a chilled champagne flute. Top with prosecco, garnish with a whole raspberry.