Who else loves brunch? I think of it as the ideal meal for any type of daytime entertaining, where two meal periods can be combined into one wonderful feast. Brunch is more than often a casual get-together, enjoyed on weekends or vacations where strict timelines do not exist. Brunch is the perfect occasion to serve these Grapefruit Prosecco Cocktails for your whole family to enjoy. They add a whole new level of yum to brunch time entertaining.

Brunch is one of those occasions that can be enjoyed as an event all its own and for no other reason than the desire to share a relaxing afternoon with family and friends. I highly suggest serving one or two main dishes, such as my Broccoli, Bacon and Cheese Pie or my Bacon, Tomato and Cheddar Breakfast Casserole. And filling in the gaps with fresh pastries, such as this Fresh Cherry-Almond Coffee Cake. Since brunch epitomizes both casual entertaining and festive celebrations, almost anything will go!

Due to the more informal nature of brunch and the flexible menu, it’s a great time to celebrate with family and friends of all ages.

What Is The Difference Between Prosecco and Champagne

Prosecco is a light, fruity sparkling wine from Italy, while Champagne is from France. The methods to make them are also different. The “traditional method” is used to make Champagne, while Prosecco is made with the “tank method”. Champagne is aged in bottles under high pressure so the bubble finesse is fine, persistent and sharp. Prosecco is aged in large tanks with less pressure so Prosecco bubbles are lighter, frothy and spritzy with less persistence. Grapes grown to make Champagne hale from a cooler region than where grapes for Prosecco are grown. This alone makes Champagne a leaner and more acidic wine.

Is Prosecco Sweeter Than Champagne

Prosecco is generally a little sweeter than Champagne. The bigger and looser bubbles and tropical fruit flavors make it a perfect choice to use in sparkling cocktails. In short, Prosecco won’t overpower the flavors of other spirits and modifiers used in your drinks. It’s the perfect choice for these Grapefruit Prosecco Cocktails.

Tips For Successful Brunch Entertaining

• Choose a serving style – formal or informal
• Select a location that’s right for the style you chose ~ dining room, eat-in kitchen, outdoors
• Choose a menu that combines make-ahead dishes with last minute preparations
• Do as much advance cooking possible the night before
• Choose serving vessels and utensils the day before and have them ready
• Create or purchase a simple centerpiece or floral arrangement as a focal point on the table
• Set the table the day before if guests are to be seated at one table
• If food will be outdoors have mesh domes available to prevent bugs from landing on the food

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Grapefruit Prosecco Cocktail

Serve these Grapefruit Prosecco Cocktails for brunch or on the patio for a perfectly crowd-pleasing sipping experience.

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword Grapefruit Prosecco Cocktail

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 0 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 4 glasses

Calories 194kcal

Author Cathy Pollak

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Cointreau, divided
• 1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice, divided (about 3 grapefruit)
• 2 cups prosecco, divided
• 4 grapefruit wedges for garnish

Instructions

• Pour one tablespoon Cointreau, two tablespoons grapefruit juice and a 1/2 cup prosecco into each of four chilled Champagne flutes (or wine glasses). Stir slightly with a long-handles spoon to mix.
• Garnish each glass with a small grapefruit wedge and serve immediately.

Notes

Keep all ingredients chilled in the fridge before making this cocktail.

Nutrition

Serving: 1glass | Calories: 194kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 0.1g | Potassium: 50mg | Sugar: 12.8g | Vitamin C: 12.4mg | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.1mg

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Hemingway Daiquiri Recipe

It’s widely known that Ernest Hemingway enjoyed a drink or two, with much of his free time spent in bars in Paris, Key West and Havana. Cuba was most definitely his favorite escape during Prohibition to smoke cigars and drink rum. Hemingway had a love affair with the classic Daiquiri, but diabetes forced him to pay attention to his sugar intake.

In 1921, Barman Constantino Ribalaigua, of the Floridita Bar in Havana, created the Papa Doble or “Hemingway Daiquiri.” The original recipe has no sugar (simple syrup) or Cointreau added, which I find unbalanced. My version of the recipe has added mouthfeel and pops with just the right amount of citrus flavors.

I love an icy, cold, cocktail and my take on the Hemingway Daiquiri ranks right up there with my versions of The Most Refreshing Lemon Drop Martini and The World’s Best Cosmopolitan Cocktail.

What Does Maraschino Liqueur  Taste Like

Maraschino liqueur is a must for every well-stocked bar and will become the secret weapon of your liquor cabinet. While Maraschino liqueur will never be the star of the show in any cocktail, it plays one the most important supporting roles in many classic cocktails.  When it comes to the Hemingway Daiquiri, using the Maraschino liqueur allows you to lower the addition of simple syrup.

Maraschino liqueur and specifically the Luxardo brand is one of the very few liqueurs in the world produced by distillation. Luxardo is distilled in small copper pot stills from ripe marasca cherries, their crushed pits, honey, leaves and sprigs and some other proprietary ingredients. By leaving the cherry pits in with the fruit during distillation, a wonderful almond-like flavor shines through. The distillate is left to mature for two years in Finnish ash wood vats and is then diluted and sugared.

Maraschino liqueur does not taste like cherries. In fact, the nose smells of lemon, pine and tree bark. Upon tasting, you’ll find the finished product to have a very floral, flavor profile, with a nutty mid-palette taste. It has a very clean finish with a syrup-like consistency. And even though Luxardo has matured for years in wood vats, it has a clear color.

What Can I Substitute For Maraschino Liqueur 

Unfortunately, there is not a good substitute for Maraschino liqueur. Kirsch does have a similar flavor profile, but it is completely dry, so using it will leave the drink unbalanced.

What Makes A Daiquiri, A Daquiri

A daiquiri is a gaggle of cocktails whose three main ingredients are:

• rum
• citrus juice (mainly lime)
• sugar (or other sweetener)

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What Garnish Should I Use 

• grapefruit peel
• lime wedge
• Luxardo cherries ~ totally worth it

What Equipment Do I Need To Make A Daiquiri

• cocktail shaker
• hand-held citrus juicer ~ get every ounce of juice out of your lemons and limes
• garnish knife

Might I suggest enjoying this daiquiri with my favorite Hemingway classic….what a perfect afternoon that would be.

Print My Take On The Hemingway Daiquiri Ernest Hemingway became obsessed with the daiquiri after spending time in Cuba. This is my take on the special recipe created for him in his honor.   Course Drinks Cuisine American Keyword My Take On The Hemingway Daiquiri Prep Time 5 minutes minutes Total Time 5 minutes minutes Servings 1 person Calories 260kcal Author Cathy Pollak Ingredients 2 oz white rum 0.5 oz Cointreau 0.5 oz Maraschino liqueur 1.5 oz fresh lime juice 1.0 oz fresh grapefruit juice 0.25 oz simple syrup Instructions Gather ingredients. Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass (chilled is best). Float a small amount of finely crushed ice on top. Garnish with grapefruit peel. Serve immediately. Nutrition Serving: 1glass | Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Potassium: 96mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin C: 30.5mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.4mg

 As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post My Take On The Hemingway Daiquiri appeared first on Noble Pig.

Cosmo Recipe

It might seem a little cocky of me to call this the World’s Best Cosmopolitan Cocktail, but you’re going to have to trust me on this one. Or make it yourself to confirm this is the best cosmo recipe. It’s so refreshing, you just might never drink a different cocktail again.

Related: Dirty Shirley ~ The New York Times Drink of Summer!

I have been messing with this cosmopolitan recipe for years. Sure, there are the classic ingredients when it comes to a signature cosmo, but when it comes to making cocktails, it’s all about concentrating on the details. Little things matter.

The only problem with being able to make a great cosmopolitan cocktail at home, is how disappointing they taste when you’re out at a bar; they are too sweet, too little alcohol or too sharp tasting. Obviously the better bars and restaurants have better bartenders, but man do they hold back on that alcohol, even for you eighteen dollar drink.

One of the easiest ways to make your cocktails taste great is by using top shelf alcohol. There is a huge difference between a bottle of five dollar vodka and forty dollar vodka. And the five dollar vodka will leave you not feeling the greatest.

Your vodka for a cosmopolitan must be a citron version, unflavored vodka will not cut it. Also, stop using triple sec in a cosmopolitan recipe, it has such a sharp taste. Upgrade your bar cabinet with Cointreau and you will never use anything else in your drinks. I even use Cointreau in my mojito and my Hemingway Daiquiri because it makes the drink so FABULOUS! Cointreau is smooth and magical, with a lovely orange nuance.

Cosmopolitan Drink

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Fresh limes are a key ingredient in the list of cosmopolitan cocktail ingredients and one thing I cannot live without in my kitchen is my citrus press. It squeezes your lemons and limes to almost dry. It’s not even possible to get as much juice out when you squeeze with your hands. Even the driest lime will yields lots of juice with this press. And this tool lasts for years and years.

Cosmopolitan Drink Garnish

A small drink garnish in your cocktail is a nice detail to any drink. With a cosmopolitan I always add an orange peel. This particular zester makes large peels or thin zest, without going into the fruit’s pith.

The orange also leaves a bit of a scent that is picked up by the nose while drinking. It’s a must!

A cosmopolitan cocktail needs to be icy cold. And while this drink is shaken vigorously in ice, it benefits from an icy finish in the glass and you don’t want to add regular sized ice cubes.

This is where a high performance blender comes in and the reason they are pricey. You can crush ice to snow cone consistency in 10 seconds.

The crushed ice is then added to a Ziploc freezer bag and kept in my freezer to scoop out when making cocktails. The ice will stick together, but it breaks up easily.

The blender is worth it and it’s ice-crushing abilities undoubtedly make a difference in this drink.

In a pinch, you can smash some ice with a meat mallet in a Ziploc bag. It won’t be the same as finely pulverized ice, but you can get by.

How gorgeous is this cocktail? And even though it’s girly pink, the drink itself has a decent amount of alcohol, so even the men love this one.

Normally guys would never order a cosmo in a bar, since it’s often pretty weak, but all the males ask for this one all the time when visiting my home.

However, this refreshing drink still remains a favorite cocktail at my house.

If you’re have a gender reveal party or a baby shower, this drink couldn’t be more perfect.

Serve this cosmopolitan alongside this blue drink if appropriate for the perfect girl-boy combo.

This cosmopolitan is also a welcome beverage at bridal showers, graduation and birthday celebrations.

After you shake the drink vigorously in a shaker, scoop in the tiny ice for the perfect ending touch.

It’s little things, like the addition of crushed ice, that make this cocktail one of the best.

How many of you started drinking cosmopolitan’s after watching that famous New York based drama with Carrie Bradshaw?

I miss that show, but at least we have the drinks.

The perfect girl’s night is reruns of the show and big batch of these cosmopolitans’.

I feel a girl’s night coming on?

Cheers everyone…let me know when you make this.

So many cocktails, so little time. This Blue Hawaii Cocktail has me dreaming of the islands. And who doesn’t need a Peach Margarita right about now? However, this Blueberry Margarita has me craving spring and blueberry season. And give this perfect Negroni recipe a try soon, it’s my favorite, as well as this lemon drop martini.

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World's Best Cosmopolitan Cocktail

Why would you want to drink anything other than the World’s Best Cosmopolitan Cocktail? The only thing girly about this drink is its color.

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword Best Cosmopolitan Recipe, Cosmo Recipe, Cosmopolitan Cocktail Ingredients, Cosmopolitan Drink, Cosmopolitan Recipe, World's Best Cosmopolitan Cocktail

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 1 cocktail

Calories 281kcal

Author Cathy Pollak

Equipment

• Cocktail Shaker
• Citrus Juicer

Ingredients

Cosmo Recipe:

• 2.5 oz citron vodka (do not substitute plain vodka)
• 1.0 oz Cointreau
• 1.0 oz cranberry juice cocktail
• 0.5 oz fresh lime juice
• finely crushed ice
• orange peel for garnish

Instructions

Cosmo Recipe:

• Add vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice and fresh lime juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until very cold. Strain into a cold martini glass and finish of with a scoop of very finely, crushed ice. Garnish with an orange peel.
  2.5 oz citron vodka (do not substitute plain vodka), 1.0 oz Cointreau, 1.0 oz cranberry juice cocktail, 0.5 oz fresh lime juice, finely crushed ice, orange peel for garnish

Notes

Nutrition information is only an estimation and variation will occur based on the ingredients/brands you use. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cocktail | Calories: 281kcal | Carbohydrates: 12.5g | Protein: 0.1g | Sodium: 2.8mg | Potassium: 43.2mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 11.2g | Vitamin C: 11.9mg

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post World’s Best Cosmopolitan Cocktail appeared first on Noble Pig.