Champagne Cocktail History - LeNell It All

by LeNell Smothers, Posted Dec 30th 2009 @ 5:00PM

Photo: LeNell Smothers

References to Champagne drinks abound in old newspapers, novels and cocktail books. Champagne drinks containing brandy and orange liqueurs in the forms of punches and cups can be found in old cookbook recipe collections such as Mrs. Beeton's "Book of Household Management," first published in 1861.

I've seen mentions of Champagne cocktails in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle archives as far back as 1869, the same year Mark Twain mentions the drink in "Innocents Abroad." The first recipe citation for a Champagne cocktail goes back the "The Bar-Tenders Guide" written by Jerry Thomas in 1862.

Champagne during this time was generally much sweeter than today's popular dry style labeled "Brut," which didn't exist on a label until around 1876. Thomas' 1862 book calls for shaking the ingredients, including the sparkling wine, which was surely a mistake since shaking carbonated drinks can get explosive.

Here's that recipe:

Jerry Thomas' Champagne Cocktail

1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 or 2 dashes bitters
Piece of lemon peel
Champagne

Fill tumbler 1/3 full broken ice. Fill balance with wine. Shake well and serve.

A later Thomas' edition copyrighted in 1887 seems to correct this Champagne-shaking error with this recipe instruction: Take 1 lump of sugar, 1 or 2 dashes Angostura bitters, 1 small lump of ice. Fill the goblet with wine, stir up with a spoon and serve with a thin piece of twisted lemon peel.

Some say a man named John Dougherty made this type of drink famous adding brandy to a Champagne cocktail and winning a New York cocktail competition in 1889.

Mixing Champagne is a winner since various cocktail books from 1862 to present include a form of the classic Champagne cocktail. Some rub the sugar cube with lemon peel first. Many add an ice cube.

You may find a garnish of a citrus spiral, twist or slice. This is one of the few drinks to stand the test of time despite the minor details of preparation.

Alabama-born LeNell Smothers defines herself first and foremost as a bartender, but she's been called many things -- most recently, the head mixtress at Casa Cóctel. She's owned her own whiskey label, called Red Hook Rye, and has been recognized by her home state as an honorary Colonel. Other interests include gin, sin and men.

Filed Under: Drink Recipes
Tags: champagne, champagne cocktail, cocktail, cocktail history, new years eve