Top 5 Cocktails To Order On a First Dinner Date
Lazy Bartender By Drinksdirect.NG
A Quick Rule Of Thumb
There’s nothing more nerve-wracking than a first date and trying to make a good impression while keeping your cool. Trying to be the best version of yourself, while evaluating whether you and your date are compatible in the long run!
There’s no better venue for a first meet up than a nice restaurant to help calm the nerves. Choose somewhere buzzy and vibrant, and be sure to have some cocktail knowledge up your sleeve to impress. There’s nothing worse than pouring hours over a menu only to say ‘I’ll have the same as you’!
To help with your cocktail game plan, here are a few choices of drinks that will make you look effortlessly knowledgeable, and impress that special someone.
1. Martini
A martini is one of the best upscale drinks, especially when you want to impress. An American invention, popularized by James Bond. You don’t need to have it shaken, not stirred. There are many different ways to order your martini based on your preference, such as a dirty martini made with a splash of olive juice and garnished with an olive. However you prefer it, a martini is always a classy and impressive choice.
2. Old Fashioned
The Old Fashioned dates back to the late 1800s. A typical Old Fashioned is made with a sugar lump, water, an ice cube, bitters, whiskey and garnished with either a lemon-peel or maraschino cherries. Knowing your preferred whiskey only makes ordering this cocktail even sexier.
3. Manhattan
This is a cocktail drink that combines sweet vermouth, rye whiskey, and bitters. Although rye is the original whiskey choice, others that are equally good include Tennessee whiskey, bourbon, Canadian whiskey, and blended whiskey.
4. Bellini
The Bellini is an elegant, timeless cocktail made with peach puree and Prosecco, originating in the mid-1900s in Venice in Italy at Harry’s Bar. The recipes call for peach purée and Prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine. It was originally prepared with white peach puree, but you can also use yellow peaches, peach nectar, and/or peach schnapps.
5. Wine
You cannot go wrong with a glass of wine, never!!! Besides, there are several varieties of wine to choose from. It helps if you are a wine connoisseur who understands the difference between the various types of wine and the appropriate food choices to pair alongside. While the many varieties of wine could leave you spoilt for choice, don’t be afraid to ask a wine connoisseur for recommendations.
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Source; cianblog
All Champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is Champagne
Champagne VS Sparkling Wines
Don’t get carried away with the bubbles, although both champagne and sparkling wine possess a refreshing fizziness and a similar trademark which is the “pop-effect” when uncorked. There are a few main reasons why the two labels display different names, and sticking with us through this post will be helpful in decoding the differences between these two bubbly beverages, so you’ll be more informed the next time you pop that bottle and click glasses.
What is Sparkling Wine?
Many people refer to sparkling wine as Champagne. But however, this term is exclusively reserved only for the sparkling wines made in the Champagne region of France. Sparkling wine is any carbonated wine, which includes carbonated wines made from a variety of grapes and they can be of different colors but they all use carbon dioxide to create their iconic bubbly effect. This generic term, “sparkling wine” encompasses the more specific sub-category of champagne. The fizz and bubbles occur from the natural fermentation process when sugar is added to the yeast, and it reacts with the sugar to create carbon dioxide which is then trapped and bottled for your enjoyment. Types of Sparkling Wines that aren’t Champagne includes; Prosecco · Cava · Sparkling Rosé · Sekt · Crémant · Trentodoc. And if you don’t like too many bubbles in your glass, you can try the Semi-sparkling Wine, or Red sparkling wine type.
How Sparkling Wine is Made
Modern sparkling wines are not made by accident, the process is one that has been well established and is designed to create consistent tasting every time. Every sparkling wine must go through two fermentation processes, It’s the second fermentation process that produces the bubbles and differentiates them from one another.
Traditional (Classic) Method – This method requires the second fermentation to take place in the bottle, where sugar and yeasts are added. This process is more complex and requires the winemaker to handle the bottles many times. Same method is used to create champagne and it produces smaller bubbles. These smaller bubbles are more persistent through the wine.
Tank (Charmat) Method – In this method, the second fermentation stage occurs in a large steel tank. This produces larger bubbles, which are found in Prosecco. This process is faster, less expensive, and produces a fruitier flavor than the traditional method.
All process is similar to the production of still wines, but however, there are a few notable differences such as:
- Grapes are harvested earlier to achieve higher acidity levels.
- Grapes are usually harvested by hand to reduce the tannin levels and other phenolic components that wines have.
- The press house is usually close to the vineyard, so grapes can be separated from their skins as fast as possible.
What is champagne
Champagne is named after the region where it is grown, fermented, and bottled. Nestled in the country’s northeastern corner, near Paris, the only labels that are legally allowed to bare the name “Champagne” are bottled within 100 miles of this region (according to European Law). Outside of the Champagne region, French sparkling wine is known as Crémant. In addition to location, Champagne also receives its distinguished name because of the grapes used to produce it and the distinct flavors that result from grapes grown in Champagne’s cooler climate and chalky, mineral-rich soils. Only a handful of grapes across Champagne are allowed to be used for its base or “cuvée” (a blend of the first and most concentrated extraction of juices from pressed grapes). Grapes allowed in Champagne production are: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Petit Meslier, Arbane.
Champagne Making Practices
The process in which Champagne is made is called Méthode Traditionnelle, formerly known as the Méthode Champenoise, which is also referred to as “The Classic Method”. In a nutshell, Champagne gets its sparkle from a second fermentation that takes place in the bottle, but the entire process is very technical and labor intensive: From dictating how one may grow the grapes to how they may be harvested and processed, the rigorous standards distinguish Champagne. For instance, all grapes that are used in Champagne must be hand picked and pressed in a covered environment. They may only be pressed twice, once to make the ultra concentrated cuvée (which is high in sugar and acid) and the second time to make the taille (sugary, lower in acid, and higher in minerals and pigment). A Champagne may be classified as vintage or non-vintage—respectively—when wines are made with grapes of one year’s harvest or a mix of grapes from different years.
What is a celebration without a little bubbly? It has become the quintessential beverage for many occasions, from birthdays to anniversaries to weddings and promotions. Get more familiar with your sparkling wines on www.Drinksdirect.NG . You also don’t need a reason to enjoy a good bottle of sparkling wine, you just need some knowledge on how to select it and serve it.
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Source; Winecountry.com
Champagnes to make every celebration corker
Six (6) Must have champagnes at your occasion
champagne comes from the Champagne region of France, where winemaking dates back to the 1700s and vineyards span some 84,000 acres. Not too far from Paris in the northeastern corner of France, its main growing regions include Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne, Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne and The Aube.
But there’s more to it than that. Champagne also gets its name from the grapes used in production, most commonly including pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay. It gets its sparkle from being twice fermented in the bottle via a technical and labour-intensive practice often referred to as méthode traditionnelle.
But there’s more to it than that. Champagne also gets its name from the grapes used in production, most commonly including pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay at a 2:3 ratio (though variations such as blanc de blancs are made entirely from white grapes). It gets its sparkle from being twice fermented in the bottle via a technical and labour-intensive practice often referred to as méthode traditionnelle.
Whether you’re after a magnum to really get the party started or are simply after a slick bottle to bring out next time there’s a promotion or wedding announcement in the family, we have had enough champagne aperitifs between them to know which champagne brands go down best. From well-established French houses such as Taittinger to a rather surprisingly good take, here’s our edit of the best.
Taittinger Prelude Grand Crus Champagne Non Vintage;
Coming on 300 years in the biz, Tattinger is a family-run house headed up by Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger. Known for being an excellent fizzy accompaniment to chicken and pork, the blend of Grand Cru pinot noir and chardonnay lend it an especially tangy, citrusy profile, warmed up with the toasty notes of cinnamon and stone fruits.
Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial NV
Though Queen Elizabeth’s heart belongs to Bolly, Moët & Chandon came up tops for Queen Victoria II, which is why the label holds a Royal Warrant (it was also the champagne of choice at Charles and Diana’s wedding). Owner also of Dom Pérignon and Hennessy, Moët & Chandon also claims to be the first ever established champagne house, with origins in 1743. Its crisp and refreshing Brut Imperial NV is made on vineyards classed as Grand Cru, with a delicate palate that lends itself especially well to champagne cocktails with a sprinkling of sugar, Angostura bitters and a lemon twist.
Aldi Monsigny Champagne Brut;
Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label Champagne;
Laurent Perrier La Cuvée Champagne;
Dom Pérignon Vintage Champagne Brut;
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Source; gq-magazine.co.uk