BUTTERFLY FRENCH 75
This is one of my go-to cocktails for a celebratory evening as it is stunning… and sparkling! Butterfly Pea Tea sounds exotic and exciting but, in reality, you can buy it on amazon and it’s very easy to make. It’s a wonderful way to dress up some of your drinks and make them unique!
A French 75 is a classic cocktail that marries the tart and bright flavor of fresh lemon, with the delicate bubbles of Champagne, a hint of sugar and a kick of gin. It’s both lightly sweet and a little dirty – my favorite combination for cocktails!
INGREDIENTS
2 oz gin
1 oz lemon
1 oz butterfly pea tea simple syrup (recipe below)
1 drop lavender bitters (you can leave this out if you’re not a fan of a floral taste - and be careful, one drop goes very far!)
6 oz Champagne
This makes 2 drinks… or 1 large one, as seen on Overserved!
If you don’t mind the cocktail not being purple, you can also sub in any type of simple syrup you like – I love it with pink hibiscus, or spiced rosemary syrup!
PREPARATION
1. Add the gin, lemon juice, bitters and simple syrup to a shaker.
2. Fill ¾ full of ice and shake for 30 seconds.
3. Strain into your Champagne glasses.
4. Top with Champagne and stir lightly.
5. Garnish with a lemon twist for a classic drink.
Butterfly Pea Tea Simple Syrup:
1. Add 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water to a pot and put over medium high heat.
2. Add 1 tbsp of butterfly pea tea flowers.
3. Bring to a boil but turn down to low immediately- you don’t want it to boil as it will evaporate the water away and change the sweetness.
4. Let infuse on low for 3-5 mins. It will be bright blue!
5. Strain and let cool.
6. Don’t worry that your syrup is blue – when it hits the citrus, it turns purple!
ALSO, DON’T FORGET YOUR GARNISH - while most people just garnish the rim of the glass, I find that the length of a Champagne glass gives me the perfect opportunity to garnish the stem! Here, I’ve tied rosemary and baby lavender to the stem with some twine - it takes 1 minute and looks very unique!
