Two Kir Royales, made with champagne and crème de cassis, will pave the way for a romantic Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day presents a conundrum: How best do I spend this most romantic of evenings with the one I love? We think a lot about this abstraction we call ROMANCE, and how it relates to Valentine’s Day. We start with flowers, quickly followed by chocolates and other confections accompanied by a champagne toast, then follow that with drinks and dinner out, then follow that with a nightcap back home, then follow that with the most mind-blowing sex we’ve ever had. Phew. With that itinerary, we got exhausted during dinner. If this is not how you want to misspend this Valentine’s Day, pay attention.

All you need to do is follow these two simple rules, and you too can achieve bliss this February 14.

1. Champagne, or any sparkling wine, is aphrodisiacal.

The act of pouring bubbles into a slender flute, one with a little black currant liqueur pooled at the bottom, creates total sensory satisfaction. The smell immediately infects you with its luscious fruit. The bubbles pop in a continuous hush, leaving trails that rise to the surface, as if on a constant gif loop. Some escape the flute in a pointed arc, bursting on your thumb and fingers. These sensations are surpassed only by the anticipation of the night ahead. You make a toast, raise the flute to your lips, feel the tiny pulsating bubbles tickle your lips. Since bubbles allow for faster absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream, you may begin to feel euphoric after a few sips. This in turn will make your date’s eyes sparkle, their beams piercing you with the power of love.

More important, impressing your amor with a champagne-based cocktail shows that you went the extra step instead of just decanting.

Kir Royale
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1/4–1/2 ounce crème de cassis (black currant liqueur)*
at least 5 ounces champagne
lemon twist or peel, as garnish (optional)

Method
Pour crème de cassis into champagne flute. Fill with chilled champagne. Add garnish, if using.

* Pierre-Marie Chermette maxes a kick-ass crème de cassis. With a deep, almost tannic fruitiness in both aroma and taste, this black currant liqueur makes bubbly even livelier.

Variations
If you and your partner are not fans of crème de cassis, you can substitute any other liqueur, really, to create your own bubbly cocktail.

Other Light & Bubbly Cocktails
Violet Sparkler (crème de violette)
Bird Nest (blue curaçao, with a splash of tequila)
Sofia Mimosa with Galliano
Passion Fruit Bellini

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So, you’ve followed the first rule and are scoring high marks on the romance meter. To score even higher marks, you must obey the next rule:

2. Do not go out for dinner.

If you’ve been there/done that, you know that dinner out on Valentine’s Day sucks. That unnerving get-em-in-get-em-out mentality is palpable upon entry, the menu is usually a slimmed-down version of the actual bill of fare, and servers are constantly being reminded that they have to work like yoked oxen while watching you and your date ocularly undress each other.

Anyway, champagne is cheaper at home.

So, stay in and have a few hors d’oeuvres prepared that aren’t too taxing and will provide a nice accompaniment to that second Kir Royale you’re about to make for your date/mate.

Hors d’Oeuvres Suggestions
Deviled Quail Eggs
Kale Chips
Spiced Nuts
Stuffed Mushrooms
Cheddar Blue Fricos

If you get hungry after lovemaking, there’s always delivery.

photo ©Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz