You have probably noticed I have become increasingly obsessed with champagne cocktails. I cannot get enough of bubbly booze. I want to add bubbles to every single drink I make but I am trying to contain myself. I get a certain type of feeling when I can relax after a long week and drink some bubbly goodness. Since this week has been outrageously insane those bubbles needed to be kicked up a notch with some booze. That booze is the dreamy orange Italian liqueur Aperol. I love using Aperol because it is light and refreshing. It is the perfect spring time bubbly drink. The rosemary syrup adds an earthy flavor while the rose water adds a fresh and clean flavor. This is a riff on the popular Aperol Spritz that has champagne, Aperol, and club soda. I decided to kick it up a notch by deleting the club soda and adding rosemary syrup, rose water, and lemon juice. Since this drink is pretty low alcohol it would be great to serve at brunch, lunch, or a girl’s night. If you are serving a crowd a punch would be fabulous. Everything could be dumped in and guests could garnish their own drinks with the rosemary sprigs. So many possibilities with this Italian gem. Salute! Cheers!

Recipe: Three Rose Champagne Cocktail

Ingredients

1.5 ounces of Aperol

1.5 tablespoon of rosemary syrup (see recipe below)*

¼ teaspoon of lemon juice

½ teaspoon of rose water

2 ounces of rosé champagne

1 cup of ice

Garnish: Fresh rosemary sprig

Instructions:

Fill a shaker with 1 cup of ice, rosemary syrup, aperol, rose water and lemon juice

Shake mixture until it is mixed and chilled

Pour mixture into serving glass and top with rosé champagne

Garnish champagne cocktail with fresh rosemary sprig

Yields: 1 serving

*Recipe: Rosemary Syrup

Ingredients

1 cup of water

1 cup of sugar

5 rosemary sprigs

Instructions: In a sauce pan combine sugar, water, and rosemary. Let it boil for until sugar dissolves

Strain mixture and let it cool

Extra syrup may be stored in a glass container for up to a week.