Author Notes
I vaguely recall hearing once that French Onion soup came about when Napoleon's army was left with nothing but champagne and onions. Well, thanks to Sandy and a week-plus power outage (goodbye, contents of refrigerator!), we were left with little but packages of crackers and liquor, including champagne and bourbon. We were among the lucky ones; we still had a roof over our heads. So we are thankful, indeed. Anyway, in a classic champagne cocktail, a sugar cube is doused with bitters and the champagne is given a boost with cognac; here, we used vanilla as the underlying flavor and jacked it up with classic American bourbon. Once the power comes back on we'll upload a photo containing the homemade sugar cubes; in the emergency, we just used the regular sugar cubes with vanilla drops. By candlelight. With blankets.
Cheers! —wssmom
Test Kitchen Notes
The name of this cocktail is a mouthful: big name and big on flavor. Wssmom is a mixologist extraordinaire -- she turned simple into profound in just a few easy steps. I opted to use pre-made sugar cubes; I have demerara cubes that I dipped in vanilla paste to really boost the vanilla flavor. The vanilla sugar cube with the bourbon and prosecco was delicious and packed a punch. The cube not only gave it a whisper of sweetness but a subtle undertone of vanilla, too. Garnishing with a vanilla bean is the finishing touch to a lovely cocktail that I hope you try. It's well worth it. —sdebrango
Ingredients
- Janet Johnston' s Vanilla Sugar Cubes
-
4
vanilla beans
-
3 cups
white sugar
-
1/4 cup
pure vanilla extract
- Vanilla Bourbon Champagne Cocktail
-
1
vanilla bean cube
-
1
shot good bourbon whiskey (such as Maker's Mark)
-
Chilled champagne or prosecco
-
Split vanilla bean, for garnish
Directions
- Janet Johnston' s Vanilla Sugar Cubes
-
Cut the vanilla beans into 1/2-inch pieces and ground in a sprice mill until powdered.
-
Mix together all ingredients. Scrape into a parchment-lined 8-inch pan to about a 1/2-inch depth. Use a knife to score into 1/2-inch cubes. Bake for 90 minutes at 275°F. Remove and let cool. Remove sugar and break into cubes.
-
Alternatively, take an already-made sugar cube and put a couple wee drops of pure vanilla extract on it.
- Vanilla Bourbon Champagne Cocktail
-
Drop a vanilla sugar cube into a chilled champagne flute. Add a shot of bourbon and fill the glass with champagne or prosecco. Garnish with a split vanilla bean. Cheers!
See what other Food52ers are saying.