Happy Valentine’s Day! Maybe it seems I should have blogged about my favorite 4 Ingredient Champagne Cocktail recipe earlier….or should I have? Hmm….I’m team champagne all year round. Champagne is always a good idea, yet people tend to think it’s only appropriate for celebrations. Yes, it’s great for celebrations, but it’s also great on a regular night. So, I’m super excited to share this easy recipe with you! I love the taste, it’s creative yet not too sweet.

If you can get your hands on a bottle of brut Champagne, some bitters, lemons, and maple syrup you can whip this recipe up in 3 minutes. First of all, about the Champagne, I’d go with a cheap ol’ brut. With the ingredients we’re adding you really can’t tell the quality of the Champagne. As for the bitters we used Peychaud’s…a 5 ounce bottle is under $10 and is easily available in all liquor stores. For the maple syrup, I recommend you use real maple syrup. From years of watching Food Network I have it ingrained in my brain that Grade B is the best, but if you can’t find Grade B, no worries! Just get the real maple syrup. You’ll also need several lemons. I’ll show you how to make the lemon garnish, it’s so easy!

First, let’s make the lemon garnish. Just follow the steps in the picture. Cut a large lemon in half, then slice into thin slices. Cut through one side of the rind, but not the other side. Then with a small knife remove the citrus pulp. Once you have a lemon strip just curl it around your finger and add it to the glass. I’ve found that the thinner-sliced lemons make a better garnish – but have a few extra lemons on hand and definitely experiment!

I’ll give you exact measurements below, but to start grab some Champagne flutes – chill them 10 minutes in the freezer if you can, if not no worries – just keep going. Then and add the lemon juice (fresh or bottled), bitters, and maple syrup. The bitters has a red tint, so it gives the cocktail that pretty orange color.

Once you add the above ingredients, just give it a little stir and top off with Champagne. How easy was that? I’m loving these Champagne Flute Glasses from Amazon, they are modern, elegant and oh, so pretty! I had free 1 day shipping with Amazon Prime – yay!