I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: two of my favorite words are “Champagne float.” Few things are fancier than a Champagne cocktail. It makes a lady feel more ladylike and a gent feel more debonaire. A recent “middle-aged brain” moment left me with more honey than I needed, and after my third cup of honey-sweetened tea, I decided a honey-based cocktail was in order.
While bourbon and honey was the most obvious choice, I took a risk to see what happened when honey and lemon met the piney taste of gin. Adding thyme was a natural bridge between these flavors. (I tried marjoram-infused honey syrup, but it just didn’t quite complement the flavors as nicely.) This is an easy and festive party cocktail. Top the drink with bubbly as you serve.
Bubble Thyme
2 servings
¼ cup honey
¼ cup water
2 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
3 oz. gin
1½ oz. lemon juice
4 oz. Champagne or prosecco
• Make a thyme-infused honey syrup by combining the honey, water and thyme sprigs in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and let cool.
• Strain into a jar with a lid; discard the thyme sprigs. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks.
• In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine the gin, lemon juice and 2 ounces honey syrup Shake hard 20 seconds, strain into 2 cocktail glasses and top each with 2 ounces Champagne. Garnish with a sprig of thyme.
Dee Ryan is a longtime contributor to Sauce Magazine who also pens Make This.
This article appears in December 2017.