from a combination of sparkling wine (traditionally Prosecco) and peach nectar (a fancy name for thicker peach juice), the Bellini feels like a down-to-earth, delicious cousin to the Mimosa that hasn’t quite hit a saturation point yet. Plus, the density of that sweet peach nectar requires a little bit more time to enjoy the mouthfeel, meaning you don’t blow through the drinks quite as fast as you do with the Mimosa (and end up out of commission for the rest of the day). ALCOHOL FREE: SPARKLING JUICE
HOW TO PREP: Combine peach purée and Prosecco in a pitcher, and pour into a chilled champagne flute.
Highball Glass SPIKED: RED SNAPPER OR BLOODY MARY (DEALER’S CHOICE)
It might conjure up memories of New Year’s Eve as a kid, secretly coveting your parents’ champagne, but there’s actually a whole lot to love about sparkling juice. For starters, grape and apple aren’t the only games in town: There’s sparkling blood orange juice, sparkling raspberry juice, sparkling cranberry juice and pretty much every sparkling fruit juice in between. Served in a flute, it’s a gussied-up addition to any brunch table — or on a Monday morning, it’s a refreshing pick-me-up as you run out the door. After all, seltzer can’t be the only bubbles in our lives.
At its core, the Red Snapper is simply a Bloody Mary made with gin — an option I didn’t know existed until famously cantankerous New Orleans bartender Paul Gustings whipped one up for me in a true moment of morning-after need. The herbal gin — when compared with a more traditional vodka option — allows the spices and earthiness of the tomato juice to really bloom, creating the kind of drink that feels learned; no piling on of bacon strips and other extreme garnishes required.
THE RECIPE: BELLINI Makes 1 drink
ALCOHOL FREE: TOMATO JUICE — STRAIGHT
WHAT YOU WILL NEED: ¹/₈ cup chilled white peach purée ½ cup cold Prosecco
Now this is where you should go crazy with the add-ons. A highball glass is the perfect, sturdy vessel for supporting stuff
ROUSES
piled on a stick, and there’s no better base than plain tomato juice for building a salad in a glass. Spice up your rim! Plop in some celery, carrots and a few olive orbs! Cheese cubes? Fine, go for it! Without the booze, you’re essentially getting all your nutrients for the day, first thing in the day, in the most lighthearted way possible. THE RECIPE: RED SNAPPER Makes 1 drink WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 1 teaspoon celery salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper ¼ lime, cut into two wedges 4 ounces tomato juice 2 ounces gin ½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice 6 dashes Tabasco 4 dashes Worcestershire sauce 1 celery stalk, for garnish HOW TO PREP: Mix celery salt and pepper in a shallow saucer. Rub rim of 12-ounce tumbler with the juicy side of 1 lime wedge and coat wet edge with salt and pepper by placing glass rim down in the saucer of salt and pepper. Place lime wedge on rim of glass. Fill glass with ice. Add all the remaining ingredients to a shaker with ice, and shake until chilled.
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