Blooming Champagne Cocktail with Wild Hibiscus

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Blooming Champagne Cocktail with Wild Hibiscus at The Hungry Mouse

This is one of the prettiest cocktails you can imagine. Drop a hibiscus flower that’s been preserved in syrup into the bottom of a champagne flute. Fill with your favorite bubbly. As the champagne happily fizzes away, the hibiscus flower will open up and bloom in your glass. The cocktail is ridiculously delightful and a little bit sweet—with just the faintest hint of raspberries.

Hands down, this is the coolest drink I’ve made in a long time.

Blooming Champagne Cocktail with Wild Hibiscus at The Hungry Mouse

Thanks so much to Adam Lantheaume, proprietor of The Boston Shaker, for turning me on to hibiscus flowers in syrup.

Blooming Champagne Cocktail with Wild Hibiscus at The Hungry Mouse

I ran into Adam the other day over at Grand, one of the Boston area’s most fabulous boutiques, run by the lovely and talented Wendy Friedman. Adam has a great display of cocktail regalia for sale there—including jars of these flowers and impressive selection of bitters. If you’re in the area, definitely stop in and say hello.

Wild hibiscus flowers?

Yep, wild hibiscus flowers. In syrup, no less.

Blooming Champagne Cocktail with Wild Hibiscus at The Hungry Mouse

Here’s what they look like in the jar.

Blooming Champagne Cocktail with Wild Hibiscus at The Hungry Mouse

And here’s what they look on their own.

Blooming Champagne Cocktail with Wild Hibiscus at The Hungry Mouse

Kind of like pretty little sea creatures, eh? The flowers are entirely edible, and taste kind of like a cross between raspberries and rhubarb.

Blooming Champagne Cocktail with Wild Hibiscus at The Hungry Mouse

Blooming Champagne Cocktail with Wild Hibiscus

1 wild hibiscus flower
a few drops of syrup from the flowers
Champagne or Prosecco

Makes 1 cocktail

Position the flower in your champagne flute

To make the cocktail, position a flower in the bottom of a champagne flute. The flowers have little feet of sorts, which makes it easy to stand them up. Take the time to get it centered and standing up (I used two chopsticks to get it upright) so the flower blooms completely. Add a few drops of that beautiful pink syrup from the jar.

Blooming Champagne Cocktail with Wild Hibiscus at The Hungry Mouse

Fill the flute with bubbly

Pop open your bubbly. You can use Champagne or Prosecco. (You can also make a fabulous non-alcoholic version with sparkling cider.)

Blooming Champagne Cocktail with Wild Hibiscus at The Hungry Mouse

Pour the bubbly into your glass slowly, so you don’t dislodge your flower. (Remember: You want to keep him on his feet.)

Blooming Champagne Cocktail with Wild Hibiscus at The Hungry Mouse

As the bubbles stream up, the petals will bloom, opening the flower up.

Blooming Champagne Cocktail with Wild Hibiscus at The Hungry Mouse

Blooming Champagne Cocktail with Wild Hibiscus at The Hungry Mouse

Once you drain your glass, refill it. Or, you know, just nibble on the flower.

Blooming Champagne Cocktail with Wild Hibiscus at The Hungry Mouse

This is such a pretty libation! Reserve it for special occasions—or find an excuse to have a special toast on an ordinary day. Either way, I really do recommend giving it a try.

Cheers!

 

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Jessie Cross is a cookbook author and creator of The Hungry Mouse, a monster online food blog w/500+ recipes. When she's not shopping for cheese or baking pies, Jessie works as an advertising copywriter in Boston. She lives in Salem, Massachusetts with her husband and two small, fluffy wolves.

27 COMMENTS

  1. what a pretty cocktail! I love hibiscus especially in passion tea, it really does have a nice fruit flavor to it. I never ate the actual flower though.
    • Hmmm, Adam and I will be on the lookout for them at Whole Foods. You can also hit Adam up directly at The Boston Shaker (http://www.thebostonshaker.com) for the flowers. Cheers! +Jessie
    • Hehe, funny thing. Blooming tea is totally on my list of things to check out. Looks so pretty...and it's an excuse to buy a fancy glass tea pot.... +Jessie
  2. Huge thanks Jessie for the shout out! I can't remember if Whole Foods carries them or not, but I'll check next time I'm in the store for sure. If you're around Grand/The Boston Shaker in Union Square feel free to swing by the store and pick some up (I just restocked - hurrah). Even though my webstore isn't quite launched yet, I'm still happy to ship them out to those who live out of the area and are interested in picking some up. There's a way to contact me directly via the website @ www.thebostonshaker.com Cheers!
  3. Very Cool. This is called Sorrel here in the Caribbean. It's used in a popular Christmas drink. It is also made into jam or a mock cranberry sauce and a liqueur. What an elegant way to use them. I'm thinking it woulo be a great way to ring in the New Year. I MUST try this. Just one question about the 'flower,' was the center seed left in or had it been removed? If so, how did it stay at the bottom of the glass and not float to the top?
    • This brand of Wild Hibiscus flowers in syrup is deseeded. The weight of the sugar prevents the flower from floating
  4. These are stunning, also the flowers are sold at most Mexican Delicatascants dried they make thirst quenching juice all by them selves or in tea. It would probably be cheaper to make them your self then in the jars.... Flowers soaked in Simple syrup.
  5. Hello, How long before pouring the champagne can you put the flowers in? Does it need to be immediately or can you set them up half an hour beforehand or something? Many thanks

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