Champagne Cocktails: Includes recipes, quotes, lore, and a directory of the world's poshest lounges

Upon tasting Champagne for the first time, Dom Perignon called out to his assistants, "Come Quickly, I'm Drinking Stars!"

So if Champagne is heaven in a glass, why mix it in a cocktail? It's simple: Champagne is the pinnacle of the winemaker's art, while the cocktail is the crowning jewel of the mixologist's craft. When combined, the result is a beverage unrivaled in decadence, pleasure, and inspiration.

Champagne Cocktails proudly presents more than 100 traditional and nouveau concoctions--from Bellini to the Southern Belle to the Mambo King--plus toasts, jokes, and celebrity lore. Also featured are party tips, recipes for complementary foods, a listing of Champagne and sparkling wine producers, and a directory of the world's posphest Champagne lounges.

The Champagne connoisseur will toast these finer points of culture and fizziology, while the novice will delight in adding a new sparkle to the day.

August

Refreshing Summertime Fun

Sirius Stargarita

1oz tequila (chilled)
4oz Champagne
garnish with a lime twist

A cool summer cocktail, it has all the sparkle of a tropical night. The sweet spiciness of the tequila comes alive amid the bubbles.

September

An Late Summer Breeze

Metro

1 splash cranberry juice
1 splash Rose's Lime Juice
1 dash Cointreau
1oz vodka
4oz Champagne
garnish with an orange twist

With a blush like a harvest sunset, this crisp cocktail will pleasantly satisfy a late summer thirst.

October

A Sparkling Halloween Brew

Betelguese

1oz Stoli Vanil vodka
1tbs vanilla liqueur
1tbs Rose's Lime Juice
1oz white zinfandel wine
2oz Champagne

Pronounced beetle-juice, it's the name of a stellar constellation as well as this stellar cocktail, which recalls Dom Perignon's famous words upon first tasting Champagne: "Come quickly, I am drinking stars!"

November

Fresh idea for the Thanksgiving Feast

Americana

1tsp Bourbon
1dash Angostura Bitters
5oz Champagne
garnish with a fresh pear slice

Like Thanksgiving, the Champagne Cocktail was born in America. A touch of Bourbon, made from a blend of corn and rye, makes this the perfect cocktail to toast a bountiful harvest.

December

Colorful Christmas

Melony

1oz melon liqueur
4oz Champagne
Poinsettia
1oz Cranberry Juice
4oz Champagne

To complete the festive look of these two sparkling holiday cocktails try a red sugar rim on your Melonys and a green sugar rim on your Poinsettias.

January

The ultimate cocktail for ushering in the millennium

Moulin Rouge

1oz ice cold vodka
4oz Champagne

This cocktail toasts both Czar Peter the Great who declared January First as New Year' Day and Dom Perignon who discovered the perfect celebratory drink.