By Mackensy Lunsford

Photos By Matt Rose

The holidays are here again, bringing with them the usual parade of organized merriment. Holiday parties call for conjuring up a certain level of sophistication along with a pleasant fog of tipsiness. Champagne cocktails, elegant enough for a black-tie event yet potent enough to inspire plenty of good cheer, fit the bill quite nicely. A champagne flute handled by the stem, pinky extended, simply radiates a level of classiness difficult to obtain while sporting an eggnog mustache.

For cocktail tips of any stripe, I prefer to consult the pros. Tess Redlinger, the bartender at Vigne on South Lexington in downtown Asheville is well versed in champagne cocktail basics and doesn’t mind sharing her secrets. While deftly whipping up a selection of attractive libations for our rapt group one Saturday night, she serves up a few words of wisdom as well.

"Don’t use cheap sparklers for cocktails. Good ingredients make a good drink," she advises. Indeed, to make our drinks she pops open a bottle of Botter Prosecco Brut, a great sparkler that can be purchased for a bit over $10. It is wise, she adds, to save your pricey tipple for a special occasion, sans mixer. In other words, folks, drink your Dom straight.

Redlinger advises making doubly sure that the bubbly is nice and frosty. "Sparkling wines [are best] served well-chilled," she says. A good tip is to chill the champagne flute ahead of time. Also, she recommends making sure that champagne cocktails are mixed using dry sparkling wine, not sweet. Look for bottles marked brut or even extra brut.

After a flurry of pouring, peeling and mixing, Redlinger lines the beverages along the bar—a festive and intoxicating still life of sorts. The classic champagne cocktail is the first drink we pass around. Consisting of nothing more than sparkling wine, a sugar cube and bitters, it is well balanced and neutral in color, a plus for those who find clutching a pink drink embarrassing. It is a refined old chap for something so bubbly, and we decide to dub it "Frank Sinatra." Redlinger notes that this beverage is most popular with older gentlemen. The bourbon-on-the-rocks types in our group like the fact that this one isn’t too sweet, even with the sugar cube fizzing merrily in the bottom of the glass.

Everyone in our group takes an immediate shine to the Kir Royale—a pretty, light mauve combination of champagne and crème de cassis (currant) liqueur jauntily crowned with a lemon twist. Continuing with our increasingly tipsy insistence on renaming the cocktails, we call this one the "Gertrude Stein" for its smart and sophisticated style.

A variation of the Royale is served with Chambord instead of the traditional currant liqueur. It is a smooth and sensuous creation, with flavors of raspberry and a hint of vanilla—perfect for that New Year’s midnight toast and kiss. We christen this one "Marilyn Monroe." The champagne-soaked strawberry makes a delicious treat once the glass is drained.

At first, the odd, pale green color of our final cocktail, traditionally called "The Ghost," is a bit off-putting. This drink owes its shade to a splash of Midori, a type of sweet melon liqueur. If the champagne cocktail is the granddad of the bunch, this is the rather flashy younger niece. The flavor however, is quite nice—refreshing and light, if melon is your bag. This one likes to party; we decide to nickname her "Britney Spears."

Whether fresh and fruity or suave and sophisticated, champagne cocktails are a great idea for the amateur holiday mixologist. If sticking with a tasty, yet inexpensive sparkling wine, these cocktails can be far friendlier on the wallet than those made with liquor, not to mention far easier on your guests’ constitutions. They can be concocted as elaborately (or as simply) as you choose and, as an extra bonus, tend to stain a rug far less than red wine. That is certainly something to be festive about.