You’re about to do a toast to the upcoming new year, but champagne may not be for everyone. We have come up with some alternatives that are perfectly acceptable to drink on NYE if you don’t like champagne.
Champagnes are commonplace for big celebrations. Whether you’re getting engaged, doing a speech for your friend’s wedding, or saying a few words after your rich and much elder significant other suddenly passed, a glass of champagne is perfect for any occasion. But not everyone likes champagne — maybe you don’t prefer the unique taste, or maybe it’s simply that you don’t like the acidity, bubbles, or flute glass.
Below, these champagne alternatives are great to toast with, and hopefully as socially acceptable as the champagne at your NYE bash this year.
[Hero and featured image credit: Billy Huynh/Unsplash]
What to drink on NYE if you don’t like champagne
You like the bubbly feeling, but not the taste: French 75
Named after the 75 millimeter field gun the French used in WWI, the French 75 has become one of the brunch favourites. It’s made with champagne, gin, lemon juice, and garnished with a lemon twist. Arguably, it adds more dimension to the drink, which is perfect if you’re fine with the acidity of the champagne, but looking for something different. Here’s a tip: ask the bartender to sub the gin for cognac for a slightly sweeter taste and a different body to the cocktail.
You like the taste, but not the bubbly feeling: Northern Italian pinot grigio
Okay, we know that the sparkling wine is different in taste, but if you’re looking for something that resembles it without the fizz, pinot grigio from Northern Italy has flavour profiles that you will find while tasting prosecco. Delle Venezie or Friuli-Venezia will certainly scratch that itch, or perhaps something from Picpul de Pinet if you’re looking for something a bit more on the acidity.
If you want to impress your Italian crush: Americano
If you don’t love the beautiful sensation of the Negroni, the Americano is arguably the next best thing if you’re okay with the fizz and the taste of the Italian aperitif. Utilising Campari, sweet vermouth, and soda, the drink is refreshing, perfect for a hot day, and low in alcohol content. Feel free to have multiple and you’ll walk down the stairs just fine.
If you hate the party: Adios, Motherf*cker
When you want to really feel the booze, let us introduce the cool and refreshing Adios, Motherf*cker. Incorporating five different alcoholic components, the drink is a lot like the well-known Long Island Iced Tea, but subbing triple sec and cola with blue curaçao and sprite. It makes for a brighter citrus flavour, and is somehow even easier to get drunk with. If you don’t want to remember the party, this is one way to go. We encourage you to order it with confidence, with clear articulation, like the cool motherf*cker that you are.
If you hate yourself: continuous shots of Four Horsemen
Named after the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the men includes Jim, Jack, Johnnie, and Jose. Yes, the recipe calls for bourbon, whisky, scotch, and tequila in equal parts. Try multiple shots of the concoction and you’ll really feel the apocalypse churning within you. This isn’t the worst shot you can have, but it’s something every bar will have. If you feel like you can do worse, ask if the bar has tuna fish juice.
Vichayuth Chantan
Digital Writer, Drinks and Dining
Writer by day and skinny legend by night, Vichayuth focuses on the hospitality industry of Thailand. You'll often find him at a bar finding new friends, discovering new drinks, and silently judging you from across the room.
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