This striking black velvet cocktail is both sparkling and rich. It’s made by simply mixing equal parts of stout and champagne. If you think stout just means Guinness – think again! There is now a vast variety of artisanal stouts available in the UK, we love the Pentinville Oyster Stout from Hammerton Brewery, but if stout isn’t your thing and you fancy something sweeter you could use a lovely cider instead.
The black velvet cocktail was first created in London in the late 1800's to mourn the death of Price Albert, so has clearly stood the test of time. A black velvet cocktail traditionally uses champagne, but there are many other varieties of sparkling wines on the market that work equally well. We love English sparkling wines at the moment, particularly those from leading English wine producer Chapel Down. The combination of light bubbly and heavy stout makes this drink really interesting. It is a popular choice for St Patrick’s Day, but we think this dark and mysterious cocktail has a really warming and wintery feel so is perfect for when the colder nights draw in. The ideal choice for an aperitif to kick of an evening with friends.
Kicking things off with a cocktail adds a luxury feel to any dinner party. You might think making your own cocktails would be difficult, but it needn’t be! With only two ingredients this black velvet cocktail really couldn’t be easier. For other easy cocktail ideas why not try making our Aperol Spritz or our easy Pimms recipe? If you’re feeling more adventurous, you could take your cocktail parties to the next level by making our Clover Club Cocktail or our Homemade Pomegranate Vodka.
Method
- Half fill the glass with champagne, top with stout.
Ingredients
- 75cl bottle of champagne
- 2x 330ml bottle of stout
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Rose Fooks is the Deputy Food Editor at woman&home. Rose completed a degree in Art at Goldsmiths University before beginning her career in the restaurant industry as a commis chef at The Delaunay in 2015. She then worked at Zedel and went on to become part of the team that opened Islington’s popular Bellanger restaurant.
To hone her patissier skills, Rose joined the Diplome de Patisserie and Culinary Management course at Le Cordon Bleu. She ran a food market in Islington and cooked for a catering company that used only surplus food to supply events, before finding her way into publishing and food styling.
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