6 Ways to Make Bad Bubbly Better

You know how every New Year’s Eve, most folks bring by whatever cheap bottle of Prosecco the local liquor store carries?

Or you throw a New Year's Eve party and have leftover bottles of bubbly from dubious domaines?

Add some magic to that mediocre fizz. Consider the Kir Royale, Aperol Spritz, or the Bellini, to start. There are so many ways to mask the taste of bad bubbly; here are six of our favorites.

1. BE BITTER ABOUT IT

Don't ice out that friend who brought bargain-bin wine. Take a page from HexClad’s Food Director Laura Rege, who upgrades inexpensive bubbly to a Bitter Spritz. “Rather than an Aperol Spritz, which feels more summery, I’ll grab another bitter amaro, which offsets the naturally sweet taste of cheap sparkling wine.” For a garnish, Rege recommended dropping in a lemon twist, an orange wedge or another fruit that jives with the liqueur you’re using. “Look at the ingredients in the amaro and pick something that pairs with those flavors,” Rege said.

2. FLEX FLORAL

There’s a reason that adding an elderflower-based liqueur like St. Germain is so popular: Its powerful and delicious flavor can mask the taste of whatever it touches. While this is a no-go with a precisely balanced drink like a Negroni, it’s a boon with sub-par sparkling wine. Add an ounce of St. Germain to your bubbly and drop in a few sugared cranberries and a sprig of rosemary for a festive holiday vibe.

3. THE KIR IS THE CURE

A French staple for decades, drinkers stateside are just beginning to embrace the Kir Royale. It's a champagne cocktail made with a dash of crème de cassis, a liqueur made from blackcurrants. Making it is easy: Pour a ½ ounce of crème de cassis into a flute and top with dry sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon twist.

4. BE FRUIT-FRIENDLY

If you want to give guests a choose-your-own-adventure option for improving their bubbly, set out a bowl of fresh fruit, a few fresh herbs, a paring knife and a cutting board. We’re partial to bright-red fruits like cherries, strawberries and raspberries, but it’s hard to go wrong. Paper-thin slices of peach pair nicely with a mint sprig, while thin half-moons of grapefruit go well with a branch of thyme. A small bowl of pomegranate seeds won't go amiss, either.

5. WHEN IN DOUBT, DOUBLE THE BOOZE

Go big or go home, as the saying goes. A French 75, for instance, combines an ounce of gin with ½ ounce each of sugar syrup and lemon juice and tops it off with Champagne (or whatever you’ve got on hand). For something more bitter, a Negroni Sbagliato mingles equal parts Campari, sweet vermouth and sparkling wine. If you’re getting really desperate to mask the taste of bad bubbly, go for a black velvet, made from equal parts Guinness and sparkling wine.

6. EXPERIMENTS ARE WELCOME

There’s something freeing about having a surfeit of low-quality bottles on hand. Embrace an experimental mentality and see what your kitchen offers. The only limit is your condiment collection. A spoonful of marmalade might be just what that glass of cava needed. Honey, whiskey and prosecco? Maybe! Pomegranate juice, gin and champagne? Definitely.

As a last note, though you might come across suggestions to revive flat sparkling wine with a raisin, don’t waste the effort. Instead, save any dead bottles for making homemade vinaigrette or in cooking where you would use white wine. Enjoy the effervescent feeling of not wasting bubbles.