These Are the Only Cocktails Worth Serving on New Year’s Eve

The Champagne Cocktail, once deemed sweet and silly, is back. The sugar and bitters balance the natural acidity of sparkling wine, and the cocktail pairs very well with both creamy cheese and earthy mushrooms.

A twist on the classic Champagne cocktail, it’s made with cava (Spanish sparkling wine) and pacharán liqueur. Pacharán (spelled “patxaran” in the Basque language) is similar to sloe gin—both are made from sloe berries, the dime-size fruit of the blackthorn shrub.

Blood orange is a powerful addition to any cocktail, but when combined with Grand Poppy Amaro from L.A.’s Greenbar Distillery, a bittersweet floral and citrus amaro, this is a flavorful and relaxing blend. The sparkling wine keeps it light, and this delicious recipe by Terranea Resort’s Alicia Ajolo couldn’t be easier or quicker to throw together.

The beloved brunch staple gets a glamorous update. Mingle a standard mimosa with the flavors of a sea breeze cocktail (vodka topped with cranberry and grapefruit juices).

This fresh, wintry cocktail works only if both the pear liqueur and the champagne are well chilled. If you like, rim the glass with citrus juice and dip in sugar.

This cocktail from Jessie Smyth, bar director at Genever in L.A.’s historic Filipinotown, combines fresh and briny California gin, muddled kumquats, Champagne cordial, and a pinch of salt for drink that tastes like a sunny day at the beach—which sounds pretty good right about now, doesn’t it?

The floral notes of the lavender bitters elevate this spritz beyond the norm of a traditional Aperol spritz. While the fresh grapefruit juice reminds us of a twist on a mimosa. Meaning this cocktail combines our two favorite bubbly drinks into one flute.

Gabe Cothes created this macerated strawberry and Serrano pepper double whammy to show off the flavors of the West when he was a bartender at the warm and inventive SoMA spot Salt House. “It was really important to me that all the ingredients oozed the west coast,” Cothes, who grew up on the beach in the classic California beach town of Capitola, said.

This variation on the crisp and effervescent French 75 champagne cocktail gets its blush from the simple addition of pomegranate molasses. Don’t worry, we’ll walk you through how to make the molasses!

Stephani Smith, founder and creative director of Garnish Craft Cocktail Catering in Maui, turned to chamomile flowers to flavor this delicate cocktail. For a garnish, she created a tiny camellia look-alike from coiled pink grapefruit zest.

You might’ve noticed the better bartenders out there are all working “tin on tin” (barspeak for using two metal shakers). There’s no risk of breakage, separating shakers is a snap, plus they stack and store tidily. At 19 bucks for a set how can you not upgrade?

Sure you could use a measuring pitcher or shot glass, but make a show of it with this copper Japanese jigger. 

Once a rarity, now standard issue for modern bartenders, this Japanese-inspired mixing glass is ideal for stirring up aromatic cocktails like Manhattans and Martinis.

At 5.5 ounces the coupe is just the right size for having two cocktails without going overboard.

Water glass by day, Boulevardier vessel by night, a set of lowballs will set you right.

When it comes to highball glasses, the slimmer the better to show off your well poured collinses, palomas, and G and Ts.

Odor-resistant food grade rubber trays in various sizes let you make your own perfect ice in just the right shape for the drink.