Covers & Cocktails: Black Velvet

I’d like to preface this Covers & Cocktails by saying I suffered two casualties while making this drink. The first was me, a woman standing at a staggering 5’0” (1.5 meters), consuming an entire bottle of champagne on a Wednesday afternoon. The second was tripping over the cat and breaking our last remaining champagne flute.

But, that just meant I had to make this drink in a Samuel Adams glass, which is probably more fitting for a Black Velvet than something fancy with some kind of stem.

The Wedding Pact by Katee Robert comes out April 26th and is the second book in the O’Malleys series. I fell in love with the world after Elyse’s review of The Marriage Contract. But be forewarned that the characters are associated with Irish crime families, which I know can be a big turn-off for some readers.

The premise of The Wedding Pact is very Romeo & Juliet-esque. Two warring families. A hero and heroine who come to care about one another. And it’s set in Boston. Can I just say that I will read anything set in Boston? After moving here three years ago, I’m utterly in love with this city.

To blend the Boston setting, the Irish families, and the opposing, antagonistic sides, I chose to do a Black Velvet. This is a super simple drink that contains only two ingredients: Guinness and champagne. Admittedly, I’m not much of a Guinness girl, but adding the bubbles and dryness of a brut champagne made it unlike anything I’ve tasted and it really lightened the thick Guinness.

Shopping list:
Guinness
Champagne (or Prosecco)

Proportions:
Half glass of Guinness
Half glass of champagne

Directions:

1. Though there are only two ingredients, there’s some assembly required.
2. The goal is to “float” the champagne on top of the Guinness.
3. With floating drinks, the thicker liquid goes on the bottom. So pour in your Guinness first!
4. To keep the liquids from mixing, you’ll need a spoon.
5. Flip the spoon over, so the rounded bottom (heh) is facing upward.
6. Pour the champagne slowly over the spoon, making sure it touches the glass first and trickles over the spoon.
7. If you mess up, just down that sucker and make another one.

Modifications and notes:

• You don’t have to use champagne. Pretty much any sparkling wine will do, so feel free to experiment.
• The ratio of Guinness to champagne is completely up to you. After playing with it, I found that I preferred a 25/75 between the two, with more champagne than Guinness.
• Since I don’t make a habit of drinking Guinness, I was advised by the Cute Boy™ to buy the Guinness in the cans. He explained to me why, but I was trying to do a crossword and tuned him out.
• Chill, chill, chill! (Make sure the Guinness and champagne is well-chilled before making this drink.)

 

Cheers, everyone!